Shane

Nobody forced the 48 happy bunnies to pay up. Why aint people moaning about all the plastic reindeer, polar bears and santas in the shops. They are total crap being sold on the back of a religious holiday. Maybe some people on here should stop wining about enterprise and get thinking of their own ideas. Hes made a fair bit more doing this that he would have done selling nicked chainsaws down the pub - and causing no distress at all. I know which business I would encourage -

If a big tree was resting on my house - I'd clear it for free. If a tree was across my driveway - I'd leave it till Boxing day. Otherwise I'm indoors with my family. I don't need the extra money - I need time off. I like money - I LOVE my family.

Take the approach that there is no such thing as an accident. Try to predict EVERYTHING that could possibly go wrong. Assume nothing and take as long as you need. Never hope - always make sure.

I love the tools not being left around the site one. Had to replace too many silkies, karabiners etc. over the years.

Dispose not of thine arisings on the neighbour's land Abide ye not in mobile dwellings

With the iminent arrival of the xmas festivities I was wondering what the Arb bible might list as our commandments? Here goes... 1. Thou shalt subscribe to Arbtalk and forsake all other forums. 2. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s truck, chipper, tools or employees. 3. Thou shalt not create graven images from thy timber, unless of best quality and nicely finished. 4. Thou shalt not steal thy neighbour’s tools. 5. Thou shalt not bear false witness to thy Tree Officer over thy TPO application. 6. Thy work will be to BS3998 2010. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery – even with the most tempting of customer. 8.Thou shalt honour thy family and thy business and offer ye not tempting price reductions. 9. Thou shalt cause no harm to others, abating all risk with thine assessment. 10. Thou shalt respect the seventh day as thy contingency day – lest the tempest prevent thee from doing thy work on the planned day. If you are offended but aret a true Christian then please forgive me - this is not intended to offend Christians but to give guidance and help save the souls of Arb workers.

If a pine/eucalyptus (fill in your own non-log species) it's a stick. If it will not go through the chipper, it's a log. If the chip box is full, it's a log. If the customer wants to keep all the logs, it's a log. If none of the above apply (assuming you'e running a smallish chipper) it's a stick.

I never wanted to do this for a living - I always wanted to be ........ a lumberjack. Been said by us a few times at work

Have used old pallets in the past - bulky and heavy to move though

It may have a nylon drive cog between the motor and the clutch. Many years ago I had a B&D saw fail with this. It may be that the sudden jamming stripped some of the cogs on the nylon drive wheel (if they are still made like that) - so the chain and bar are OK but the engine will not drive the chain. This may, of course, be complete bo11ox but worth a look.

Unless you have the means to lift big lumps there will still be sawdust from ringing up the trunk. I like the idea of tyres, just a case of finding room for them on the truck and in the workshop. Still a lot better than destroying patios/gas mains etc.

Truly - he was the Joey Barton of the arb world. We need people to challenge our assumptions but some empathy and good manners would help.

If you are referring to impact from dropped arisings from the tree, a lot of people just build their own 'crash mat' out of the brushwood. We have used cheapo builders boards (can be doubled or trebled up if you are dropping big heavy stuff and have no brushwood to use). Very rare we can't build our own with the brushwood though.

Isn't this the second time he's been banned? Maybe his parents will stop him from using their PC - he seems a very naughty boy.

'Of course , if you were to apologise to my mule, like I know you will' Clint Eastwood - Fistful of dollars

Theres a political advisor in the USA called Randy Baumgardener (maybe related to the guy who parachuted from the edge of space - he was called Bumgardener or something like it)

We start when we are all ready, and go home when the job is finished. If I price a job for a days money theres no problem. Sometimes the day is long, sometimes it's short. If the job is a weeny one I just schedule in something else to get it as close as I can to a full day. My guys are all mature enough to understand that and I never have any problems. I just make sure they know in advance whats going on and never understate what is expected - that way theres no nasty surprises.

I don't need to tell you (GM) to be very careful how you select your dealers. Remember the one who tried to charge me £660 for a 4 hour job. I know you have dropped him now but reputations take time to build and no time to crumble. I prefer to deal direct with head office, expert advice, stock availability and instant despatch - always 110% happy with that. In a world where we all trumpet on about quality service, please make sure you don't lose out by letting it slip. I love my GM chipper and would expect decent support. If you don't look after your customers, someone else will.

He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy or He is having his birdie num num

Not now - but a few years back I was teaching database technology at the local college 1 day a week and running my own swimming lessons 3 nights a week. Just got too knackered with the swimming classes, then the UK industries merged, cut back, offshored etc. and there were not enough old style jobs to justify teaching mainframe technology to the youngsters. Shame really - well paid and a lot easier physically. I set them a project to design a web site and database for a hypothetical tree surgery company. No conflict of interests there then??? Now I'm older and knackereder (is that a word) I just do trees. Hmmmmm Rather be my own boss any day.

There was a famous young pianist (hope I spelt that right) on TV regularly whose name was Wayne King - maybe that was him.

I had a brief problem when the flywheel sensor worked loose - the revs were showing as all over the place. The infeed stopped because the perceived revs were too low. I just tightened up the sensor (next to the 'star wheel' on the engine side of the flywheel) If the engine revs show the correct value (about 2,400 IIRC) best contact greenmech

can't believe what I've just read! The father of Gary and Phil Neville has been in court accused of sexual offences. That's bad enough, but - any guesses what his first name is..... Neville!!!!:lol::lol: Yes - I DO need to get out more!

Good points here. This has never been the Hollywood movies. Many have said what they would do if they confronted a bunch of thieves. All brave words but these people go about ready to do whatever they need to evade capture/conviction. Unfortunately they have rights as well (we may not agree with that) and you can bet your bottom dollar they know exactly what they are. The other point about some of these 'ideas' is they could easily lead to revenge. Only solution really is prevention rather than defence/deterrent by injury. Theiving people should all be punished harshly but retribution (call it what you will) is just as illegal as theft. Hide it, lock it, move it from day to day, immobilise it but you can't booby-trap it.

Does anyone remember when computer rooms had argon fire prevention? In the event of a fire being detected (by some form of sensor) it tripped the release of argon which replaced all the oxygen in the room. The only down side is that anyone in the room could not breathe so they had to hang up breathing apparatus for the computer operators. Of course the ops were trained in locating and putting on the breathing apparatus so there was no problem. I always wondered what would have happened if anyone had broken into to computer room and set off the argon system. without training , well..... If anyone has an argon system make sure the doors dont close after 'anyone' goes in otherwise it could be dangerous. And make sure all YOUR staff know what to do.