JaySmith

Light reduction on a Maple, ignore the Lime in the background Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

You were indeed correct, confirmed by Alice Holt as Phaeolus schweinitzii. Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Very nice pics, many thanks. The client is sending a sample off to Alice Holt so I ll let you know if you were correct! Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Haha very good! Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Thanks for reply, does Phaeolus schweinitzii really go that dark in its later stages as I've only seen it when it's an almost bright yellow? Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Found these brackets at the base of a Pine today. Looks like Heterobasidion annosum but am happy to be proved wrong or if anybody has other suggestions? Images aren't the best quality...

St Margarets farm St Margarets road Nr south Darenth Dartford Da4 9lb Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Have you tried St Margarets farm near Darenth. That's £30 a load, any size load or is that too far? Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Yes the user is considered competent for 6 months, 6 months is considered the time to the next inspection. The inspector can recommend shortening the time to the next inspection. Rigging kit is slightly more involved when it comes to MBS/swl. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to make it sound like rocket science, far from it. At the end of the day as I said previously for less experienced climbers having somebody more experienced and/or knowledgeable inspect the kit has to be a good thing. I have seen kit that qualified climbers have climbed on and I wouldn't have walked my dog on it! But each to their own. For what it is worth the loler course is good and extremely worthwhile IMO, but others may disagree! Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

The closest one I know of is in Bromley, Greenfields wood waste br6 7sa Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

The hse issues guidance on this, in short in house examinations should be carried out by a competent person without 'fear or favour'. I inspect my own kit (I'm a full time employee and my boss is very good about kit and replacing it, never quibbles) Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

I agree with some of what you say. Yes if the inspector can't/doesn't recognise the gear then no they shouldn't be inspecting it. As more and more gear comes into the market it is harder to keep up, however if you are charging for a service you need to keep up. When new gear is released I download the pdf from the manufacturers website to keep up to date. I also sign up for the updates from the manufacturers with regards to recalls etc. The actual loler course is more in depth than than what is taught at 38/39 for sure. You have to be competent in many areas before passing, such as inspecting kit/ working out swl's etc. One of the main things I would say is important is to find a loler inspector that is an arb, I would only inspect arb equipment and wouldn't even get involved in other sectors/industries as I think you need to thoroughly understand the equipment you are looking at. Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

I can see this from both sides. £90 does seem excessive unless you have a particularly large kit. However the inspection regime is a good thing as far as I am concerned. Think of younger more inexperienced climbers who don't have the knowledge and experience that you have, the fact that a 'competent person' goes over their kit every 6 months must be a good thing. Also if an accident were to happen, the kit hadn't been lolered and it was deemed that the accident could have maybe been prevented if the gear was inspected then it wouldn't look good. Also as others have said the insurance may not then pay out, if you suffered life changing injuries then you want to know that you would be looked after. If you mark and record all of your gear and it is easy to asses then I would have thought that £50 per kit would be fairer. On the flip side to this when I did my loler ticket there was a guy in the course who didn't know what a grcs was and more scarily hadn't used any more rigging equipment than a single rope and krab. Obviously it is down to the individual/company to engage the services of a suitable loler inspector who understand ARB kit or it could be argued that you are throwing your money away. Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

If you google ANSI A300 part 3 there are various examples of propping. Under these search results "Illinoisarborist" has produced a 60 page guide which may be worth a look. Alternatively you can also buy the ANSI document from Summerfield books Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Kevin Moore did a talk for the South East AA branch in bracing and props. I've looked but can't find my notes from the day at the moment but I think he was referring to a lot of US literature with regards to props. Maybe you could contact him as from what I remember there was some useful info in his talk and am sure he would be open for questions Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Try Scott Fraser, he's very good and based in lamberhust Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

We hired a similar one to the one in the pic, was about £750 for the day for delivery/collection and inc operator if I remember correctly Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

New box then? Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Again this was maybe two years ago so can't remember it that clearly but I think the wire goes in both ways round and we had to swap the ends over to make it work, I.e spin the loom around. If not then maybe it could be the box? Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

We had a similar problem with an st6 if I remember right. Ours would only reverse and not let the rollers go forward. From what I remember they sent us a new wire that links the control box to the roller, I think that's correct. It was a bit fiddly but did the trick Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

There was a guy on arbbay called Mathew Burgin who had some nice holm oak for sale nr Sevenoaks. I saw at a country show recently milling with an Alaskan. You should be able to find him on Facebook Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Some lovely shots there, we stayed in Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst a few years ago; very nice part of the world Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Polyporus squamosus on medium sized ash that was hanging over by lines and adjacent to busy A road Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

As it is part of the FC I assume that they had to follow work at height regs and if they could get a mewp to it then they should, in theory. It was Greencut who took the tree down who are a good firm by all accounts. I saw the tree at xmas and it looked worse than when we worked there a year previous. It was obviously in a period of decline but it's sad that the tree had to be removed and maybe not a monolith left. This may have been a nice alternative to allowing the tree to decline naturally. To set up a suitable exclusion zone would have been huge in order to manage the decline and fulfill H&S obligations. It truly was a beast, the one we took down near by was 36m and that seemed a tiddler compared to the old man of Kent! Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Try Anna and Paul - all aspects. They have a site between about 2 miles from Wrotham for clean chip and logs number is 07720 531132