Jump to content

Log in or register to remove this advert

Big J

Veteran Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    9,410

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    46

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Big J

  1. Big J
    Makita definitely. Solidly built and reliable. Almost a match for Husqvarna and Stihl and more reliable too
  2. Big J
    Continuing the theme of low impact forestry!! ?
  3. Big J
    I'm not sure to be honest! They are serving a dual purpose of being a source of fuel wood and also a screen. Most of the shoots are about an inch in diameter, so assuming a similar growth rate going forwards, they'll be harvested at 3-4 years old. It'll all get branch logged again. As regards repruning old pollards, as close to the callous as possible is correct I believe.
  4. Big J
    You're a negative bunch! ?
  5. Big J
    I did a little willow coppicing (well, copparding really) job for friends at Christmas. 200 odd stools of salix viminalis all cut to about 4ft. We were there yesterday and it's all come back beautifully. Not a single failed stool. An average of 4m of growth and maybe 40 stems on each. Should prove a good source of firewood for them in the long term.
  6. Big J
    Fully reconditioned in 2005 and less than 400 hours since then. I see a lot of people use Avants and also skidsteer loaders and thought that this might be a reasonable alterative. A 3t radio winch with a grapple for handling material afterwards is an attractive proposition to someone
  7. Big J
    Buchholz Promax Vorlieferraupe - Forwarders, Price: £13,395, Year of manufacture: 1980 - Mascus UK WWW.MASCUS.CO.UK Buchholz Promax Vorlieferraupe - Amount of previous owners: 1, General grade (1 min - 5 max): 4, Engine: Deutz 2-Zyl Diesel luftgekühlt, Eng... - Mascus UK Could be a really handy little machine for a tree surgery or low impact forestry outfit. Fully radio controlled and light enough to transport on a plant trailer.
  8. Big J
    I've said it many times here, but heard it first from Tom D. It is possible to make a good living from it, but you have to be bloody organised and operating on a decent scale.
  9. Big J
    I've a 313 remapped so it's effectively a 316. It's still only a 2.1 litre 4 cylinder though. The 319 is a rare vehicle, but will be very much more powerful, and a remap will push it well over 200bhp. Mine tows 3t pretty comfortably. It's slow, but OK. 3000kg was as far as I could push the towing limit with SV Tech (factory is only 2000kg as standard). I am pretty sure the 319s are 3.5t as standard. If you're felling super flush, buy a decent 2wd 319 and send it to Oberaigner in Germany for a proper 4x4 conversion. All round locking diffs and a real upgrade from the Mercedes 4x4 system. Doesn't come cheap though. The Sprinter driving position is awesome for the lanes as you're 7ft up and can see over a lot of the hedges. I don't think they are quite as narrow on Dartmoor as here either. It's still a big truck though. There is a reasonable 4x4 319 on eBay but it's expensive.
  10. Big J
    After reading this topic, my Sprinter isn't going to cut the mustard for you Matt as it lacks low range. It would be worth trying to find a 4x4 319 Sprinter with low range through. Powerful and capable. Huge carrying capacity internally compared to a pickup as well as somewhere dry to get changed if needs be.
  11. Big J
    I might be selling the 4x4 Sprinter if you need a solid, capable work truck. I just don't use it enough to justify it.
  12. Big J
    It's funny and depressing at the same time. It's like offering someone 10 apples for £1.50 or 2 apples for £0.50 and them opting to take the 2 apple offer. Basic arithmetic is lost on most people.
  13. Big J
    I'm still low impact, honest guv!!
  14. Big J
    That's as wide as the track got, and the mud in the second photo got a lot worse than that
  15. Big J
    You don't get a great deal of repeat work on that basis though! With the present price of timber, most jobs can be made profitable or cost neutral for land owners. For instance, we've just finished clearing 400t of dying ash from a narrow strip of woodland, alongside a river. The extraction route was very long (1200m), up a steep hill (over 100m vertical climb) and the felling was technical and all timber had to be processed and stacked by the tractor ahead of forwarding due to lack of space. Trees to be winched out of the river, brash all to be mulched, loading bay with 60t of stone put in and tracks dressed at the end. All done as a semi-emergency job and still cost neutral for the landowner, and he'll end up with at least 10t of logs for his little biomass boiler.
  16. Big J
    Because I believe that it can be done as a job that is profitable for me and cost neutral for the landowner
  17. Big J
    It's an interesting suggestion, but I barely ever even take photos myself. Most of the photos of my sites come from the guys working for me. I'm not much of one for self publicity ? I'm also not sure if I can be entirely considered low impact anymore. Here are a few photos of one of the two sites we're presently working on: The saw in the last photo is a 372xp with a 24" bar (for scale)
  18. Big J

