John Russell

There is no way of getting loads of work quickly; it's about reputation and that takes time. It's constantly being there when people are looking for you; answering the 'phone in a business-like manner, sounding enthusiastic and helpful at all times; keeping kit in good nick; always working with colleagues you respect and trust and -- as others have emphasised -- doing a great job. Word of mouth is far and away the best for all service activities. Having said all that, here are a few marketing ideas. For the purposes of this exercise I've made the assumption you're a jobbing tree surgeon. 1) Who recommends people who do your line of work in your area? Go and talk to them, try to develop a relationship where they might give you a try out. Who might need additional resources at times? Talk to them. 2) If you decide to advertise, forget big one-off splashes where you blow a load of money. Much better to decide on a budget, decide where people are likely to see you and then advertise with a tiny but distinctive ad in the same place all the time. Go to your local newspaper and ask the advertising department how much for a permanent ad in the bottom left hand corner of page 7 for the next five years. If it's too expensive then reduce the size of the ad until you can afford it. It'll be there, day in, day out, every time people open that paper. What's more if they suddenly need a tree surgeon (which is the way it goes, I would think) they know exactly where to find you. 3) Sign your van so that it reminds people of the ad in the paper; for obvious reasons -- "oh there's the chap who advertises in the paper". 4) Have a website: use plenty of pictures of examples of your work, use plenty of testimonials. Make sure it incorporates the ad that appears in the local paper on the home page. This ties you in -- if they've seen the look often before, they'll feel they know you. 5) If you want to have a push (sounds like you do) have some postcards printed up (same style as the newspaper ad) and push one though the door of any house that looks like it could use a tree surgeon (I don't know whether this would work but if I was starting out in your business I'd give it a try). There's a few ideas based on forty years of helping people promote themselves. Hope it helps. Best wishes, John Russell

That's the lake full of carp, rudd, roach and perch. When I was a very young man living in the back streets of Sheffield, I dreamt that one day I'd own a wood and a lake. Today, after a lifetime of hard work and long hours my dream came true. I'm a happy man, Stephen.

Oh, go on then -- here's the view. It's taken at the opening party last August when our neighbours and everyone involved in the build was invited. The frame was built and erected for me by Tamar Joinery [ Traditional Oak Timber Frame Manufacture Devon ] from local Devon oak. I did the ground works (extensive because it incorporates a cellar); Martin, my carpenter and I put on the roof and installed the chimney. Martin did all the internal tiling and put on the doors. My wife painstakingly cleaned the interior all down with oxalic acid. Nick, my electrician (centre of picture), installed the electrics. I paid the bills. The second pic is of it 'in-build', November 2009 -- I'm the old man who needs a hair cut. Best wishes, JR

And you haven't seen the view from it! BTW Stephen; it faces due north (that's the setting sun on it) -- the secret to a garden room/conservatory that doesn't overheat in summer. Best wishes, JR

You lot like pics, don't you? So do I! This pic was taken after the garden room was finished but before I had chance to complete the landscaping. Note the chimney -- I've still to put in the stove. Best wishes, JR

Which part of the country are you in, Archie? I might know someone who can help -- certainly with oak frame drawings and planning. If you're in the SW I know someone who might be able to help with the structure too. I put up an oak framed garden room last summer.

