LGP Eddie

Took a look around the OMEF 300 Shear on this very nice CAT 315FL. Looks a really well built straightforward unit, massive ram and I liked the the addition of the stinger in the blade. Could only really pick it up on where the hoses exit the main body as they’ll get creamed straight off, but not a big issue to sort. Proof is in the pudding as they say, but I can see why they’re getting about. Eddie.

Been out on the M6 with a 22 Metre Long Reach and the Felling Head myself this week. Great setup for the slope work and the Felling Head ensures nicely presented material for chipping and a decent bit of product too. Eddie.

Just a few of my mate Ollie out with his Duck setup I showed previously on a project that I looked at for my Liebherr setup. I could have done it, but it simply didn’t need that much muscle. A very simple solution was available in the form of step cutting them whilst being safely held with a grab, then simply skid them up the road into the grasp of the awaiting Chipper. Great to see a well setup Duck doing it’s stuff roadside, and 52 conifers safely removed exactly to plan including a sweep up was a tidy 5 hour nights work in anyone’s book. Eddie.

Pipe it into the offset boom via a 6 way valve. Low flow anyway and control it off the foot pedal. Eddie.

I had an Arson attack on a large excavator insured with JCB. They were fantastic throughout, but the whole process took 10 days off a year until the machine was returned but they paid out no problem. Premiums basically doubled after, and this week I’ve noticed they’re really tightening up on Hired Plant Insurance with my latest quote being almost double the previous with the excess jumping from £500 to £2500. I’ve never had a claim on Hired Plant, and have spent serious money over the years for cover, but this renewal really is a jump. Hired Plant cover is one so many overlook or simply don’t have enough cover for. Remember if you hire a machine and it’s coming under standard CPA model conditions, you basically are responsible for it, and not only that if it’s put out of action, you’ll be responsible for the loss of earning until it’s suitably replaced. It’s not hard these days to top £100k when hiring in kit, and many will need £250k plus single item cover for the big chippers etc. Some companies will charge you a percentage of invoice to Insure it themselves, but always make certain it’s firmly established who’s insuring what before kit lands and don’t leave yourself wide open by chancing it, as even having a 1.5 tonne excavator stolen you’ve hired in is going to be a fair old bill. Eddie.

The main debate we’ve been having is what’s best to equip it with as the main weapon, considering it’s already a 300mm cut basic shear under the Tiltrotator, grab etc. c350 Westtech with no Tiltrotator, as most Roadside guys are using? Go with a 350 to 400mm cut range Shear with cut and hold specifically built for under the Tiltrotator? Or lastly go with a Grapple Saw and the can of worms that can bring? Been some conversations I can tell you!! Eddie.

A couple of shots of a good mates setup now fully guarded up for a bit of Roadside Tree Work. He’s put serious time into this machine with so many little mods to make life easier. Should really take it to the standard 14 tonne tracked units on rubber blocks on the Roadside work with the right attachment on the end. The short radius, mobility, speed, ability to carry a range of attachments in the blade carrier and switch them in seconds, plus drive off to safe parking at the end of the shift are some of the benefits I see. Throw in the huge lifting capacity advantage if you drop them legs/blade, the geometry of that two piece boom, and the fact it’s all setup with the box ticking stuff and it should go well. The fact he’s none too shabby at pulling the levers on it too should help, and he will brush up after himself too!? Eddie.

Full setup just in at JCB Finance, may do someone a turn? Used 2014 AGT 850TR Tractor - JCB Finance WWW.JCB-FINANCE.CO.UK Eddie.

Loving that? Capstan winches are so underrated, used to have one on the front of a Series 2a Landrover, brilliant tool.

Usually do a TG12 UG7 for the 1.8’s Reasonable cost, light weight setup. Most take a Diverter valve and locate it where they’re happy with it. Eddie.

One for the guys looking for a Backhoe. These are great machines and a little bonus here too!? Volvo BL71B Wheeled Digger | RJ and KD McLean Ltd – Tractors and Plant WWW.TRACTORSANDPLANT.COM Eddie.

JCB 86c I specced a couple of years ago still going strong despite working 5.5 days a week in a Transfer Station and other duties when required. Surprisingly stable over the side I found when pouring concrete with it with 3ft bucket on backwards and this was specced with the longest arm. You can pick these up right money and apart from paint, nothing to be scared of and buckets etc easily sourced as it’s all JCB 3cx. Eddie.

You’ve already involved them enough in needing to seek permission to undertake the works, almost certainly enough to have them want to know what method you’re proposing to use. I simply said keep the Crane to a radius that can’t encroach on the line to simplify what you’re trying to get approved by them. Anything to do with Rail is more a case of you trying to prove your method is safe, and trust me they don’t take to any methods that aren’t simply 3 men and a Chipper very easily. Rail and innovation are not something you associate with each other after you’ve done a bit of the dark age stuff they get up to. As others have said, there’s nothing special there that couldn’t be done by hand and Crane it out from a suitable point out of the Garden with absolutely no need to prove anything to the Rail in terms of safe working of machinery adjacent to the line. You may choose to tell them they have no say in what Crane is utilised and crack on, but that’s for a Crane company to decide if they’re up for such a gig? Eddie.

Nothing there that couldn’t be done by hand in the 45 minute windows, you’ll have a head start on the side away from the line anyway. Either a Crane or 360 Telehandler with Crane Winch taking the material out for you and process it on the road. Going with a Crane that could be deemed to reach the line has all changed now and will throw up all sorts, just aim to reach a sweet spot in the garden and you’ll not need a huge crane. You can even hire a skip and keep filing this with smaller stuff to lift over. Eddie.

Don’t be put off, I’d say there’s a nice niche for someone as most of the legwork is already done if you choose a model that’s available in Europe spec. Do your homework and I think there could be some serious savings on kit that could last many years. Eddie.

