Spruce Pirate

They're sometimes way, way, WAY out with their estimates. I looked at one a while back which was being re-tendered as they didn't like the original bid (only one contractor submitted a bid the first time, it was about £90k). In the end I didn't go for it as the job was too much of a ball ache and we were busy enough anyway, but I reckon the £90k was about right but also I think over twice what their estimate of the value of the work was. I seem to remember it went to negotiation after the re-tender with the amount of work being reduced. Point is, you can only put a price in for what you think the work is worth, not what someone else does.

Two things spring to mind with this, 1 - I never knew that, I've always just put it into reverse and driven backwards until it disengages and 2 - you managed to find a defender of a certain vintage with a working handbrake?!?!?!😲

It'll be fine.

Thanks for all the replies so far, I'm leaning towards just getting the Halfords. Reviews are as good as the likes of the Sealeys cost is a good bit less, lift is more or less the same. John, I'm pretty good at making sure something is properly supported before going underneath it, but I know what you mean about always being the odd time you do. I'll try and be better all the time.

I thought '87, or the aftermath, was the reason we had tickets in the first place! Nothing quite like getting pinched when the cut clearly "should" be opening! I'm not sure a pole-saw is actually all that handy compared to knowing what you're doing and how to do it! A course will only take you so far, if you do the ticket then probably best also to get someone who knows a bit about it to give you a hand when you start off. Single stems are relatively straightforward, but complex multiple blow can take a bit of working out and two heads are better than one. It's not impossible to learn as you go if you're doing relatively small simple stuff, but you still need to take care and be aware of all the tensions, side and up and down and that even small trees can have a lot of force stored in them and even small root plates are HEAVY. You can learn a lot from assessment schedules, FISA guides and YouTube, but better to do a course, get advice from someone with experience or both.

I had my dad's trolley jack on long term loan while he was abroad for a few years, then when he came back I had to return it. Boo-hoo, suck to be me. I've got by for a good while using bottle jacks, but recently used a trolley jack again when there was one available which has reminded me how good, and useful a tool they are. So, I'm in the market for a trolley jack of my own without having to beg and borrow one. Needs to lift 3 ton, that should be plenty of safety margin as realistically most things I want to jack are only about a ton or two. I saw one in Halfords the other week which was fairly cheap, Machine-Mart have a few at varying price points, specifications seem similar. It's not going to get that much use - I cut trees, I'm not a mechanic - anyone on here got any recommendations? Do I just get the cheap one, or is it worth spending a bit more money?

Already done!

Sorry, that was meant as a joke, I didn't really mean for you to go to the trouble of creating a poll.

Shouldn't this really by a poll?

I got service parts from gardentractorspares.co.uk. All ordered off their website, delivered straight to the door, just had to figure out which part numbers I needed.

I'm another fan of the Husky pole pruner. Miles better than petrol versions that I've used, plenty power and battery lasts pretty well. Storage and transport is an issue as it's a bit unwieldy but it's no worse than a petrol version. I have managed to bend the shaft by dropping stuff onto it, but it still works which is something that the petrol pole pruners I've used don't always manage.

Happy New Year to all. A friend of mine is looking for someone with a Lucas Mill to do some milling of large timber in southern Perthshire. Anyone on here interested or know someone who might be? Logs are apparently around 5 ft diameter and up to about 12 m long. Haven't seen them, haven't seen pictures of them, don't know about access but I can find out if anyone is interested in the job. Cheers

I think there are two types of people when it comes to PPE. 1. People who believe PPE is there to protect them and that it is important to keep it in good condition to ensure that it does it's job. 2. People who believe that PPE is a bit of an inconvenience but put up with it because it keeps other people, who have clipboards and checklists, happy and enables them to keep working. If you are a type 1 person you will retire the helmet, if you are a type 2 person you'll keep using the helmet and hope that nobody with a clipboard and shiny shoes notices that it is damaged.

It's called a nurse crop. Lodgepole is particularly good as it helps, I believe, fix the nitrogen in the soil, particularly peaty, heathery areas which Sitka often struggles in. Lodgepole will keep up with the spruce in the early years, I don't believe it has any benefit protecting spruce from the weather though - spruce are pretty hardy. Sometimes it is planted in alternate rows (haven't seen this in a long time) or in intimate mixes 1*1, 2*1 or 2*2. Lodgepole is currently out of favour due to red band needle blight (DNB). It can be a nice tree if you get the right provenance, or it can be an absolutely horrible tree if you get the wrong provenance. It is generally out-competed in the long run by Sitka, giving a self-thinning plantation which can be beneficial on steep ground with poor soils where doing an actual thinning can be costly and coutner productive by opening up the crop to windthrow.

Reading this a thought has occurred (this doesn't happen often). In light of recent blow from Storm Arwen, or whatever it was called, there has been a lot of trees cleared from roads, both public and private. Now, many of these trees are not technically dangerous, and therefore not exempt from felling licence, and in some cases many more than 5m3 will have been cut. Should these be subject to a licence? If so how can roads be cleared in a timely manner? Public roads could be covered by the Statutory Undertaker exemption I would think but do we now technically need to wait for a licence from SF before clearing tress from a private road?

