spuddog0507

Yes Arbtalk has changed, along with many other things in life, like people, attitudes , and society in general and its only going to get worse i am sorry to say ? 40 years ago we used to go and have site meetings with a land agent or the estate manager and discus a woodland weather it be thinning, clear fell or for a pipe line going through, some things got written down and a price agreed and we just got on with it, Today i get to meet some smartarse kid with a HSBC & TSB degree in woodland management telling me how to do my job that i been doing since late 1970s, then when i disagree with something they then snottaly remind me that they have a degree in woodland management,, OK jog on with it then you got the paperwork and i only have 40 odd years experience, now that does piss me off, One management lad i met a few wk back at a site tuned up in a fleece and his office shoes, the day wasent great with sunshine one minuet then lashing it down next, he requested the site visit and when i said to him are putting your boots or wellies on, his answer was not got any ? best i could do for him was 2 Aldi carrier bags and some bailing string to cover his carpet creepers with hence when we returned to the cars he was soaked, loads of things have changed, some for the good and some for the worse, internet is good, mobile phones are good to a extent but i hate to think how much working time is lost in the UK in one day, And i am no exception as my phone has not stopped ringing this last 2 wks, but i only got myself to keep going ATM, today i was doing all sorts and only got about half done of what i wanted to do but due to answering my phone i got several trees to look at and 2 woodland jobs to look at,, Ok rant over,,,

There was a lot about like you say, old lad down Rd at a farm who is sadly no longer with us had a Norbsa mid 50s wideline with a A7 500 twin copled to a rrt2 box I allways thought it looked and sounded well,, I went to a bike show with my dad in late 70s and saw this bike that consisted of wheels frame forks engine single seat rear sets clip ons and a 5 gallon ally tank that said triton on it and I thought I going to own one of them one day so the one above was purchased in 93 from a old guy in melton Mowbery for the grand sum of £1200 so not a bad investment ??.

Not today but last wk, fitted a new hydraulic to tractor and finally splashed out on a new timber grab, totally transformed the whole outfit, lifts better and grips logs better, had 4 days extracting with it and loved every minuet of it,,

Like this one,, one of the first Norton widelines 1954 fitted with a 1953 all alloy triumph tiger 100 motor and box, mate has one but a bit different than mine, 1958 wideline with a modern triumph 955i motor fitted and he says its good for 150mph but dernt take it any further,,

Oliver Coombs at timber auctions in york would be a good man to talk to as he would auction it off as a standing sale for you , so basicaly sold to a harvesting crew who would cut process and remove from site so you wouldnt need to do owt only watch and take a few photos and then take payment,,

Swinny has just about said it all in his post,, but i will add that there is some crap out there for sale that is described as in good working order and TBH some of it is not fit for purpose and they are just money pits, i was looking for a digger before covid and TBH i thought no just hire one in when i need one as its one less machine for me to look after, 8 tonner wont be as easy to sell when you done with it either, and personally i think the 2,6 2,7 2.8 tonne machines are much easier to sell, Another thing to think about as well is theft a 2.7 will walk as much easier to move on a ifor trailer thane a 8 tonner is to move,,

Yes it was from the post office and if i remember right it was basically the size of a post card and it was brown, it did say shotgun licence on it and not certificate, think first one i got was 1980/1981 and it lasted 12mth and it was about two quid, no reminders about renewall and if you didnt get a new one you would probably get a visit from the local plod to see if you still had guns, very relaxed back then ,,

Had a day on my old kubota today forwarding timber out that we cut a few months back, not the driest of woodlands but still traveling well at half 5 on last load, bit rough in places so slowly slowly wins the race and it wernt a short haul either any where between 500 & 600yds ,

As promised, midland 12g s/s Hammer gun made in 1876 for a butcher in Fleetwood, this gun was 1 of 2 identical guns the butcher bought at the same time and when he fell ill he gifted one each to his 2 members of staff, the guy I got it off started at the butchers as a Saturday boy just before WW11 started he then became a full time traine butcher, he said he was given the gun in the mid to late 40s and used it extensively for rough shooting, I acquired the gun early 90s and it was checked out and found to be out of proof on the RH barrel so off to the Birmingham proof house it went and came back stamped up with Moor proof on it than when it was made, originally 1 1/8oz nitro proofed and now 1 1/4oz nitro proofed,, I have not used much since I got it but have shot ducks pigeons and pheasants with it,

I will dig it out as its right at the back of cabinet,,

I have a midland hammer gun not damascus barrels though, got it handed to me when the shotgun certificates changed, made in 1876 for a butcher in Fleetwood and was 1 of a pair he had but not numbered, i am only the third owner of it and the butchers grandson i still see now and then and is all ways telling me about his grandad shooting grouse, hares, rabbits and pheasants to sell in his butchers shop,

Worked in forestry and shot on a lot of land over the last 45 yrs and only ever had one tick on me but taken hundreds off my dogs, doing some thinning work ATM on a estate that has a large head of both deer and sheep on it so i will be looking more often now,, A forestry co we do a bit for have health and safety days now and then and Lyme,s disease is a big thing, on one of these days they had a young lady there who was the daughter of a bloke i had done a bit of work for on a park home site across the rd from me, you can check her story out on the net and its quite sad really, such a beautiful young lady with big prospects in life and all ruined by 1 tick, Sophie has done a lot of work raising awarness on Lyme,s disease on BBC radio Lancashire and on TV as well, you can check her story out by just googling Sophie ward lyme,s disease and it will bring a few sophie wards up but i am sur you will find it,,

Thats just a stack of firewood, may be one log worth milling ? prices in general with timber seem to be dropping at the moment, £60 - £70 a tonne road side, and i would say circa about 8 tonne there,,

well not done much this last few wk only service machines split firewood and prep for a 4 wk job, taking digger tomorrow with grab on to move some timber to a easier extraction point for tractor and forwarding trailer, i will have digger there for 2 days but will probably spend 12 or 14 hrs on it each day, then will take tractor and trailer on Thursday and be on that again for 12 or 14 hrs a day, then digger will be back next wk with shear on and got 4.5 acre block of hardwood thinning,s to do and then 19.8 acres of regen birch to remove from a Oak and cherry plantation so could be 14,15,16 hr days as staying on job site,,

Yep not bad and yourself,,weather is great ATM and we can travel well with out making a mess which suits me,,