doobin

Just get an Apple laptop and dongle. All the ease of use, twice the functionality and not too pricey second hand. I tried using an iPod with docs to go et al, and quickly gave up. Proper keyboard for me every time. My other big tip is to get a phone with voice memo functionality. Even my £10 Samsung jobby has it.

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Simply leave your compact tractor unattended anywhere in rural England. Pop back the next day and Bobs your uncle, some enterprising traveller will have got it to Wales and on a ferry to Ireland before you've even had your brekkie. Job done.

What Huck said. Having said that, when you put it like than Andy, I'm inclined to agree!!!

Which won't be worth the paper it's written on.... I have a £10 phone for phone calls, and a laptop with broadband dongle (Mac) in the truck for anything else. Had an iPod, good kit, but I just find a laptop simpler and easier. Marketing and hype is for morons. I'm immune to it as my brain is incapable of processing anything other than work stuff I've always used Apple kit because it's the best. I have a laptop because I need it for the business. I don't have an iPhone because I don't need one. Simples.

And don't forget a bridleway needs to the three times as wide as a footpath- 3m across AND the same in height!

Down here in Sussex I subbed with my lads for the bloke with the winning tender- it was approx 13p/m soft soft clearance (strimming) and the same again for hard clearance (polesawing and hedgecutting). I subbed for him on a day rate of £120 a lad pus fuel. By year three he made some serious profit, as we knew the paths and landowners well so could really fly through. I know he made good money because I knew the path lengths from the spec sheet. If you ring me on 07765 776454 I'll tell you what gear you need to really be efficient. Serious offer. We don't do it any more since it became a national park.

That's ample. Backhoe would be overkill. Save the council some dough and use the 3 tonner.

Keep it local and if caught plead thick yokel. Then just make sure you're not caught again. Nothing to stop non farmers buying an old tractor and running on red. That's what we do.

Is that £8 or £26 per man hour? If the latter, then with councils paying their monkeys £200/day then there's no way they could compete if they weren't already heavily subsidised by the taxpayer. I hope (and I'm pretty sure) that by x you mean = ?

That's the thing. Same here. And the same for Nick (farmer) and agrimog (presumably an agricultural connection there) See, us yokels tend not to have many neighbours anyway I work every day of the year- I wouldn't know what do do with myself if you sat me on a sunny beach in the south of France. Probably volunteer to help the local farmers with their harvest! I will concede that Sunday workings in the arb industry can usually be avoided unless an emergency. I tend to work on the countryside contracts or maintenance side of things instead of domestic on Sundays. Always plenty else to be done. And finally- all those who say if you can't make enough in 5 then you won't in 7 were obviously fortunate enough to be born long enough ago so as to avoid the current recession and stupid cost of housing and living when trying to start a business.

I wonder if the OP has been shot yet?

You want to tighten that chain up Pat...: Looks pukka mate.

I have a few bits even bigger than that in my yard. Does anyone want to give me more than firewood money for them?

Pound to a silver pig if you just uprate the cables holding the tailgate your problems will be solved. We load 250KG quads into pickups with standard tailgates all the time.

Thanks chaps, ammended.

Should also read 'a further 4.55% to cover the balance blah blah. Looks like the calculations are correct but the 'show your workings' bit needed adjustment!

You're a star, thanks mate!

Hi all Was informed last week by the contracts manager for an estate agent my company carries out contract gardening for that their commission they take from my invoice will be increasing from 10% to 15%. That's a 33.3% increase Anyway, just drafted this to send the contracts manager: "Just a quick note to let you know that I have increased my prices to you this year by 9.05%. This is comprised of 4.5% to cover the average rate of inflation for 2011, and a further 4.05% to cover the balance of the 33% increase in your commission rate which is not accounted for by inflation. As estate agents I am sure you are only all too aware of the importance of increasing rates, rents and the like in line with inflation every year." Sound fair? Anything else you can think of to sweeten it? They can like it or lump it anyway Point being, with an average RPI inflation in 2011 of 4.5%, you need to put your prices up by at least this to avoid falling behind.

Yeah, but a strimmer is always in the same position when you're running the engine. Where would you put the sump on a 4 stroke chainsaw?

Of course, the real issue is should shops sell wet logs to just anyone? I'd have asked to see their tickets mate

£75 is taking the piss for a job that small. I'd have said £30 and had one of my lads pop round there on the way home. £20 in my pocket, easy. Bet I'd have sold her a tenners worth of mulch or some logs whilst I was there too. I keep costs down by only working (though multiple trades) within seven miles of base. That way there's almost always something else for a crew to do just down the road from the days job. Works for me, and keeps me sane. Don't need the hassle and cost of travelling.

If this forklift is reliable and always in the yard you load from, then to be frank you'd be an idiot not to just knock up some tine extensions or a jib.

You must be mad. You're supplying a set up worth £400 to £500 a day (two blokes, two vehicles and a chipper) for the timber and a 'small payment'???? Then you have the hassle and expense of moving the timber. Which will be an absoloute ballbreaker and loose you thousands in your unpaid labour with your current setup. If you want to 'get into firewood in a big way' then buy the timber standing and process it yourself. Or use your setup to earn £500 for the day and then get yourself ten tons of timber delivered to your yard, hassle free. As for this: "I don't plan wasting time bagging it up for the customer, ive got better things to be doing! " Like what? Running your by now knackered transit back to the job site fifteen miles away for another ton and half of odd bits of timber? Another thing- you're gonna need an expensive processor to get enough output to make trade sales viable. If you want to get into firewood, you need to fix the costs of your raw material. You can either A) Buy it in at a fixed rate, B) Buy it standing and try to get the cost per ton down that way, or C) 'Buy it standing' as per your original idea by agreeing in writing how many hours labour you will provide for the timber on site. When you say things like 'they'll get a good day as we leave at six and get back at six in the evening' then I can't help but think you're going to loose more often than you win. Just the way I see it. And another thing- you'd do well to contract out the movement of large amounts of timber rather than try to do it yourself by hand and transit.

We had exactly the same problem a couple of days ago with some tough old ash, about 14" DBH and leaning. Halfway up the downs they grow very slow and tough indeed- I've seen them barberchair with less than half an inch of hinge left- just incredible. Anyway, none of us could get the chain to bore (036 running Stihl SEMI CHISEL on a 15") In the end I have to admit we resorted to the polesaw . Spectacular barberchair running to about 18' up I didn't bother trying the 034 running an Oregon setup on 16" as it was full chisel- I wonder if it would have been better anyway? Depth gauges were on the button BTW.