Squaredy

There was a series of TV documentaries made some years ago. We sent nuclear subs to the area secretly as a precaution. It was meant to be secret to avoid escalating the situation whilst the two sides were still talking. Sadly sending the subs was leaked to the press and the only outcome then was war. The leak was traced directly to number 10. As a matter of fact I am not generally anti Thatcher. Well no more than most of the other politicians that lie to us as a matter of routine.

You have got me curious I must read up more about World War One. Any suggested good books? By the way I think the Falklands war was also very avoidable. Thing is it appears Mrs Thatcher didn’t want to avoid it.

I have not yet had work experience kids but I had a an autistic guy help once a fortnight for a year or so. It is easy to underestimate how much time it takes to supervise and train someone new and young. I think £30 a day is quite generous for a kid who works hard; for kids who can't be bothered I would not give them anything except a bad report at the end of it. I did work experience when I was 15 and I certainly got nothing, except a fascinating insight into the world of work. Made me want to leave school and start work even more.... I did talk to the local prison a while back about taking prisoners and giving them work experience and they were very positive about it, but I think they are just so bogged down with red tape they can't arrange anything at the moment. I always think it is good when local businesses try and help out youngsters or others in need, but make no mistake it is not an easy or cheap source of good labour!

Yes I missed out the detail, but this case brought it all to a head a few months ago. Was it effectively disguised employment ? Yes of course it was, and yes Mark I remember IR 35 well. I was a self employed contractor when it first came out, and so I asked my accountant about it. He had never heard of it. He did a bit of homework and then advised me I was indeed in "Disguised employment". A couple of years later I changed accountant and was duly advised that I was most certainly not in "Disguised employment". Frankly it was a mess with very complicated rules that even the professionals argued about (reminds me of the detailed and complicated discussions on Arbtalk about rules on trailer towing). The government need to establish simple rules around employment that give realistic but fair options and clarity for employees and employers. Not everyone wants to be an employee - surely they should be given a simple alternative? Or should they?

Well the problem started when a greedy plumber decided to take his employer to court suing for full employee's rights even though he was a subbie.....and ended when the court agreed with him. Sorry you probably know this anyway.

It isn’t complicated is it? Process the order quickly or if there is going to be a delay tell the customer. I have never used Northern Arb but I think from their largely defensive response I will make sure I never do. How dare they object to you expressing your concerns on a forum! They will be telling you next not to tell your mates if you ever have bad service from them. Sorry guys but it is up to you to give good service not your customers’ responsibility to keep quiet about your shortcomings.

EMC is equilibrium moisture content. Most parts of the UK will be more damp than most parts of the USA sadly.

I agree there are advantages to being employed, but there are some very real benefits to being a subbie as well. I think it is very sad that it seems to get such a bad press these days. When I left school at 16 I soon got a normal PAYE job (not tree work but that is beside the point), and I progressed reasonably as I worked hard and tried to improve myself, but after 10 years I was in a job I hated and was not liked by my employer - in summary it was no longer going well. Despite having a mortgage I quit with no proper plan of how I would manage. Within a couple of months I had my first contract, and couldn't believe how much better it was than being an employee. I was doing exactly the same job, but I was treated with far more respect, my responsibilities were clear and targets were achievable, management were really helpful and encouraging. Did I miss the paid holiday or sick pay? Not at all - I had plenty of time off, and earned at least as much overall. Lack of job security? I loved the flexibility and the opportunity to change to something slightly different. Did I ever struggle to find work - not really as I got a good reputation and worked hard. There are two sides to every coin - PAYE is not the best scenario for everyone.

I haven't got my invoices with me at home, but I am sure I only pay around £21 per blade when you buy 10 from Stephen Cull. Mind you I buy inch and a quarter not inch and three eighths maybe this is the reason? I have never used EPS to purchase blades but I used to use them for sharpening. They were very convenient collecting and delivering in their own van, but I am afraid the blades were not well sharpened. In fact I would say there are very few places that really know how to sharpen these blades properly, and I would say Stephen Cull is one of them

Yeah I get my blades from Stephen Cull also. Very good and not expensive. I would put a thumbs up emoji in here but I have no idea how to!

There are two main types of kiln: heat vent and dehumidifier. Both are costly to run. The former loses a lot of heat so only works if you have cheap heat. The latter loses less heat but uses loads of electricity which is very expensive. It makes a huge difference what stock you intend to dry. If it is already well air dried a small kiln may work well. If it is very freshly cut then unless it is all ash it may cost more to kiln than it is worth. Ash is the exception because it is always fairly dry even when just felled.