Did someone say versatility from their low impact setup? The poor thing even backing under the Liebherr for a load!? Eddie.

Greg had it not me, simply incredible machine, done some serious amount of work with no real issues, but Bottom Rollers and Sprockets were eye watering cost. Loads of tweaks and mods over the time, and I could build an incredible one now as so much was learnt from that machine. Be some state now, they could bend an anvil!

It’s deemed as being new to Europe even though it’s secondhand. Excavators, Tracked Dumpers etc flooded in at one time and companies did many varying standards of making them comply to CE Marking. A lot of it was simply getting an English operators manual and changing all the safety decals to English. However plenty about with a CE mark and all the warning stickers in Japanese! Eddie.

Sadly and it’s getting worse every year, the clients don’t want you near when it’s dry and they’ve never organised themselves enough to get you on in the all important window early September. You can run artics to cart silage if we’ve a drought, but you’d not find many gearing up for it! In the genuine low impact game, the site tells you what you need and not what you have sat in the yard. There really is no one solution fits all and the issue isn’t with Contractors they’re busting their balls to buy kit, work around the constraints and weather yet still deliver. The problem is management of sites that’s lacking in education of alternative methods, or what actually can be achieved with the right kit/methods and timing. Give the right people the work and they can keep moving forward with you, educating and investing in better solutions. Cut them out for £500 less and have your site wrecked, then go looking for excuses is more the norm. Lastly, the minimal impact will almost inevitable cost more and that’s where most just say crack on it’ll grass up in spring! Eddie.

I think the self certification route in my case allows me to have exactly what I want constructed in a safe and sensible way, able to stand up to scrutiny should an incident occur, plus put safeguards into the construction to ensure it doesn’t. I get an added layer of protection for my money is how I have to look at it. I think the main issue of importing chippers will be to ensure a good alternative supply of spares in case the UK dealers are unwilling to cooperate. Eddie.

I do smile at some of the low impact threads on here now and again, and let’s just say the definition of low impact can be somewhat stretched at times from most people’s interpretation of it. Simple fact totally opposite to most things especially Construction, tidy doesn’t pay in Forestry, full trucks out of the gate does. That’s why low impact is mainly Conservation or wealthier Landowners who simply don’t want any impact or their place messed up. I’ve seen/used most types of kit to deliver what I’d consider genuine low impact solutions, and had more than a few nice touches going in after others who thought that band tracks on a big lump of forwarder would let them walk on water, or the small kit could tackle terrain far outside it’s comfort zone. Fact is it’s a niche market, everyone has a different interpretation and it then becomes like everything a race to the bottom to see what you can actually get away with to call low impact. Some could do the job and leave the grass undisturbed and others think they’ve done a tidy job because it only took an excavator three days to level the ruts and slop instead of two weeks. As for many of the solutions out there, you can simply do better hiring a tracked dumper with a set of bolsters or extended sides on for a few days. Load it with an Excavator, tip it sensibly and have the machine man stay on at night to stack it. I’ve even done it with a roof mount tractor stacking what a decent size tracked dumper was forwarding to him, and it kept him more than honest with an Excavator, loading/raking/tidying it’s way out the other end. A three tonne tracked dumper with bolsters running off a 1.5 tonne machine for a day or two would shift you a fair pile and leave you little to tidy up. It’s a whole subject in itself and we don’t get enough demo days done in realistic conditions of different methods/contractors to see what could possibly work best for who? Eddie.

I asked the question because I’m currently going through it with an attachment and it’s opened my eyes somewhat to something I’d previously just considered another load of shite lumped on us from Europe. Turns out it’s nothing like I thought, nothing is there to trip you up and in reality you’re simply compiling the evidence into a file, having instructions written and then getting your certificate and CE mark. I’ve been quoted 3.5k by an external company, but that could be less yet as another manufacturer would be able to do it in house. In this instance with a Chipper that’s probably already sold into Europe it would be far simpler. Instructions will already be written, any safety features needed to comply with any Euro legislation will be available off the shelf and in reality the whole process becomes a case of seeing what the original manufacturer did to comply with the CE mark themselves. Certainly not a huge job for one of the many companies out there specialising in this, and they’ll have no issues writing out a certificate on something that you’ve retrofitted all the bits to make exactly the same as the manufacturers Euro spec model. It may even be the case it’s exactly the same anyway. Same as everything in this Industry, you either try to comply or crack on and take the competitive edge. Almost certainly you’ll get away with it unless something goes wrong, and that’s when it’s long faces all round and you have to weigh up was it worth it? Eddie.

Sorry how foolish of me not to assume someone would import a Chipper and not actually let anyone else use it or undertake any paid work with it. Oh yes and they’d take it the scrapyard or on a boat to Africa after they’ve finished with it. I’ll leave it at that, people paid a lot more than me will be asking the questions come an incident. Eddie.

What will the CE Marking cost on top? Eddie.

Absolutely horrendous, a top guy simply robbed of his life by the big C. He was just the same as so many of us, passionate about kit, loved doing the job and trying out new ideas/setups. He reached out for some advice and the Pc118mr turned up which are rare secondhand, and it was a great upgrade from his previous Takeuchi TB175. After many conversations, it made the trip to Scotland where John went through the machine, fitted the big pads etc, and then installed the Engcon setup. Things like the rake and steel log were replicated from my own Kubota setups and the TMK was chosen as a good fast unit under the Engcon. Buckets were slowly being added/swapped etc, until a call came I’ll not forget in a long time. The measure of the man, it was me who had to say, hold on mate you’ll have to give me a minute to put myself back together, as he just moved the conversation on as if nothing had been said. He literally had no time between the news and gone. R.I.P Mark. Eddie.