Highland Forestry

I personally think it would probably be better, albeit impractical, for everyone to come under wieghts and measures and sell a standard UK ton as a load instead of the ongoing debate over what is a cubic metre and what is not a cubic metre. The whole timber industry is supplied by the ton the same as most harvesting contractors are paid by the ton so why not sell it by the ton? The problem would arise with the expenditure in weight measuring equipment of reasonable suitability and having it calibrated and recording calibration checks etc.

Try contacting Fuelwood - they sent me through a list of used machinery in stock today and they have a Japa 2100 TR at a pretty good price. Fuelwood Home - manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of forestry and firewood machinery

When you stack split wood up to make exactly one cubic metre... you still don't have a cubic metre because it is full of air gaps.. You'd need to use the same kind mensuration as foresters do when measuring stacks of timber and allow an extra 15-20% ontop of your cubic metre to get a physical cubic metre. Does this mean you have been selling your customers short by 15-20% ''for ever more'' ???

I wish I could offer you some advice, but unfortunatley I only knew of one for sale... And I've just bought it They are very good... no comparison to hand cutting and splitting - the machine can work all day and the operator still feels fine afterwards!! The down side is yes they do fetch good money second hand, but they also make plenty of money! Stop being tight!

Darren.. Would it be worth your while supplying 500 bags or 1000 bags at a time?? I'm not sure how much we are going to sell yet but I envisage buying in a lorry load as a starting point... wonder how much the haulage would be though. I'm based just north of Aviemore.

Hi All, I am currently working on a project I am hoping to launch in the next month or so.. I would ideally like to purchase a kindla, or kindlett machine, or any machine that will produce a reasonable ammount of kindling for a local supply. I have been unable to source a machine online that I can afford at the moment and so I'm looking for a wholesale supplier that could supply to Inverness-shire, Scotland. I've also been keeping an eye open for a good second hand firewood processor, as hand splitting is going to get quite tiresome and time consuming. If anybody is interested in giving me a price, my e-mail is [email protected]

That's an interesting one... We'll see... I'm trying to make some changes just now to end up with a better cashflow, one of which will be catering for more of a domestic market on the fuelwood side which should mostly be payment on delivery or collection.

Hang on a minute here... He gave you a business card saying tree care... fair enough, he probably got cards made up to try and find some work. Fair play to the lad. He only has CS30 - therefore he is obviously NOT a tree surgeon.. you shouldn't expect him to be! He is self employed - so what? Personally it looks to me like he went wrong cutting through the knotty wood in the trunk where a limb had been pruned. You can't expect him to be competent based on the fact that he passed a CS30 exam - he was probably cross cutting small diameter pine with a straight grain and no compression and tension on his assessment. He has amassed a years worth of experience - doing what? Grounding for tree surgery companies... big deal. Give the lad a break - everyone has to start somewhere. If you were that concerned with wasted time, fuel, wear and tear etc you should have stood there watching him and teaching him how you wanted him to do it. Further than that, the CS30 qualification generally only teaches a candidate how to cross cut timber up to guide bar length. Larger than guide bar length is taught on the CS32. I don't see that he went that wrong IMO - he just needs some guidance!

I'm persuing the route of leaning on the bank for a bigger overdraft at the moment... the invoice factoring is an option, but I don't like the idea of having to put every invoice through them. Doug - the haulage admin and payment terms is the easy bit!! The difficulty arrives when you are relying on clients and others arranging haulage and sending lorries in regularly enough to keep your cashflow going.

Blimey.... a celebrity in our midsts!!!

Thanks for the advice guys... The problem I am finding is mostly slow payers, and other types of jobs where you have alot of timber sitting on roadside waiting for a mill to collect and so on... It's nothing to have 20k worth of work laying next to a road waiting for a lorry to take to the mill, and then having to wait for the lorry to send in his ticket, then the weighbridge ticket and then you might be on 60 days from the mill if your unlucky... in the mean time you have had to pay cutters every week by the piece and you're left waiting.. I've found the banks to be extremely unhelpful just recently, and I really dislike being kept on hold for over an hour just to talk to an advisor about an account - absolute joke.

Ok Guys.. I have been giving alot of thought into invoice factoring for the last couple of weeks.... does anybody else currently do invoice factoring/invoice financing, does it work for you? How do you find the costs and percentages, does it have a big effect on your margin or are you able to swallow it? How have you found your cashflow situation once using invoice factoring, does it help as much as the companies offering the services say? Thanks, Matt

Tried it a fair bit..... not much came from it really, spent alot of money and only got a couple of jobs.

ho hum... interesting topic for sure. I usually take a bottle of (nice) single malt to all the contact managers that give us work throughout the year, as a thank you - not as a bribe. Usually we get given a bottle or two back from them also!

You mentioned before that you have a chainsaw ticket?? Part of your assessment is the correct sharpening of a chain and demonstration of the necessary knowledge behind sharpening... Could be many things, could be the bar knackered or with too much of a burr, could be rakers, could be inconsistent teeth length, could be you have tken the corner off a full chisel chain when hitting something or a whole host of other issues.... buy a new chain and start with a blank canvas in the knowledge that it is perfect and then do it by the book!

Spelling not a strong point in Huddersfield then???

You need a single lane closure and a permit from the council... Personally I would put out a full lane closure with all signage and use traffic lights on a timer with the ability to set all red just in case. A permit from the council should be free of charge normally and traffic lights will cost about £80 to £100 for a week to hire - much safer than guys on stop/go boards and the same cost as a days wage to pay someone. You should also have a chapter 8 ticket Looks a nice tree - interesting dismantle over the carriageway like that.

Clear Cut Environmental Castaway Tree Services Protree Treetech International Arb I like the one I have, Highland Forestry

How much do you need to get your hands on?? I've sold somewhere in the region of 1400 ton this year already, 3m lengths, roadside supply all to firewood merchants and large scale buyers.. And a good proportion of that went in to Aberdeenshire!!!!!! drop me an e-mail if you are needing a supply - [email protected]

An average price about here is £160 for a 2.5 m3 load of hardwood.... softwood is about £100 to £120, however you will always get clowns about that will undercut everyone and sell for cheap but they'll be wishing they didnt one day.

Give Cameron a ring at Trust Insurance - 01604 492644 I have my PI policy with them and it's spot on.

Looks like the forestry industry is safe for the next few years then... the FC selling off land will only benefit our industry as I see it.. although maybe not for the long term.

Personally I think people get too wrapped up in trying to cover thier own backside.. If you hold professional indemnity insurance then your insurance company should tell you if there are any clauses or any fine print that should be added to reports. If your insurance company is worth it's salt then they will honour your policy regardless of any neglect because that's what the professional indemnity is there for.. If you stuck soley to the remit of the indemity limitations then there would never be anything to go wrong and having the insurance in place would be a waste of time.. Once you have a decent and comprehensive professional indemnity policy in place you should then turn your attention to providing professional and competent reports and concentrate on the job in hand.... reporting on trees and not covering your arse.

There's a guy in Grantown on Spey does a fair bit or carving.. I'll see if I can find his number for you!

Yep, thats the problem Doug..... i'm after a trailer with a much bigger volume as opposed to axle rating.. Keeping good, busy busy. Hope you're doing well! Matt