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Big J

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Everything posted by Big J

  1. Big J

    Jokes???

    Big J replied to brownie1964's topic in The Lounge

  2. Big J
    Popped up to Chard today and the eucalyptus nitens from last year's clearfell are growing at an insane rate. Planted April 2020, starved of water until June and they are now averaging 2m. The one I'm stood next to isn't the tallest (tallest I reckon is 3.3m). They've grown 1m so far this season and I reckon they'll grow another 1.6m, so averaging 3.6m with some topping 5m by November. I love eucalyptus 😁
  3. Big J
    I don't know how you get the logs so cheap Andy. The Scottish market is a little stronger than us down here, but you could slap at least £30/t on those and sell them all day here.
  4. Big J
    It's actually rather decent quality for Dartmoor. Good form and tight hearts, though admittedly the quality of the sawlog isn't the National Trust's primary concern.
  5. Big J
    We're most likely to have another block of it to do in December and January, if anyone is available to do some small machine winching for me? There would be about 400 cubic metres to winch, with fairly clear ground that isn't too steep. A lot would winch down the hill once poled out. Anyone with a large alpine fancy a mid winter Devon holiday? 😄
  6. Big J
    I was down on Dartmoor this morning looking at a second stage of oak thinning, so had a chance to see the areas we did in February. The area with the beech hasn't seen so much regen yet, but the oak area has rocketed away.
  7. Big J
    Here is a photo the landowner took of me looking shifty whist doing a final walk around the Minehead site. He seemed very happy with the thinning.
  8. Big J
    No - all good. I ensured that the oil level was always closer to the maximum when on level ground. It doesn't use much, to be honest. Either way, not something I'd like to repeat. Super steep slopes without a brash mat are extremely unpleasant.
  9. Big J
    I forgot to post the photo of the steepest bit of the slope:
  10. Big J
    Nearby, but not Nutcombe. We were working on one of the closest hills to Minehead - above the caravan club park that adjoins the town.
  11. Big J
    It's great to have her out. She did about an hour again this morning and seemed very well in herself
  12. Big J
    Finished up at Minehead. 700 painfully difficult tonnes. The block looks really nice now though. Plenty of space for the remaining douglas fir and sweet chestnut to grow. Minimal ground impact anywhere on the site.
  13. Big J
    Hi Martin - thanks for checking in but I finally finished the job (extraction and diggering to tidy up) on Thursday.
  14. Big J

    Jokes???

    Big J replied to brownie1964's topic in The Lounge

  15. Big J
    You can probably deduce that by how many kebab joints there are at the bottom.... 😏
  16. Big J
    It's an old one, but nevertheless incredible. Makes you realise that whilst we (as humans) are rather versatile, we're not especially good at anything physically.
  17. Big J
    Met a chap who claimed to be a mushroom expert once. He seemed to know his stuff and we had a laugh too. He really was a fungi. (I'll get my coat 😝 )
  18. Big J

    Jokes???

    Big J replied to brownie1964's topic in The Lounge

  19. Big J

    Jokes???

    Big J replied to brownie1964's topic in The Lounge

  20. Big J
    The wheels are really solidly (hydraulically) pressed against the cage, and the cage isn't open, rather there are plastic inserts between the metal cogs (so a big contact surface). I would have preferred to have had the band tracks on the back for the descents, but the very long and very rocky extraction route precluded that. Much of the grip comes from the front wheels, which being chained have loads of grip. Given that I've put almost 500hrs onto these chains and they're looking a bit tired, I might upgrade them to more aggressive climbing chains later in the summer.
  21. Big J
    Thanks Khriss. Yep, about 10kg down on Christmas. Combination of a shoulder strain keeping me out of the gym and way too much time operating machines this year. The weight just falls off me unless I train. It was a very challenging job and it's patchy in areas where we've halo thinned around remnant ancient woodland trees (mostly chestnut). Give it a few years and it'll look much more consistent. It's been about 30 years since it was last thinned.
  22. Big J
    Finally finished up at Minehead. 172 forwarder loads Around 700 tonnes 220 hrs on the clock on the forwarder 5 weeks, discounting the week lost to the broken axle It was undoubtedly the toughest job of the year. I drove the whole slope, which involved a lot of time on slopes steeper than 1 in 2. I really didn't enjoy that at all, but the woodland looks great. A few monster logs from the penultimate day on site. Just about 5t in one tree, with almost 4 tonne in the first 4 lengths. They were cut at 2.5, 3.1, 3.7 and 4.9m as they went up the tree and each one was a struggle to load. The tree was 77cm at the base and was right at the limit of what the grab could handle.
  23. Big J

    ArbDogs? Pics!

    Big J replied to Burnham's topic in The Lounge

    Very much so Gary. We were in the Midlands at the weekend and she did a gentle 1hr stroll without issue. She's now giving me evils for going to work without her 😆
  24. Big J
    I've just been up to my mums in the Midlands this weekend. Incredibly heavy traffic on the way there, smooth driving on the way back. 29mpg, with car full of people and stuff on 450 miles.
  25. Big J
    More interesting than Euro 2020/2021 (in my opinion) is World's Strongest Man. Spoiler alert..... Scotland has it's first ever World's Strongest Man in Tom Stoltman. An incredible showing from the Highlander, with huge support from his older brother Luke (who went into the final event in third position but sadly had a stumble with one of the stones and dropped to 7th). I'm really looking forward to seeing it on TV at Christmas, though I really wish they'd sort out the broadcasting and just live stream it.

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