Ben90

Got back from the Doc's earlier, it's all a load of bullpies, which I'm very pleased about. I don't even use chainsaws all that often, when I climb it's usually to do fairly light work and that's all done with a silky, plus using a silky gets you warm It still confuses me as to why/how this chap knew I worked with chainsaws though. A lucky guess? Perhaps it was the godly figure and arms covered in scratches

While you're at it you could drill a hole through the hinge and put a big bolt through it. Then if the client changes their mind you can hoist the tree back up again

Very funny you lot. Apprently I have very pronounced knuckles while the fist is clenched. Probably the fact that there's no fat around my fingers to absorb the vibration. I dunno. Eitherway, I've got a doc's appointment tomorrow so we'll find out for sure.

I do use gloves all the time, and he was a doctor apparently, now he works with animals so I suppose he's not after business.

Just the fact that he noticed it and knew the exact tool I work with threw me off completely. I mean, all power tools have degrees of vibration. I also don't like the fact that it's noticeable within a year of working with chainsaws. Doesn't spell well for the future.

I was having a quiet pint when a doctor approached me and said 'Excuse me, do you work with chainsaws?', I replied, and he continued to say that due to the profile of my hands and such, that I'm partcularly vulnerable to rheumatism and if I continue working with chainsaws full time I'll cripple my hands and be unable to work within a few years. I've only been in the arb game for about a year so I suppose it's better to know sooner than later, still, it wasn't something I wanted to hear, but I couldn't thank him enough for warning me. He said I should consider a career change, and I'm all for prevention being better than cure. My main worry is that any other career I pursue will never have that charm that tree surgery does and I'll quickly grow bored. Then again, I'm sure any job I pursue will feel easy as pie in comparison Obviously I'll get a second opinion from my doctor before I do anything drastic. But does anybody else hear about/suffer from rhematism? Is it worth worrying this much about? The Wiki article doesn't look reassuring..

How big was this dog? just casually propose you add £100 to the bill for a new climbing rope since you'll 'have to throw the one covered in poop away'. They'll be picking it up with their teeth once you say that...or getting someone else in..Preferably the former.

Nokias and Sony Ericssons are definitely well built in my experience and worth considering. I would steer clear of Samsungs and Motorolas.

How about these?

They probably don't kiln dry them for long since they're so mass-produced. They probably just settle for that air-dried standard but in a fraction of the time.

70kg on the dot. I'm a bit of a beanpole, but i'm strong enough to pull myself fairly far up a rope with no help from my legs at all. Not sure what practical application that might have.

We've bought a BR600 recently and we don't know how we've ever managed without it. We had a handheld, but that wasn't cutting the mustard anymore. On most domestic jobs we just blast the entire garden and driveway for that beyond call of duty finish that the customer loves, just because it's so effortless. Five minutes of pretending to be a ghostbuster is better than half an hour raking. One word of warning, the backpack ones are thirsty.

It looks like it's wound up the wrong way. Will the spring not catch at all if the starter cord is wound up the other way?

It's nice to hear something good has come of that Watchdog episode. Don't forget to wear your chainsaw gloves! =p

If you have a tractor or anything with major pulling power, couldn't you pull an enourmous boulder/log in front of the container entrance and then park the tractor/whatever vehicle you used elsewhere? Then add one of those GSM text alarm thingys to trigger when the boulder begins moving. If it doesn't stop them then at least it will give you some time to get down to the yard while they shift the boulder.

I would gladly crossdress for the work opportunity.

The RAF say that the pilot of that very plane pictured is in fact Polish.

Most on-topic derail ever, but does anybody want to know a funny and painfully ironic fact about this particular piece BNP propaganda?

In response to the first post, isn't that the same model saw that Shaun had on Watchdog earlier?

He was also using a top handle on the ground! ..I'll get my coat.

It's on right now folks. Get on it.

I've only been with Virgin and Vodafone, I definitely prefer the latter. In terms of signal strength, Virgin is the same as T-mobile (they share satellites)

Two words: stunt fell.

Those are some mean looking timber dogs! They look like something ninjas would throw. Or Batman.

Bah, I missed it. Oh well, i BBC iPlayer shines through! Clicky