Logrover

Thats more what I was after, thanks!

I am looking for a course that will include the BS 5837:2012 stuff as well, im assuming it will be something like the arboriculture association 3 day course as the basic 1 day course will not cover this I imagine, Does anyone have suggestions for the best one to go on and where abouts they may be. Im willing to travel for the right one. Thanks

This is my concern........im 30 but i feel older, i go through stages of working flat out for a few weeks then i crash and have to slow down and so it goes on! I need to slow down hence career redirection since flat out is the only way to earn as a cutter. Also it worries me i have no pension etc and no spare cash for one and thats not good! All the other cutters i know are young, live at home. A few older ones also live with parents.......says it all really! saw will be a year old in a month, need a new one....cant afford it.....

All valid points but if you start out as a cutter you have very little other career opportunities mainly as you are just seen as manual labour as once your in its hard to break out. I have done 10yrs of tree surgery and 3 years of cutting. money throws itself at you in surgery and falls out of your pocket in forestry. Especially when everyone is skimming off the top all the way down the line to you who takes the hit! Also if your self employed then no holiday pay etc so you dont work you suffer but the job is that hard that your falling asleep at 8 every night then stressed and tiring yourself out when the rates are too low that your trying too pysically hard. To top it off your always going to miss the odd branch and youl get stick for it when as said before the harvesters miss loads! as for high stumps..have you seen a harvester site??!!!! Then add to all this your either competing with a machine or given sites they cant work on (wet/mountain etc) so you cant get much done and its again more tiring.......... So who wants to go into it then.....when you can do a generic management degree and have an easier life! ps I have a degree in forestry, nptc small to large/windblown plus other stuff which has taken me a long time to build up looking to go into forestry management side in the near future which is a natural career step. Im really not surprised younguns dont want to do it.....

I agree and im a cutter whos giving up soon as I cant make any money........says it all really there is no good reason to do it, health wise or financial. That changes more will do it.....plus invent a chainsaw that is economical since fuel is a killer and its only going to get worse..

both saws have had identical problems i might as well list them!!! starter side case broken rear av spring full rebuild due to front gasket case leak under the exhaust clutch spring exhaust crack One saw sheared the crank. All been done on warranty which is nice!

2 of us use 560s in the woods 8 hrs a day. one crank sheared off at the clutch due to what we think was the thread not being machined straight that cracked the clutch then stressed the crank. mines be ok the usual problems. We both have a cracked exhaust in the same place right on the top so thats the next warranty replacement.

depends on the site, we have worked for £12 a ton in bigger stuff making £85 a day and in utter crap with various prices, chip £16, post/strainers £18/logs £20 and made £40-60 a day as it was all tiny chip. All depends on the site, the rubbish gets a rate that seems good until you cut and realise you just cant get the tonnage down and the bigger stuff the lower the rate so you have to do 10 ton plus a day to make a half decent wage but its not THAT good enough stuff, ie really hairy. All good straight stuff goes to harvesters. Currently cutting for £17 a ton in big pine but its all edge kind of trees, really big gharly stuff so takes ages but can make money in it but its hard on the saws. But we spend more time in the rubbish than anything, this summer has been awful each job promising to be better.......... the given rates are fair for nice straight timber or pine as its heavy stuff but we do bent hairy horrible stuff! I think to get decent wages on these sites would mean no profit in the job overall so they would be left although an extra couple of quid would nt hurt here and there!

Exactly the reason im looking for other stuff but id rather work and be able to feed myself even if there is little left over at the end! :biggrin:that is life! I do also enjoy it when its not pissing it down!

ah well thats the problem....you either get on with the job or sit at home, you will not get any more money as its just not realistic!