Lee Winger writes: "I have a friend who manufactures specialist parts for the oil drilling industry, his company is the world leader in the production of certain specialist parts, he told me that running out of oil/peak oil will not be happening any time soon, or indeed in our great great grand children's lifetime...." There is a great misunderstanding of what the phrase 'Peak Oil' actually means. Your friend is perfectly right, Lee, though one needs to interpret what he says differently. If I may be permitted, I'll shed some light on it. The world is not running out of oil; there is still loads in the ground -- probably half of what exists is still down there. However, the world is running out of cheap oil; and that's what 'peak oil' concerns are all about. When oil was first discovered men would drill a hole in the ground and up it would come as 'a gusher'. Gradually the 'easy' wells got used up and the oilmen drilled deeper in search of the 'sweet, light crude'. As the oil kept coming, offering a steady supply supply of easily transported fuel, the world gradually re-oriented itself into being totally dependent on this incredibly versatile, concentrated energy source. Demand rocketed. Supply increased to meet demand. Today, much of the world's 'easy' oil has gone. Today there is a lot less of the 'sweet light crude'. Today much of the oil being produced is thicker and tar-like which is pumped out under pressure or by injecting steam down into the ground. At the same time oil wells, once all on land, are now being dug further and further out to sea in deeper and deeper water. So the oil's still there, it's just harder -- and more expensive -- to get at. As an example of how far we're prepared to go, the latest source of oil being developed is the 'Alberta Tar Sands' in Canada. Forget pumping -- here the oil is found as tar, in sand and shale, and has actually to be dug out by excavator, dumped in lorries and transported to huge processing plants where it is melted and the usable oil extracted. As you can imagine this is all very expensive. Indeed 20 years ago it was too expensive to extract and was untouched. However -- and this is the crucial bit -- as oil prices rise worldwide, this expensive oil becomes economic. So 'Peak Oil' is the point where the cost of extracting the remaining oil raises the price of the end product to the point where people have to stop using it and start looking for alternative sources of energy. So next time you are weighing up the costs whether to power your saw bench by a diesel engine or use electricity, ask yourself; is this a sign of peak oil? But don't worry; as Lee's friend says, oil will still be available in our great-great grand children's lifetime for those uses for which there is no practical alternative -- chainsaws for instance. Just don't expect petrol to be the price it is today. Hope that helps. Best wishes, John Russell

I'd stick a letter through the door of everyone of those houses that back on to it. You'll get a lot more than 10K if more than one or two of them are tempted. That'll be 2%, please. I'll email the invoice. Best wishes, JR

Not sure why others leave high stumps but my reason is that high stumps mean that new shoots get above the browsing height of deer very quickly. They make it easy for coppicing too -- less bending. Low stumps will never get away with new shoots if you have a lot of deer around. Technically I believe a tree cut at that height is called a 'coppard'. Here's more I just found. Looks like the ancients came to the same conclusion I did for cutting their trees high: The Woodland Trust | New discoveries | Beech coppard in Epping Forest Best wishes, John Russell

Talk of equipment being 'not CE compliant' and modifications to machines makes me want to ask a couple of innocent questions. 1) I can see that if you buy a piece of, let's say, 'non-standard equipment' and then use it or modify it yourself, that's your own look out. But if you employ someone and ask that person to use a modified or non-standard machine, could you not lay yourself open to a hell of an accident claim if anything went wrong? 2) If you modify equipment without informing your insurance company are you not likely to make your insurance null and void? 3) Isn't anyone selling machinery without a CE mark within the EU making themselves liable if that machinery injures someone? I don't want to be a spoilsport but I'm innately risk-averse. Here's more on the the CE mark: CE mark - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Best wishes, John Russell

An old oak down by the stream.

Here's my standing deadwood. It was a goat willow growing somewhere we didn't want it. I chopped the branches at shoulder height then stripped off all the bark to kill it. Finally I sawed off two branches level at seat height and nailed a piece of old scaffold plank across them. Voila; a nice, firm bench! I don't know how long it will last. 2 years old now and no signs of rot.

Long before bearings collapse they start making a noise (they also get hot). If, when you switch the tractor off (or the motor if it's electric) the saw continues to turn as it runs down, then that's the time to listen carefully. The shaft that the saw is on should be turning with a nice, quiet, smooth sound -- any knocking, clicking, whining or rumbling; change the bearings. If you know what your bearings sound like when new, you'll soon know if they're running dry or failing. I put a small amount of grease with a grease gun in my Hakki Pilke Eagle bearings every week. It takes about a minute to do and as a result they'll probably outlast me.

Ha! That's the trick -- always send round the prettiest member of the crew to ask. You should have looked more upset -- she had a couple of twenties in her pocket to give you!

Bit of feed back. That Palax saw seems a lot smaller than the 700mm one on the Hakki Pilke Eagle. I checked today and I found the Eagle would take up to 300mm dia timber. Yesterday I used it with my son: I sawed while he split. Because you're working at 90 degrees to each other it's quite safe and you can keep an eye on what the other is doing. If one person saws at exactly at the same time as the other splits it's true that it overloads the PTO, but we easily got into rhythm where when he put a big lump on the splitter I momentarily eased off on the saw. It was no problem. The benefit of two people using it at the same time is that you produce twice as much split wood for a given amount of diesel used.