A dehumidifier will work but for any decent amount of logs it will need to be very large and therefore cost a fortune to run. A poly tunnel is hard to beat. Ends partly open. That way you get lots of free heat. I would strongly suggest trying to use solar energy. If you google solar kiln you will find loads of good info.

You are right of course, but isn't the law crazy? It may never happen, but in theory a young woman could be taken on for arb work, and within a few months of starting she could go on sick leave (bearing in mind a pregnant woman cannot safely lift brash or logs, or anything really physical) and then after maybe 7 months of sick leave have six or nine months maternity leave, and this may well be repeated a year or two later. With the best will in the world if you are a very small business maybe taking on your only employee or perhaps your second you would be a fool not to consider the possibilities. And as has just been pointed out, the obvious alternative of treating her as a subbie has now been made effectively impossible. Of course for slightly larger firms it is different, there may be other duties that could be offered and they may be better placed to take the hit, but for a tiny business existing on a knife-edge it could be very scary.

I would say Alder is quite a bit lighter than Birch. And remember the weight per cubic metre for measured logs is for individual logs not stacks. Stacks of logs are full of air gaps, so it is a whole different scenario.

Correct me if I am wrong but any employer can lay off any employee - as long as they pay the appropriate redundancy.

Yes it is difficult isn't it? I don't know how small employers manage these days since the government stopped re-imbursing SSP. It is no wonder zero hours contracts and sub-contracting is popular. I only employ one person full time PAYE and he is a great worker. Hopefully he will never have a lot of sick days, but I couldn't keep him on for too long if he did start having a lot of sick. I was going to take another (much older) person on full time next year, but I realised I couldn't as he does have health problems and I simply couldn't afford to pay him for weeks in hospital etc. Shame as he would have probably been a great asset and he really wanted the job.

Agreed. No-one is going to make money buying land and then just harvesting the timber, unless it is a lot of land and then the price is much more realistic. The people who do well from owning forestry are the people who have land they bought or inherited many years ago. Even then there are millions of acres of wooded parcels on farms in the UK which are totally neglected because the parcels are small and maybe steep so the cost of felling and extraction would be higher than the value of the timber. There is an estate near here with many hundreds of acres of conifer plantation and mixed deciduous and yet they just do the bare minimum of maintenance to keep it safe, or to cash in on the odd grant. The owner takes the view that it is just not viable, even though he owns all the land outright.

Other costs can be very substantial of course. Vehicles, machinery, loans, insurance, premises, training and supervision. I run a very small sawmill and if one of my guys does a job for a customer it gets charged out at £30 per hour and it is barely worth it.

If you are new to this you should probably take advice from the Forestry Commission or a Forestry company or if in Wales (which it can't be as it looks flat) Coed Cymru. There are many rules about felling and thinning woodland which you will need to be aware of. I apologise if you are already aware of this. Are you planning on doing the work yourself? By the way I think looking at the pictures you posted the woodland is in need of thinning, but may indeed be many years before the final crop will be mature

I think this just proves my long held belief that many tree surgeons have no idea how to calculate weight. I estimate it at 660Kg. If it has been off the ground in a windy spot since felling it will be even less. I am not surprised the vehicle handled OK. I have learned that when buying sawlogs from tree surgeons to price by volume...

Yes it is not easy calculating weight but it is worth remembering if you had a stack of fresh felled Oak where there were no gaps at all (completely impossible of course) and no bark then a cubic metre would weigh nearly a ton. Actual real Oak logs with bark, a few bends etc and you will be down to maybe 750 or 800 kilos. Add into the equation the lower weight of Alder compared to Oak and you are left with maybe 600 kilos. If the stack is gappy, logs are bendy and different lengths it will be a lot less.

So you mean a cubic metre of stacked logs. In which case there are many variables like how straight they are, but as a rough guide I would say a cubic metre will weigh no more than 600 kilos maybe even less. Or to put it the other way a ton of logs will be about 1.66 cubic metres.

Yes if you let us know what you are measuring. Logs I assume but fresh cut?

Thank you that is indeed much better than I was quoted from the dealer I bought the mill from. These prices include VAT? I am sorted now but next time I need bits I will try you first.

Or here is another spin on the situation. If the tree is left there perhaps it could cause subsidence? As has been already said a modern house should have good deep foundations, and if it is not clay soil probably nothing to worry about. Did the soil in the garden dry and crack over the summer? I live in a clay area and my front garden was full of fissures until the recent rain. And yes my house did subside due (in part) to a close tree.