The fuel can thing is a reality.......i used an old 61 the other day and went through 7 litres of fuel as my 560 was in for repair again. Use 5 litres a day through it normally. Overheads are just too much for me to keep it up long term. I dont buy anything if i can help it work wise, a bar and chain just cost me 60 quid so thats me sorted on that front for a couple of weeks,,, Also dosent help that millers are always trying to do you on tonnage so it never weighs out as it should. Smaller woods does not make it any better as by the time you have got to grips with the 7 specs they want you are finished then a few days off while next job is organised as its not been done in advance and it just makes it a joke. Youl tell a young cutter on tonnage as hel be going like a bat out of hell and the older ones plod on as they have learnt that you dont make much more by killing yourself! very sad

nail on the head there, the only people making money are the sawmills and bosses. Cutters get the smallest amount for the hardest work and its not really enough to live on. Funnily i am the only one not living at home........so i think young cutters will cut till they need to pay bills then its no longer a viable job option as you need £100 a day every day but often it wont pay that. Fuel etc has gone up but wages havent. im looking to change job soon just due to financial issues and im totally knackered all the time! we all know the timber trade is a bit tight but enough is enough sometimes.

Proper timber cutters that is! I am part of a 4 man team and a few part timers. I can see why noone does it. Machinery has taken over leaving the rubbish that doesnt pay on tonnnage or winching jobs. After all the overheads and hard days its not a good wage! Plus your 560 falling apart every fives mins, a bar a month (usually less!).

well here both 560s have been rebuilt on warranty (new crank case gasket) due to massive oil leaks under the exhaust. Both have broken the rear vibration mount. Both lose the exhaust bolt near the bar now and then. mine has broken the starter internals. Such a good saw its a shame really. We use them for full time timber cutting not part time tree surgery> no brake bands broken as thats time wasted using them!1:001_rolleyes: good saw just needs fettling

I will go down the pub instead then. Could have just altered the title mildly.

I will go down the pub instead then. Could have just altered the title mildly.

well i whipped my exhaust off yesterday and the main oil case gasket is leaking badly so its going back again! I assume its got too hot and gone hard or something.......

well i whipped my exhaust off yesterday and the main oil case gasket is leaking badly so its going back again! I assume its got too hot and gone hard or something.......

well mine is now 3 months old and looks like its been dredged up after full time felling. Brilliant saw a joy to use but there are a few problems all that have been sorted by warranty. Side starter cover pulley bearing thing snapped from the side case. Replaced free. On 2 saws the same front exhaust mounting bolt vibrates out wheather threadlocked or not....annoying just keep checking. Oil leak under the exhaust..think its an out of shape rubber bit that sends the oil to the bar, only when its full. Still looking at this one! I ve overheated it twice and it had a fit on full throttle revs rose and fell, left for ten mins its is fine. Been running 68 link chain 18" bar and 58 link 16" bar both on 3/8 pulls both well. All in all i love this saw but i think it could have been made more carefully, both money and weight saving i think are to blame. The autotune is brilliant! Buy one!

ah my starter spindle on the outer side case also broke off the other day after 2.5 months of 8 hr a day use felling, Glad its not just mine. Sometimes it takes ages to start it when its turned off still with fuel and when its run out. only now and then, mostly its spot on. I also overheated it one day cutting a big hardwood down and it had a right paddy, after 15 mins stopped it was ok. Seems to be running better as the days get colder.

I ve been using a 560 for 3 months full time felling 8 hours a day and its been very good. Another guy i work with has had one for 21 months. They have been brilliant but have had a couple of problems rectified by warranty. cracked inner clutch sheared off starter pulley mount on the side case. They run better in the cold weather as hot weather they lose a bit of power and can pop and fart a bit! No saw lasts more than year in full time timber cutting so well see how it goes!

Ordered an oregon powermatch bar so well see how that goes!

Im using husq bars or oregon prolite bars which seem similar. Ive tried greasing the tip and not....but i agree with spud, seems to be no difference! I had a tip seize up today for no apparent reason. I have found the tips wear a lot at the start where the sprocket begins regardless of chain tightness. Mainly on the oregon bars. Il price a normal replaceable tip bar and a cannon as it wiill be better to replace the tip as said before!

Well im a timber cutter cutter 8/9 hrs a day, after a week the paint is missing........... i use 3/8 64 link. tempted by a cannon one but they are soooo pricey! I had mine swopped to 3/8 as 325 is sooo slow! The oregon ones seem to be made of cheese.

Im going through a bar a month roughly on my 560 at the moment. Anyone have the part number for an 18" 3/8 bar as they dont put what they fit of course. Anyone use a cannon bar...worth it or not?????????