There's the other side to to this coin. As some of you know my 'proper' work is film-making. Many is the time when we've recce'd a location in advance -- perhaps some nice quiet cul-de-sac somewhere -- and then turned up on the appointed day with a crew and actors to record a scene. Then sod's law kicks in and someone suddenly decides to mow a lawn, trim a hedge, or start up a chainsaw: usually just after I've shouted, "action". As you can imagine the amount of money being invested in crew, equipment and actors (probably all travelled 150 miles to be at that particular location, perhaps stayed overnight in hotels) can be quite considerable. The solution is usually quite simple and involves the liberal distribution of some folding stuff. People are invariably quite amenable if you ask them nicely and grease the old palms with a few quid.

Correct. From HMRC's website, QUOTE: "The change only applies to the standard VAT rate. There are no changes to sales that are zero-rated or reduced-rated for VAT." http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/rate-increase.htm

I agree. Most starter motors are held on with just two bolts, so before getting in an auto-electrician, whip it off and check the bendix. It's a simple job anyone with a spanner can do. If you remove the power cable, disconnect the battery first as it will probably be live and you'll melt the spanner if it touches anything. When you have the starter on the bench the bendix should twist up the helical thread very freely and then return to the disengaged position under the pressure of the spring, without sticking. Clean the bendix with a wire brush. You could also clean it with a little petrol so that it loosens any dust but then it all evaporates away without leaving an oily residue. Make sure you only dip the bendix in petrol -- not the whole starter! Only thing I would add to the above is don't be tempted to oil the bendix once cleaned -- it's likely to stick more after a few days. You can use graphite powder but that's starting to get a bit technical. If the teeth are badly chewed then you'll need to replace it. Some of the larger auto-electrical places will rebuild starters: cheaper than a new unit. All the above won't take more than half an hour assuming the starter is easy to get to (sorry, don't know the details of Unimogs). if it still doesn't work after it's all back together then it's time to call in an expert.

As a customer, I hate the business of getting three quotes and taking the cheapest. So I never ask for a quote: I only ever employ craftsmen on a daily rate -- electrician, carpenter, plumber, and yes, tree surgeon. But they all came originally by recommendation and I know them all personally and they know me; in fact they often become friends. They put in a bill for their hours and I pay immediately. My regulars also know that if they do a good job -- and they always do, or they wouldn't be there -- I'll go out of my way to recommend them to others. I respect them and they respect me. Look after your good customers -- they are your best bet for getting you more good customers.

It's designed to take logs up to about ten inches or so; maybe a bit bigger. You couldn't use it on anything of 20" -- not because of the saw size but because the holder that carries the logs is not wide enough to let that size log sit in it. But, as I say, small stuff -- brilliant.

There's a heated argument going on about the eagle owl in the UK. Eagle owl spreads across British Isles and divides conservationists | Environment | The Observer QUOTE: "A potential cull of the largest owl in Europe has placed the government at the centre of an increasingly bitter row between conservation groups. There are fears that the eagle owl, a non-native species seen in growing numbers in the British Isles, poses a serious threat to established wildlife. Some groups say the formidable predator must be protected. Others claim it could disturb the UK's existing wildlife balance and, as a non-native species, should not be afforded protection."

Here's a quote from yesterday's Sunday Times referring to wood-burning stoves... "Sune Nightingale, a director of Stoves Online, says demand has doubled or trebled over the last couple of years." I suspect demand will continue to rise dramatically year on year now.

I suggest before using a knife or needle, run it through a candle, blow lamp, cigarette lighter or a gas ring flame a few times. It will totally sterilise the implement. I know you will get away without doing this nine times out of ten but on occasions you could end up with something nasty (do you know where that knife has been?). It's a trick my dad taught me that he learnt during the 2nd World War in the Royal Engineers (North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Yugoslavia + 3 years afterwards taking up minefields). He saw a lot of injuries and saved a few lives -- and it wasn't thorns he was digging out of men's limbs! Sorry -- I'm not trying to belittle thorns -- they bloody hurt!

They've been seen all over the UK at the moment -- including North and South Wales, and Devon. Try googling 'waxwing seen [your local area]'. Still looking for my first; never seen one ever.