Thanks all. Looking into Ulefones and Otterboxes.

I'll Google Otter Box as I've never heard of them. I'm assuming it isn't anything dirty.......😏

I kind of like being able to get emails, look at maps, etc when I'm at work. I could get a tablet to do this as well, but then that's another thing to get, so I do like having the smartphone. I also like being able to take it out in the wet, get it covered in sawdust, drop it in the muck and all the things that you shouldn't do to a phone so I'm thinking the rugged is probably the way to go.

I'm looking for a new phone as the old one now has a missing volume button, a very clogged up mic, a semi-knackered charging connection and a cracked screen. It's a Sumsung Galaxy one of the "Rugged" types, but technology isn't my strongest point so I'm not sure exactly which model. I've had it about 2 1/2 or 3 years and it's done quite well, easy to use and taken abuse quite well. Any recommendations for a new Rugged phone? Similar to use to a Samsung Galaxy, as tough as possible. I've looked at a few but not sure what's actually good or not. Currently looking at a CAT S62 Pro, which seems tough, but it bloody well should be for the price! Has anyone used one and have any likes or dislikes? Any other recommendations? Links to other relevant threads that I've missed in the search function also welcome!

Marinated in it!!🤣

Is there a prize?

153 Kg without the tongs.

Cutting wood is hard, and it's not something you can learn overnight by doing the basic tickets. Not sure which company has offered you work, but most harvesting sites you need to have big trees, windblow and first aid + F as well. Plus you might need to be carrying specific first aid items on your person, depending whose site it is. Many sites are now harvester, forwarder and saw operator so there's not a lot of scope for learning from and old hand on the job. Harvester drivers generally want trees down, fast, neat and in the right place. Sned well if they need it and logs off as appropriate. You have to know which machine you're felling for and what it can do. A big machine might process a whole tree, a wee machine might need the stem run out and a log off. Leave a tree the machine can't cope with and you'll get whined at and have to go back once he's dragged it through the muck and made a mess of it. Process a tree too much and you'll get whined at that you're wasting time. Anything that's easy will be done by the machine, so you're almost exclusively going to be in the really wet bits, the really steep bits, the really hairy trees or the real messes of windblow, it can also be dangerous for all these reasons. As said above, there's times when it's too hot, too cold, things eat you, the wind is almost always blowing in the wrong direction! All that said, it's not the worst way to spend your days and the rates are certainly beginning to move in the right direction for good, experienced cutters. Not sure about new starts, but generally I've found guys without experience are SLOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW. Not their fault, everyone has to learn, but when there's a production element involved new guys aren't going to make good money as they can't justify it. I don't necessarily agree that this is a good thing, but it is the way it seems to be at present. The industry certainly needs new blood and if your long term goal is to sit in a machine then spending a few years on the saw will certainly make you a better machine operator. Good luck. Don't be put off by all the negatives, some days the sun does shine, there's just enough breeze in the right direction and you even get a good view. In addition to the Chainsaw Operators Blog there's also the UK Hand Cutters page or the Forest Machine Operators Blog where you can get some good advice.

In the professional user world I believe most of us are well protected by PPE in the UK, obviously there are some who don't always wear it for whatever reason, but the majority of the time the majority of users are well protected by their PPE so the little American diagram posted before from 1994 I don't think applies here. In a tree a professional climber is vulnerably in the upper body and arms - experience, work position and sensible use of the saw can all mitigate this. On the ground a professional wood-cutter is far more likely to be killed or injured by falling objects than the saw. I suspect the majority of injuries from chainsaws are amongst the amateurs who have neither the skill, experience or PPE to protect them. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your point of view you can't legislate for these, however as professional users their injuries impact us all as it makes people see chainsaws as even more dangerous. In answer to your question, I don't think there is a better solution to the current system, perhaps some sort of auto-brake if your fingers release the trigger? Assuming most people release the trigger if the chain contacts their body perhaps this might stop a chain momentarily earlier? But, it is one more thing to go wrong, particularly if electronic, has weight implications and might not make much difference.....

Three saws in regular usage for me - Husky 550 mk2, 572 and 390. 550 mk2 is every bit as good as a 560/562 in my opinion, great for wee stuff and for snedding. Bigger stuff if you're only felling to the head with maybe the occasional bit of snedding rough ones 572 with either a 20" or a 24" bar will fell most stuff. Take one of these bars in the piece bag and then you've got a spare with you. 390 really only stuff that's really big and close to the road, it's too heavy to carry miles into the wood. Stihl 261 good saw, but not as good as the 550 for softwood forestry. Stihl 462 good saw, doesn't sned as well as the 572. Haven't used the 500i more than a day, seemed a good saw, lots of folk like them for forestry but I don't know enough about them. Bigger Stihls I haven't used for ages so don't know. Echo, never used but looks old, heavy and clunky - I could be doing them a massive disservice, but they don't look up to the job. DolMakita good saws but the one I tried didn't have the build quality of a Husky or Stihl, too many issues with it falling to bits.