Matthew Storrs
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Everything posted by Matthew Storrs
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Just thinking the same- I keep looking at it in the hope that it may have progressed on to other topics- but it's been on the same merry go round for months now. The odd futile effort of others to introduce other topics of the day is quickly reverted to the same old same old!
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I honestly think every job has hidden problems that one might not consider on the face of it. I like your suggestions Richy and know where your headed but if there was an easy way to make a return on something everyone would be cottoning on? I wish I was a little more enterprising sometimes- some people seem to make money out of nothing but I'm not one of them! In response to the OP- I'm sure if your in the right circle you will get work with the setup you describe but just be aware to expect every day will be a flogging. I.e. People will want their money's worth and the only way you can deliver that with that sort of work is to beast yourself and chipper- I may be wrong but used to offer myself with a tracked chipper and gave up in the end - too much sweat for little reward. good luck what ever you decide.
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Look at the yanmar sv26. Nicely towable with an attachment or two. It's conventional tail swing and wide track base so should be pretty stable. And 2x hammer circuits as standard (I think) so can run rotator and grab easily . i think you will be hard pushed to better your Volvo tbh, Kubota you suggest is zero tail swing- no point having that unless you need it? Iv never found myself needing zts on a 3 tonner myself- I prefer big bottoms
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Augers will take the easiest path- and often the auger will just screw past a root if it can fit in the auger flight. what tip have you got, I have the tungsten tipped flight on my x2500- rarely find it gets stuck on a root unless very large 4"plus- anything less it normally chews through. only a 3 tonner behind it.
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Branch logger OR Bilke S3 - Any good ? opinions please
Matthew Storrs replied to Bustergasket's topic in Firewood forum
I haven't used it enough to give an answer to this- it's my dads machine so only used it a handful of time- is estimate a bag every 3-5 mins perhaps maybe less if brash is neatly presented for the machine -
Branch logger OR Bilke S3 - Any good ? opinions please
Matthew Storrs replied to Bustergasket's topic in Firewood forum
My dad runs a branchlogger of his 60hp zetor which it powers easily. Good machine, the bags can be a bit of a fiddle but easier with 2 people to keep the flow going! i think they are great things for the landowner/smallholder types- they get rid of brash and leave a useable firewood product at the end. -
Yep fair one- nothing to be lost by trying.
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Felix- surely they'd not pay it saying they never agreed to a price to quote? Probably just end up wasting more of your time than just sucking up these bad eggs as they turn up.
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I've got it wrong on many occasion- in my favour- of going to look at a job (usually arranged en route to somewhere else) thinking that its most likely a waste of my time only to find the complete opposite- 2 of my most regular and easy going customers are such examples.
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Thats fair enough Mick- you've obviously got more self control then me/most. I can't help thinking I would have explained in a fairly dry manner that I was glad they felt it acceptable to waste your Saturday when they had no intention of paying to have the job done. It makes you think though, it's be nice to charge say £20 for a quote- refundable on acceptance of job- I know i know- it'd never work but still- it cut out the time wasters
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Confident enough to not take the gate off its hinges- like it
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Looking good, and love the owl, not sure about the dragon at the front- perhaps a little penis shaped for a tea room?? apologies- that sounded like i was being rude- it is no doubt work in progress. Will follow with interest
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I'm so so sorry to hear this news, Paul regularly sent me emails often going out of his way to help with queries I had both on this forum and another fencing forum. I never met him unfortunately but he was undoubtedly a conscientious chap always happy to help others as you say. I'm sure you and your family have many happy memories to hold onto and once again very sorry for your loss. Matt
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Good to hear. What is the 3rd line for- most screening buckets seem like they run off standard double circuit?
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That really is a formidable looking machine Eddie- seeing the shear next to the van puts it in perspective how big it is. Scraggs- i assume you have now taken delivery of your TB230 then? How are your first impressions?
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Couldn't have happened to a nicer chap. Always had really good advice/tips from Goaty- so heal quick mate and hope to meet you in person one day:thumbup1:
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Depending on your definition of poorly. I'd reckon a 2 man team (inc owner as climber) with a transit and chipper working 220 days a year at £350 per day could pay the groundie somewhere between £20-25k and climber/business owner taking home around £35k a year after business expenses Yeah ok your not going to be rich but even so not a bad living wage surely? Less staff& less kit=less hassle so again just depends on folks expectations from a buisness
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This is true- but it can work out just as badly for a tractor on the same scenario you describe. I believe you need to hold records of maintenance done or proof that you have kept it in a roadworthy condition. I bet most don't and run more on the basis of when it breaks it gets fixed. Tractors are also not cheep torunning on the road, you can easily lose £3-4K plus on a set of tyres, and even if running on red you'd be lucky to be doing better than 8mpg (MOgs may differ?) £3k to change a wet clutch etc etc. Basically in answer to the OP there is no ideal setup, just work with what you have until you get a better idea of what your work requires then go from there because everyone probably thinks their setup is the best!
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Sizing is all NATO so can be tricky to determine online. I go for 180 height and 100 chest. I think you are similar size to me? It's probably a little on the roomy size but not overly so and leaves nice amount of room for a jumper in winter. Another good thing about them is the hood will come right over you helmet and earmuffs which saves a cold trickle down the back of your neck. I think they are really good jackets epeacially at that price
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I've had that same jacket for over 5 years. Absolutely brilliant- always dry and is tough. We get over 2000mm rain a year here so I wear it a lot! It just bought the RAF one (cos I don't like camo if I can help it) which is longer but no hood-
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It's tricky because once you go down the route of big jobs. You generally price yourself out of the smaller ones. Using Tom as an example. His Valtra won't fit down an alleyway, so he either has to also have a narrow access outfit (which in turn needs to have the regular work) or he doesn't entertain the job and let's the smaller outfits do what they do best. I speak from slightly bitter experience in that I have in the past bought bigger kit because I had a lot of work for it at the time, all was great and then a turn in different kind of jobs rendered the machine sitting in the yard for a few months at a time. That was in part laziness on my part as cos I had work I didn't push for machine specific jobs which I guess you should do really.
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Your preaching to the choir mate:001_smile: I probably have invested about £100k worth of kit, some jobs I can beast others I can't, I have equipped myself according to my workload I'm a big believer in having the right gear for the job- no point struggling with inferior equipment, but I also believe that every setup has its place. My point though was that not everyone's aspirations are the same. Some are happy pottering around with a fairly modest setup with modest jobs lots of tea breaks and early finishes. On the other hand you can have the mega bucks kit, but if you don't have the right kind of jobs it's not going to pay for itself let alone turn a decent profit. I bet there's blokes out there who are making more profit with truck and cs100 per outlay than the big tree eating machines.
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its only worth having a big chipper if you have the right jobs for it. In the example that Kevin posted, yes a bigger chipper may have meant an earlier finish but if you only have that job booked for the day and you are still earning the money the benefit of the larger chipper is lost. It's not always easy to fit another job in at 3pm. What I'm saying is what is the best combination for one business maybe completely inappropriate for another. A 7.5lorry or tow behind chipper would not be my personal choice id sooner a go anywhere outfit and get jobs to suit.
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Growan is what we refer to here on Dartmoor as the decomposing granite. Basically a broken down granite silt which tends to lie under the Peat here. I use Growan to dress national park footpaths as it's a local product so blends in well but also once the clay type particles are washed out of it (usually after a few rain falls) it makes a very good all in one substrate for footpaths and tracks that naturally compacts well. I'm sure other granite areas of the country call it by a different name?
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Doubt you'll be short of volunteers Eddie! Let the bidding commence! I too look forwards to video footage if poss:thumbup:
