dillsue

The metal cages look a slick storage solution but I'd need alot of them and dont have a means of tipping them out. What were the cages originally used for? I want to be able to loose stack and season and then load once into small boxes to go by the fire or to load once into bags for sale

If you're using it for private use then you take your chances. If your using it at work then it looks decidedly dodgy to me- no guarding, no emergency stop?I certainly would let anyone working for me use it Another thing to consider is that you need to use a vehicle with a diff lock. If you dont, you'll need to lock the wheel on the opposite side of the axle. This will mean that the diff is spinning continuously whilst the splitter is in use which they are not designed to do. Diffs normally move very little when driving and occaisionally if you wheel spin but I wouldnt want to be spinning one continuously.

Not sure if its relevant in your area but I did some free felling work in north wales this time last year to get some experience and the lad I was working with was getting 7.50 an hour self employed and supplying saw, PPE and fuel. Dont suppose rates have gone up since then. I'm not sure if thats the going rate but I was well suprised it was that low!!

Thanks for the suggestions. Looking to use the long pallets that plasterboard comes on, stood on end which should give me a "wall" about 2-2.4 m high. The suns on the opposite side of the hedge to my logs so its already a bit bare on my side!

If the saw stopped suddenly and is tight on the pull cord its sounds like it has seized!. If the clutch had failed then its likely to turn over slowly and turn the chain with it. If its just tight and wont turn sounds like its seized- lack of oil in the petrol or a weak mixture. If its seized and then freed off again you are likely to have low compression now as the piston rings will in all probability be stuck in their groves. If its seized only cure is to strip and replace damaged parts- if you free it off and continue to use it you'll probably get it seizing again and again with more damage being done each time.

Which tickets you do depends on what you want to do. If its forestry then do the CS32 and 34(medium trees and windblow) But if you want to do arb work then you are probably more employable with your CS38 and 39. Regarding age, I'm 48 and did my CS38/39 last year and CS30-34 the year before so I wouldnt worry about being 34 as its fitness and aptitude that count more than age.

Hope someone can throw some ideas in on this one. I want to build a store for loose split logs to stack against a hedge running down our boundary. I'd thought of heras fencing against the hedge and stack the logs against that with tin sheets resting on the fencing and on the top of the logs. I was gonna rope the sheets to the heras fence and to the logs to hold it all together in the wind. Trouble is now I've started costing it all out its starting to get expensive to build with all the bits and pieces. Any ideas on storing logs against a hedge without hand stacking them?

Dont buy anything until you've done your courses- you should get the chance to look at and try different kit. You'll also be able to quiz your instructor on the pros and cons of all the different kit and then make your own educated decision about the gear you want. If buying from abroad watch out for import duty and handling charges by the courier to pay the customs duties on your behalf- I bought a new sail from the US and it ended up being more expensive once the duty and handling fees had been paid than buying in the Uk!!!!

I dont think there is any need to put "stupid" icons at the end of anyones comments. These are reasoned views that I always try to support with references to relevant authority. CS41 is quite clearly a certificate of competance for sectional dismantling using lowering equipment BUT its NOT relevant if you are doing other work. No one needs a CS41 to climb a tree and take out deadwood with a silky-a CS38 or equivalent, will suffice. My previous comments are not about tree climbing, dismantling, lowering etc etc- they say "before using a chainsaw" you should have a certificate of competance which is the CS30 or equivalent. This is exactly as my NPTC trainer/assessor presented the requirements to me.

I beg to differ on that one!!! Its my understanding that most, if not all, of the relevant HSE legislation(PUWER, working at height etc etc) requires anyone carrying out a hazardous act to be adequately trained and competant. Therefore, to comply with the relevant reglislative requirements(the Law) you must be adequately trained and competant. This is not just in arb, but in all work environments. Regarding chainsaw training the following is an extract from HSE leaflet called "Chainsaws At Work"- "Before using a chainsaw to carry out work on or in a tree, a worker should have received appropriate training and obtained a relevant certificate of competence or national competance award. The bold bit at the end is how it is shown in the leaflet clearly putting emphasis on the wording. This statement is extracted from the approved code of practice supporting a PUWER regulation. The requirement for certificated competance may not strictly be "the Law" but you'd be a braver man than me to challenge any authority or court about the need for it!!!

Best speaking to the manufacturers, but they have always looked dubious on the guarding front!! I have a PTO driven one and have to keep the PTO shaft fully guarded but leave a big rotating cone unguarded at the end. Doesnt stack up to me on the guarding front but it does an awesome job of splitting logs so its not going anywhere.

I dont think ayone is being picky here- there is no legal requirement for a recognised qualification to do aerial work. As far as as I am aware the only legally required recognised qualification within the Arb industry is the use of a chainsaw covered by CS30( There are even exemptions from this!) There is a legal requirement for everyone to be adequately trained and competant, but as AFAG 805 states, this can be as simple as a briefing from a competant supervisor. Lots of employers and organisations like to have formal certification for everything as an easy way to demonstrate that they provided adequate training, but thats only to cover themselves and not a legal requirement, excepting the CS30 for chainsaw users.

With or without a written contract of employment or contract for services the guy has a legal and moral obligation not to cut his own rope! The company should have reported him to the HSE the moment the letter was recieved from the solictor and pushed for a prosecution for not LOLERing his kit. That threat may well have made his parasite solicitors see the error of the climbers ways!

Domain registration is 50 something pounds for 2 years. Your ISP may well provide free hosting with your internet package. Your ISP may also provide basic web developement tools that will allow you to put together your own basic web site. Other than that the sky is the limit for what you can pay someone else to design and manage a site for you. Young kids are suprisingly good at this sort of thing and if you know a computer savvy kid you may be able to get up and running for 100 pound using your ISP's facilities. See UK Breeder of High Quality Bearded Dragon Morphs - Hades Dragons UK for a site put together by my amateur son and hosted by our ISP.

Just spent half the day up the top of a row of poplars that were swaying around a bit and now I'm back on the ground I cant stop swaying!!!!! Is this normal? Feels like I've been on a boat for the day!!

I dont think there is need to rush anything, including getting a tree hung up! I was told that the NPTC certs are all about safe working and doing things the right way. So long as you follow the correct procedures during the practical bit and know the theory for those things you dont do, then you should take your time and get things done the right way- thats what my instructor advised and I passed OK.

Go for the 32 as theres a lot of new techniques. If your a bit worried about your cut accuracy on smaller trees get some practice in. Do work for free on jobs where theres a lot of felling. I did a few days free work for a forestry contractor just clear felling and thinning so you get loads of practice and get used to the way differing tress behave-or dont behave, which is even better paractice!!!!

On the 880 that I have theres a heater in the inlet manifold and a "heat" position on the ignition key. You hold it in this position for 10-20 seconds to warm the air in the manifold. As others have said theres also a cold start device on the injector pump. On mine its on the top left side as you stand looking at the pump. It has a roll pin in the end of it and you turn it clockwise as far as it will go to start, and back it off as far as it will go anti clockwise as soon as the engine has started. If you still cant get it going check that you have winter diesel in it. If the diesel is bought in the summer it wont be winterised and can wax up if it drops below -5 deg c. I think you can "winterise" summer diesel by adding heating oil to it, but check it out on http://www.dbtc.co.uk- theres plenty of experts there. Dont use easy start but use a hot air gun or gas torch over the air filter inlet. This will give you warm air into the engine and will help get it to fire up.

Anyone know of any LOLER inspectors covering the Chester area?

Why ignore the need for NPTC certs? For the majority of people you cant legally start a chainsaw at work without formal certification to prove you are competant and hence safe. You're unlikely to get any work from a responsible employer without at least your basic tickets, so NPTC certification is the first step unless you're aiming to be a "hands off" arb consultant.

Dobermandave. Like you I started at the end of the summer but am struggling to get regular work. How/where are you getting you customers from- advertising/contacts/mates????

Pruned and deadwooded our own sycamore overhanging a busy main road earlier this year- did it sunday morning before the traffic built and had a groundy keeping the road clear of debris. All work stopped whilst the odd car passed. If parking restrictions allow, you can park a car or van just up from where you are working to slow and move cars to the other side of the road. Theres some footage on Youtube of work over a road done in this way and it works well if the guys on the ground manage things well.

If you are only doing CS30/31 whats all the talk about climbing gear for? Get the climbing kit when youve booked the CS38 course, or after it if the college will loan it to you for the course. I would get the absolute minimum kit secondhand off ebay and do the ground based course with that. You can sell it afterwards, and if its secondhand you should get your money back less postage. You'll be able to talk to the instructor about what you need and probably see and try other peoples kit during the course. You'll have a much better feel for what you should and shouldnt buy after the course. An MS260 or 026(earlier version of the MS260) is a good saw but whatever you get you need a maximum 15" bar and to make sure all the safety features are fitted and working-if anythings faulty you wont be able to use it on the course. The CS30 covers maintenance so some minor safety niggles may be rectified during that part of the course, but if theres fundamental things not working then the instructor wont allow the saw to be used!! Can you borrow a properly serviced saw from anyone?

Whats a "skip chain"? I too have an 038 and it would be great to do the odd bigger cut without have to having to shell out on a bigger saw.

The fact that they are with you and how much they make are not relevant!! I would like to think that anyone engaging a subby will make more than them on the job but that doesnt make the subby not a subby!! The "telling them what to do" is nearer the mark. The test is whether you have the "right of control" over what they do in the "contract", whether that be a contract of employment or a contract for services. If you have the right of control then they are in your employ, if you dont have the right of control then they are not in your employ.