bjam1964

Any chance of sharing these techniques for the "What happens when the lad has a go - part 3" thread.

A mistake is not a mistake unless it is repeated . . .

Is was with you on this one until last year. An accurate fell was required for a 70 ft eucalupt - all was well until it started to snap off the hinge on one side. Turned out to be a very good example of spiral grain - the fibres were almost 45 degrees opposed on the hinge. Result was that one side snapped a lot sooner than expected. I have a picture of the hinge which, thankfully did its job with just 60% of it left - shocking. In my experience it is virtually impossible to determine the grain/condition of the inside of the base of the tree. This step cut seems to rely on the stump being fairly uniform and predictable. Not one I would use but guess it could be developed for certain situations.

Ash crown lift and thin - frozen snatch block, hoar frost everywhere - four layers and a lot of work with the Silky - soon warmed up.

Amazingly funny - including his attempted recovery

OMG - you beat me to it:001_rolleyes: Van frozen solid - windscreen wipers glued to windscreen with ice. Get to job - only around -4 so quite warm by recent standards. Trouble was the thick fog meant the ground crew could not be seen! A revision to the risk assessment and dynamic adjustment to working procedures (don't even think of walking anywhere under the tree without confirmed verbal contact from above) and I climbed up for the second time. Slipped on icy branch and tore skin off left index finger joint - kept on bleeding - blood on rope, on chainsaw etc. Climbed down for a wound clean and a plaster. Back up again for the third time and start the dismantle of the Ash. Started to get a bit cold despite working hard - tree covered in Hoar Frost - then ropes started to freeze. Quit job and headed back to yard in thick, freezing fog - wipers frozen again. Hope tomorrow improves

In my stupidity I took my chainsaw gloves off and put them in the infeed of the chipper. 5 mins later they were nicely shredded and in the back of the van. They were the last pair I bought and I only ever wear welding gauntlets for prickly stuff. We had a lad who insisted he wore his motorcycle gloves to handle wood. One of them was pulled off into the chipper and ended up hanging in pieces in a hedgerow

Has your saw or fuel can been anywhere near water? My 200t stopped working in the same way - turned out to be water in the carb which had corroded the aluminium and furred up the carb. Condensation can form in a metal fuel can just from changes in temperature. This can lead to very fine iron oxided particulate in the fuel. These particles are smaller than the filters on the saw and will reach and therefore block the inside of the carb. Run your finger inside the lid of the metal fuel can - if it feels rough or rusty change it!

System of a Down - Toxicity

There seems to be a lot of tool blaming going on here. The 026 was good for the job. If he managed to plunge cut the ground with a 16" bar then what would have happened with 20+"? Technique will be taught (at my cost and his benefit) and a CS32 investigated if necessary.

You are right - I started with the saw and, once the wedges were placed it fell apart along the crack and not where it had been cut! I released this tree off the stump with a dogs tooth - good job as the crack was a felling incident waiting to happen - shocking.

Happy birthday. Nursing a sore head after my 46 birthday party last night. PS: just love Marmite.

Always carry large folder with Insurance, risk assessments, Cerys etc. If you have 25 years experience with no accidents does that mean anything compared to fresh faced lad with tickets but no experience?

Gas stove brew kit and plenty of coffee - otherwise headache, grumpy, looking for nearest garage/cafe. Energy drinks in hotter weather purchased wholesale!

On my second Isuzu truck now - very reliable 3.0 engine. Mine was chipped by the supplier before delivery - makes a huge difference. Also had braided brake lines and a suspension upgrade - it drives like a luxury car and, after 5500 miles is averaging 28 mpg. I do have a heavy right foot but I think that is very good. You have little risk buying an Isuzu - enjoy.

My laptop stays signed in all the time. My space age, very expensive Windoze 7 machine (professional 64bit) logs me out continuously. This is even with a clean install. There is a software glitch somewhere - you are not alone! Cleaning your browser cache may help in some cases but here it just loses the content from your fav Internet porn - ahem...

Fair enough - you all make very valid points. I am far from perfect and never claim to be. I was just shocked at the mess left versus the competence sold me at his interview. I want to help others improve but they must be prepared to own up to their own lack of experience and ask questions. He was given the 026 as this is the size saw he was most comfortable and safest with. It has a 16" bar and the chain was properly sharpened. Thanks to the huge difference in opinions in your posts I will take a long hard look at myself in the mirror. I have only posted two bad examples just for discussion - there are many great examples of things done well and great achievements under my direction. I have launched many successful lads into careers. There have been no injuries and only one near miss (barber chair) in 25 years. How many of us can claim that?

