AHPP

Are you old enough to have learned on Whitworth?! It's either that or your boss was German and you were making Obendorf Mausers.

My favourite way to condemn vegans to starvation or compromise is to point out that anything petroleum based is made from dinosaurs etc. So if it was transported by anything other than a human with natural rubber shoes and a hemp rucksack, it’s off limits.

Quite the opposite. I’m trying to establish for the benefit of all who read here whether to place stock in your opinions. Same as everyone does for everyone. I’m sure you don’t take it personally (but please don’t if you were beginning to). I like reading your posts as it happens.

It can’t be spoken for as a whole because I won’t be spoken for by Gristwoods and I doubt Gristwoods want to be spoken for by me.

Google whatever you want to find with site:arbtalk.co.uk after it. Example: log deck goaty site:arbtalk.co.uk or ”Anybody got a log deck” goaty site:arbtalk.co.uk

I've googled bits and pieces you've said before and never hit upon any revelations. Maybe I missed the point. Maybe I wasn't clever enough. Maybe I gave up too easily. Maybe all. I'll make a point of performing proper prep the next time you post something intriguing.

It's all relative so which is it? People on here must be forgiven for still not being sure whether you're a bullshit merchant or whether you really do know useful stuff. We don't expect you to give away valuable knowledge for free willy nilly but you are an awful tease and I don't recall seeing any of your posts that one could really hang their hat on. Like Mick said, throw us a bone.

I have a voice and seek what I want for me. You don't have to go very far beyond that to run into commie talk and before long we'll all be standing in the arb lines for a week to get a new 5/32" file.

Ironically, considering my earlier posts in this thread about the non-financial pleasures of the job, I couldn’t care less if my client or their client thinks I’m in the league below child molesters. As long as they pay and aren’t actually calling me scum through a bullhorn while I’m trying to hear a hinge.

How could Mick have won the deodar job for €5000?

It’s just a web of competing subjective values, like the rest of life. Some people like an environment where paperwork and compliance for compliance’s sake makes the money and workers are stalked for contractual transgressions and the opportunity to invoke penalty clauses. Some people like a joint at lunchtime while cutting hedges and going home on a bicycle. People usually find the right enough people to deal with on this spectrum and their little corner of the world works while other people’s works for them.

I think arb is often poorly paid (for employees, freelancers etc) because it’s often quite pleasant so they’ll take less. Building sites are hellholes filled with morons and arseholes with clipboards. Arb sites to me are gardens, tea and cake on tap or site clearances where you can enjoy the industrialist’s satisfaction of making a big difference quickly with machines etc. I’ve found the majority of arb types pleasant enough and an above average number of them above averagely interesting. Like many, I’m not in it to get rich so these pleasures are worth it to me. As for why the amount end clients are charged is low compared to builders etc, I don’t know whether it is. With small firms, the boss is often on site working so enjoys the tea and cake and the pleasures of the job. Some people don’t care about that so want more money instead. Likewise bigger firms who are just sending men to addresses on a screen are more on the numbers. I’m beginning to feel like I’m rambling on this second half but hopefully someone is getting something from it. I price very little work for end clients and always go in high and safe when I do. The joys of eating the icing off the cake as Mike said earlier in this thread.

He’ll want €100/hour to talk to you now.

The Arb Association is completely within their rights to maintain the normal level of detachment popular among the professionally aloof. It's their loss though. The industry talks on here.

Have you got a photo showing the union from the side?

Likewise. People often say good job, impressive, I couldn’t do that etc. A kid drew a picture of me once. That’s domestic work though, people pleased to have their gardens back. To a developer or maintainer of land/property, perhaps the tree people are just forgettable necessities for clearing a site before you can put a visible money maker like a bricklayer in. I don’t even buy that though. Getting rid of a tree in the way of a Starbucks drive through is still productive work.

Which model? I was scrambling to buy one to perk a fire up the other day but passed on an AK battery model. I’ve used an AP model before and was impressed enough but it was ages ago.

I considered being outraged but the Arb Association doesn’t matter.

Small fry but a nice split. Why should one die while two live? Pretty similar amount of cambium on all.

On bio oil, I've got fifteen or twenty litres of blue/green stuff in the shed that I'm never going to use. Anyone near Newcastle upon Tyne welcome to collect. Free or a bottle of cheap red wine if you felt inclined.

It amazes me that that people buy chain oil in such small quantities. It doesn't go off. I'm only a freelance climber (and don't use very much) and buying 25l drums still seems fiddly considering I have the space for a 210l drum. Now questioning why I haven't done that actually... I'm constantly amazed when firms that have the space to store a chipper, stump grinder, two trucks etc turn up with 2l and 5l bottles from saw shops. Ridiculously expensive and inconvenient. I'd be wanting tanker deliveries like heating oil if I ran an outfit of any size. TL;DR - Buy the largest quantity you can store. More is usually cheaper per litre.

Bloody forget it...

Moving some auxiliary accommodation onto the driveway would rapidly reveal them but is rather rude. Land reg, £3 ish.

My girlfriend was recently looking at a house on the market for 220. She offered 222. Agent came back wanting more so she offered 240. Then they invited her to offer 276. A rumour in the area now exists, that 305 is the latest high bid. But while apparently swimming in these competitive offers, the place is still for sale, six months on… I call bullshit.