Paul Jenks

There is always going to be a dichotomy between the cost of carrying out tree work and the perceived value. A plumber, for example, fits a heating system and though it costs a lot, a person feels the value of their investment every time the warm up the house or turn on the hot tap for years to come. A tree surgeon reduces a tree outside the kitchen window and says, 'Let there be light.' 2 days later, the invoice arrives and the tree owner wonders what it's for. Depending on the degree of reduction, the type and vigour of the tree and the clients finances they may well require the same works on a regular basis. Educating the client to see the value in what we do is an on-going and developing challenge. As the educational abilities of both the arborist and the industry as a whole improve, so does the perceived value. Hence we should, over time, improve margins.

I used to row, a lot, when I was employed. It gave me up about 10-11 years ago, so climbing and running a company became de-facto sport. Kept hold of my boat for a while, but sold it for a business venture. I still do a little running though not regularly and nothing more than 10-15miles. Sometimes get to the gym.

Timberwolfs are ok for a cheap tool. They fall to bits just a bit quicker than other brands. Re. the thread, do timberwolf specially design the feed hopper to amplify sound? You can usually hear them 3 streets away. We're trying a couple of Forsts too. They seem pretty fair for the money, and the warranty looks good.

Neemantools Unfortunately these guys aren't taking orders for axes or knives. Too busy. Watch the video for knife making. It'll make you dribble.

Our engine blew at 1100 hours and had to replace it. Make sure none of the rams are bent. Check the locking pin for the drive wheels sits home properly and the housing isn't fractured. Make sure it'll actually grind a stump. Try it out on a big bit of wood. Sometimes the teeth on the drive belt are worn or some are missing. When you replace it, make sure it is used gently for the first 10 hours and then check the tension and tighten. If you don't you'll lose the belt in 30-40hrs of work. Check the cutter head bearings for play. They should have grease nipples in them, though they really don't need a great deal of grease as they should be sealed units. Too much and the pressure wrecks them. Most of the parts that do break are available anywhere so you do not have to go to the importers. The key thing to remember is that, though it looks a big machine, it's actually quite small and if it's bullied it'll break. Look after it and it'll do you well. Ours did 6+ years before trading in for a predator38.

His name isn't Jack, it's Fred D'Bnah

Creating an over-centre gob with an adze. Either that or he's chasing a particularly fast African long-horn grub.

Is that a witches brew, or something for the mother-in-law?

Kew Gardens - Rhizotron & Xstrata Treetop Walkway - Celtis occidentalis It says that the leaves look a bit like nettles when young

Just had a look on the Kew website. Could be a hackberry or one of the other multitude of elms.

CA means you write a notice of intent with a description of the works proposed and the LA has 6 weeks from the date of receipt to consent to the works, ask you to amend or place a TPO on the tree/s. If they fail to respond within that time, assuming you can prove you sent/they received the notice of intent, you can crack on. TPO means there has to be a sound arboricultural reason for the works and the LA has 8 weeks to determine your application. If they take longer than 8 weeks you can take them to task about there inept paperwork procedures and tardiness. The tree remains protected and you will be liable for prosecution if you carry out works without tacit approval. Specified works have to be quite explicitly detailed and for felling they will generally insist on replanting.

Greenheart is used for piles and you may be able to find some from folk who work on tidal rivers. The Hamble has hundreds of them. Be warned, it's almost as hard as concrete, just as heavy and will take many hours of cutting. I think the dust may be poisonous too

Haven't worked it out. Unless the florist is right next door, the price is unlikely to cover costs. Get it through the chipper and get on to the next tree. Let them get their own holly.

I've never used Nat West mentoring. I used to bank with them until they annoyed me. I just did a little search and what the link said seemed to cover a lot of what I wanted to say. I'd never use someone from a bank as a mentor, business advisor or consultant. They have a warped and disconnected sense of what passes for good business practice and are only interested in their bottom line. For the record £56per month is far too little for a mentor. Most of the stuff anyone gets for that amount has to be generic and so is down to the business owner to interpret and act upon. Bank 'mentors' are rarely from real businesses and have doubtful entrepreneurial credentials. As such they don't have any idea of the risks one takes in business strategy. They cannot comprehend the drive of entrepreneurs and so revert to their formulas. We, however, rarely fit formulas, thus there is an incompatibility of views. My mentor helps me work on my leadership skills. This helps me to guide and mentor my team. They are the future of the business. I only ever talk to bankers by accident at networking events and they rarely engage for long.