I guess what I am asking here, from the more experienced members, is what they think may have caused this vertical crack in a tree of this size and what the likely hood of the trunk splitting in two under a severe rotational loading? Has anyone else felled a 36" Cedar and found such a significant weakness/fault with no external signs?

Oh dear, read the facts first please. I felled the tree, the lad watched on to learn the techniques. I started cross cutting the thick end of the trunk, the lad watched on to learn the techniques. I gave him the small end, yes it was around 16" and growing thicker but, as he had sold himself to me as competent and he was employed as trained, why should I spend valuable time supervising and training him? He has been given lots of encouragement and he cross-cut for a day on my log pile supervised and all was ok. He was shown how to use the wedge to stop the saw being pinched in a larger than normal cross-cut situation - surely that is not considered a difficult to master technique? If you were cutting a larger log and it was not going well what would you do? I would expect at least a tap on the shoulder and "why is it doing this?" kind of question. There is no room in my business for people who, despite being told they can ask any questions they like in a friendly, encouraging atmosphere, who just carry on regardless. It is a two way street - at least meet me halfway !

There are no names mentioned - it is a post based on frustration. Facts: 1. He gave me a business card with tree care on it. 2. He is a self-employed, sub-contracted tree surgeon. 3. He has passed the industry standard for chainsaw use for cross cutting, maintenance and safe use of. 4. He has worked with several tree surgeons and amassed over a years worth of experience. 5. With all of the above evidence and the fact that this lad has effectively set up his own business and is a potentional competitor to all tree surgeons in the local area, why should I not expect a simple task, such as cross cut a trunk into rounds, to be conducted in a competent manner. I have not named and shamed, that is not my intention, but simply pointing out the failure in our college system and industry competency system to turn out, after a two year course, someone who can cut a log into sections. No offence intended - you are right, perhaps I should not share . . .

I don't know, but he does know I was quite unhappy about the wasted time, effort, fuel, wear on bar and chain etc. Its such a shame, we all set out having high hopes and a positive attitude towards these fledgling guys - I genuinely want to help them improve, be safe and have a successful career but I do draw the line with displays of competence such as this.

The lad was instructed to cross cut a cedar we had just felled. Armed with my trusty 026 he set about reducing the trunk into rounds. My mistake, I left him to get on with it, bearing in mind he has passed his CS30 and has worked for several tree surgeons before working with us. Take a look at the results - shocking! It was not the saw, I managed to finish the cuts in a straight fashion with the same saw. What does this mean? What is the assessment and pass criteria for CS30? Was the assessor asleep? The lads excuses: he has never cross cut something this big. He has never had to use a wedge to stop the saw being pinched. He didn't want to hit the ground with the saw . . .

We have just spent a couple of cold days felling a 100 odd year old cedar. There had been considerable storm damage to the canopy, especially in the upper crown and most of the branches overhanging the neighbours property had been removed. Sadly, an impending building project, permission granted, required the premature removal of the tree. After "stunt" felling the tree I was surprised to see a prominent crack across the stump. There were no external signs of this split, the cause unknown. After digging out the stump (6 hours with a 3 ton excavator) I managed to split the tree in half using nothing but hi-lift felling wedges and a bit of sledge hammer effort. The wedges were placed in the crack which extended all of the way through the root plate and into the soil. Has anyone seen anything similar? A VTA based risk assessment was conducted before climbing but I could not see any external signs to indicate the presence of the crack. Your thoughts and comments appreciated. The whole tree before felling The stump with 660 36" bar for scale. The crack! The stump in two halfs - looking at the vertical face of the crack

OMG - what have I started! Women are meant to prefer a guy who is in touch with his feminine side:001_rolleyes: Personally I prefer to just touch the feminine part of my relationship (I AM NOT GAY:lol:) without complaints of rough hands. Some really good tips chaps and ladies - thank you. The best part about this forum is the feeling you get that you are not alone in your suffering.

The sweet spot in our area is £70 - £75 per ton. £90 will require plenty of marketing and quality prep.