    Jokes???

    Big J replied to brownie1964's topic in The Lounge

    Just mentioned to the missus that I've always had a thing for Beyoncé. "Whatever floats your boat" she said "No" I said, "that's buoyancy."
  19. Big J
    Always nice to get your input Wallis You're making me think that I ought to be extracting the brash from the 3000t spruce clearfell we're doing. It's a super short extraction distance and there is plenty of it. I'll have a think about who to approach regarding the brash down here. As regards the ash, there are only a couple of blocks (out of dozens) with ash as tall as 30ft. It's mostly averaging 18-25ft. I would guess that most of the smaller branches would be extremely brittle and would snap off. That's probably desirable actually, as it wouldn't make good chip.
  20. Big J
    Speaking to Logbullet today, they've a new machine coming at the end of the year that will make an ideal carrier for a tree shear. I'll sell my forwarder at that point and upgrade, and be well equipped for this job, should it materialise.
  21. Big J
    I know, but I'll also have 30ft lengths, instead of 10ft lengths. You're never more than 75m from a ride in this woodland too. I did some willow coppicing for a friend at Christmas, felling and extracting similar sized stems for branch logging. It took me 6 hours to extract enough material to fill 42 builders bags, and that was on a 500m extraction route. They were hand felled too, and not ideally presented for uplift (the trees were along a river bank, felled into the field, meaning I had to lift them tip first). This ash would be much quicker. That's a fair point, but I'd rather try to present a no cost option to the landowner if possible.
  22. Big J
    There isn't enough trunk to warrant the additional processing. With taking the whole tree, it's just a single cut at the base and away you go. No grading, no processing, no fuss.
  23. Big J
    Hence the idea of a harvester/forwarder so that you only pass over each bit of ground once. Harvest in winter when nesting birds are inactive, then forward the chipwood on in late spring when the ground is harder. You do get a few passes with the little forwarder on soft ground before it makes a mess.
  24. Big J
    I don't think so. 50k trees is going to look awful on the deck if felled to waste. Still expensive too. There just isn't space within the stand. Has to be rideside or in the shed.
  25. Big J
    That's a beautiful bit of kit there, but huge for this level of woodland. It's only averaging about 17 years old, grown on poor soil in a fairly wet bit of Devon a bit too high up and exposed to some wind. Not much going for it, but as I said, the issue is that 50% of the trees have to be retained and no rides can be cut. The sub 2m width is non-negotiable. So long as it doesn't cost (or cost much for) the landowner, then I think we can make it work. Even if we just took it to ride side and Euroforest cleared it away, that's still a £40k bill for the landowner (remember, 50k trees). I'm sure it can be done, and I'll keep exploring options. In principle, I've already sold about a quarter of the chip.

About

Arbtalk.co.uk is a hub for the arboriculture industry in the UK.  
If you're just starting out and you need business, equipment, tech or training support you're in the right place.  If you've done it, made it, got a van load of oily t-shirts and have decided to give something back by sharing your knowledge or wisdom,  then you're welcome too.
If you would like to contribute to making this industry more effective and safe then welcome.
Just like a living tree, it'll always be a work in progress.
Please have a look around, sign up, share and contribute the best you have.

See you inside.

The Arbtalk Team

Follow us

Articles

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.