Couple of years ago we had a road closure and parking suspension for a county council highways job. The city council chaps came and took all the parked cars away. A city council van that had parked there, they lifted and put by a wall on the grass verge to make it awkward for the driver. Even with this some hooney parked under a tree while we were having a break, so I dragged it out of the way. The works were for part of the Olympic torch route and the road was being repaired and double yellows painted.

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Supreme Court rules that subcontractors can be employees - NatWest Mentor This'll give some folk food for thought regarding sub-contract labour. If you're using a labour only sub-contractor, or one who has just a few tools, I would suggest the price differential between what they charge as their daily rate and what they would be paid as a full time employee would be broadly similar. Obviously, this would be their gross pay, i.e. before tax. Unless written into their contract sick pay and SSP are all at statutory limits and are reclaimed from HMRC. There is more paperwork with FTE, though the upside is building a team that works with you not just for you. It's not an easy journey. There are a few challenges so you need to get your head into the right mindset to employ. Make sure you have a good contract of employment, job description, and handbook. These shouldn't be the same documents as they are all subject to change. Get yourself a good HR consultant to write your stuff and then read it thoroughly so you understand it. Legislation puts lots of draconian clauses in contracts, which I stripped out as it sent the wrong messages. There is a lot of legislation to protect employees and unless the employer has very robust systems for capturing data and monitoring behaviour, health and performance, the employee is always right at tribunal. On the flip side, with good systems, everybody knows where they stand and can get on with working together to produce good work and happy customers.

Wood Allergies and Toxicity | The Wood Database I concur

I echo what is said above. I didn't get past 1:12 in the vid. What an extraordinary concept. Never heard of it before.

Keep meaning to get a new bit for mine. It's broken in three and held together with 2 hacksaw blades and some tin foil. Been like it for 2 years now. When it falls out I might be inspired to replace it.

Hi James. Well done for choosing a career in this industry. I hope your fit, strong and healthy. You need to be in tree work. You also need a lot of resilience both physically and mentally. It is the most physically demanding job you can do and on top it ranks amongst the most hazardous. The romance of strutting your stuff in front of an awestruck roadside audience soon wears off when you're dragging blackthorn out of a council house back garden covered in rubbish and dog poo late Monday afternoon in the pouring rain, with a git of a climber who keeps lobbing off large pieces on top of one another and a chipper that won't work properly. Or is that just my thinking? On the up side, for the four weeks a year, (2 in the spring and 2 in the autumn), when the temperature and weather conspire to make tree work a joy, if you have a group of team members that all get on and work for each other, in my opinion, there is no industry I'd rather be in. You may well have to put up with pretty low wages for the first couple of years. Keep your eyes and ears open and graft like a cart horse to earn the respect of those around you. Eat well and look after yourself, trying not to break bits, (fences, machinery or yourself). If you've been to uni, I guess you have a couple of brain cells to rub together. If you have a bit of aptitude and some charisma to boot you'll get on. We take on team members based on their whole as opposed to their qualifications.

Making a profit comes down to some pretty basic stuff in any line of business. Use a standard cashflow chart, (get one from an accountant). Work out your costs and work in some profit to cover breakages, replacements, holiday, injury provision etc. Then price jobs according to how much you need to make. You'll have lean times and good times. Some jobs you'll price right and some wrong. Some jobs go well and some jobs don't. Some machines let you down some don't. Work some money into you're cashflow/budget forecast for screw ups and you should be ok. It's an iterative process and doesn't stand still. Do it once and re-visit regularly to ensure you're on track. It's part of being in business. If running a business was easy everyone would do it. It does come easier to some and some make it look easy. Most businesses in most industries face the same level of challenges and most only make small profits. Most business 'owners' have a job, they don't own a business. The business owns them. That is not to suggest that many aren't happy about this. Many business owners think that their retirement will be paid for by the sale of their business and that working for peanuts for 20-30 years will be made worthwhile in the end. A business should pay a decent wage to the owner and make a profit on top. What the profit is used for is down to the demands of the business and the whims of the owner.

All muscles pull. They don't have the capacity to push. Triceps are used to straighten the arms by contracting. That beech looks like it has cellulite. I was chopping some ash from a biggish spread out tree the other day. Nice rings 12" thick. One half was a dream to split, the other a right git, being stringy and tough. Trouble is I didn't mark which side was which.

How about 'Work matters'. Many recruitment agencies tend to develop into other areas, not only of recruitment but HR. This covers it on a number of levels.

When the reality of the spread hits home burning on site will be laughed at. There are dead and dying ash all over the place. Transporting a bit of diseased leaf mulch about will make such an inconsequential difference to the spread it's absurd to expect people to not do it. Just my opinion.