john k

I noticed a coupe near me last week that was surrounded by Heras. It's certainly not pretty, but seems to work well.

Any possibility of finding a farm where you can store kit? There are plenty of redundant farm buildings around.

Thanks. Looks like a loggers tape will need to go on my list of shiny things to buy sooner or later!

OK, here are a load more bone questions for anyone who doesn't mind answering them! What sort if tolerance do you work to? Does it vary much from job to job? Do you mark out all the cuts before cutting? Or work from cut to cut? How do you measure? Do you use a tape, or a gauging stick, or something else? Thanks

Yes. There's the "Thread tools" dropdown menu above the first post which has the "Subscribe to thread" option. You can choose to be emailed when the thread is updated, or just watch it in your control panel here: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/subscription.php

Do you know which boots are likely to be available in a 14 (normally Euro 49, sometimes 50)? Also do any of the trousers come in extra long leg length? I'm 36/38" waist and 36" inside leg. Looks like the Oregons come in at about 33" so I'd need some extra tall boots! Should I definitely get type C?

Thanks. Do I need to bring biscuits? Do you generally keep Lurch sizes in stock?

I have no idea. I know roughly as much about choosing an arborist as I do about choosing a chainsaw trainer. I suspect that the majority of people would end up going by price. Precisely the reason for this thread of course. But if I don't know how providers differ, or even if there is much difference, it's difficult to evaluate who will be the best. Or even if the "best" is necessary provided I end up as a safe and competent chainsaw user. Recommendations are always useful (thanks!), but apart from that how do I identify a good trainer? Are they likely to be a lot better than an average trainer? Are there any bad trainers and how do I avoid them?

Thanks. Looks like a shopping expedition to Jonesie's is on the cards!

I'm planning to do my CS30 and 31 this year, and wondered whether there is much difference between training providers? Is it simply a matter of choosing the most convenient or least expensive? Or are there other things I should be looking for? Thanks!

Thanks. Looks like 13" is favourite so far! Do you mean have a longer bar and chain as well as the 13"?

Thanks for the pointers. Looks like it might not be quite as scarily expensive as I feared! Out of curiosity, what is it about those trousers and boots that makes them stand out? Is it just the availability in large sizes, or is there more to it?

I'm planning to get a 346XP as my first saw and had been wondering about bar length. I'm not really sure what sort of work I'll end up doing, but if all goes to plan I'll be mostly doing woodland work - coppicing, thinning, scrub clearing, maybe some hedge laying. There may be some bigger felling too, but I think that's likely to be less frequent. Several people have mentioned how well the 346 works with a 13" bar, but presumably a 15" would be more versatile. To a clueless newbie a couple of inches doesn't seem much, but I'm guessing it's actually quite a substantial difference. Am I best off getting a 15" to start with? Thanks!

I'd be interested to find out more about how you work, as this is an area that I'd like to get into. There's definitely no shortage of neglected woodland around, but I'm not sure how to make it work financially. Do you work on a day rate? Is it the shoot that pays? What about woodlands that aren't managed for shooting? Do you ever work for the timber? Thanks!

I'm planning to do my CS30/31 sometime this year, and need to get some PPE sorted out. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to get a Husky 346XP, as these seem to be universally recommended in this sort of size range, but this seems to be the easy bit compared to choosing the rest of the gear. If all goes to plan I'll be mostly doing woodland work - coppicing, thinning, scrub clearing, maybe some hedge laying. Definitely won't be climbing. What would you recommend for a newbie? I don't mind spending what I need to, and would prefer not to buy twice, but I haven't got money to throw away needlessly. Just to complicate things I am unusually tall and have size 14 feet Thanks for any help!

I'll second that. By coincidence I use him for my current business insurance (not tree related), and I've been very happy with what he has offered.

Not exactly off. Looks like they're still planning to dispose of all the FC estate, but it will be leased instead of sold which will allow the government to impose more conditions than if they sold freehold. New direction for England’s public forest estate Defra News

And bizarrely they also apply even if you are only spot hiring a 7.5 tonner, and don't actually own or lease anything that you would need to maintain!

Perhaps you'd like to pop round and have a chat with Mrs K? I put a card in her car so she only found it when she went to work. You should have seen her this morning with her pretending-not-to-care-that-she-hadn't-got-a-card face on!

jammydodger, I'm not too far away from you so let me know next time you're planning to do some more work on this and I'll come and give you a hand if I'm free.

Fingers crossed! Is it a Woodland Management grant? What sort of woodland do you have?

I would be really happy to buy 20 or 30 acres leasehold at £1000 an acre. In fact providing it was in the right area and there wasn't something badly wrong with the place I'd jump at it. I can't afford 350 acres though, and it's more than I'd want. To take on anything that size would need to be a full scale business, with a very careful business plan - it would need some substantial investors or borrowed money. Leasehold would make that all more complicated, as the land itself would be much less of an investment. So the catch is that you'll need £350,000 to buy something that in the long term will be diminishing in value (although in the short to medium term it could conceivably appreciate). There may also be other catches in the lease of course.

It does look like a fantastic place, but lovely as it is would a beech wood actually provide what you want? It's going to be much less versatile than something more mixed, and won't give the opportunity for coppicing unless you clear fell some of it. Assuming that's even practical. It's not cheap, but none of these re-sold small woods are. It will probably find a buyer though. If you can afford it, and want it as somewhere lovely to get your firewood from then it might be worth considering [1]. I wouldn't have thought that it will provide the amount of work you want, or the returns. I'm no expert, so I'd be interested to hear what other people think. [1] I've found myself wondering whether biting the bullet and buying one of these woods might be the pragmatic answer, but above all I get the feeling that I would feel like I had been mugged which would take away a lot of the pleasure of ownership!

So, to recap: - 20 acres would be a sensible size to aim for - no one really has any idea of the implications of whatever the FC may or may not do - leasing doesn't sound like a popular option Would that be a reasonable summary?

Isn't most of the FC land leasehold with 999 year leases? Effectively not very different from freehold. I have heard that some of the Forestry Commission land in West Sussex will be reverting back to the Duke of Norfolk's estate, but I've also heard of the Forestry Commission selling leasehold land previously. There was some on sale in East Sussex via Clegg & Co recently, but that was withdrawn from sale for with no reason given. Do you know any more about it? It was set up to grow timber, but has developed over time and has been involved in conservation and amenity work since the 1970s, increasingly so in recent years. Car parks, cycle tracks, visitor centres and the like are all part of what "forestry" has become. I think that it's going to be interesting to see how this pans out. My guess is that if the sale goes ahead then the flagship forests will end up with the National Trust, some more will end up with other charities, and some will end up with private investors and people with an interest in forestry and woodland management. I think it's very unlikely that we'll see wholesale felling and development across swathes of forest land.