Spruce Pirate

When I worked for them as a student back in 98/99 it was the same definition of a quarter as above.  

He's not been on here in ages - probably living in a caravan in Argyll and not had any phone signal for a year! 😂

Lynch pins!  I don't know how many times I've snapped one on my finger or how many more times it will take before I learn!

Tonight's stupid, easily avoidable headache was smashing one of the kids Easter chocolate bunnys over my forehead to break it for them.  Chocolate rabbits are surprisingly hard!

Depending on who you're working for you'll need to do it.  Forestry wise there's very few folk who accept you working for them or on their ground without a valid refresher or upskill.  A few smaller contractors working on smaller estates and on the fringes maybe, but all the big players insist on it.  Tree surgery is, I think a very different animal.  As far as it being a recommendation, I think as far as HSE is concerned a "recommendation" is a little more like an instruction and you would have to do some pretty slick talking to explain why you haven't followed their "recommendation".

@slack ma girdle I've never met anyone who wanted to do a refresher.  I've never learnt anything on a refresher, nor has anyone I know.  This is only my personal experience.  They are a box ticking exercise, another overhead, albeit when you look at it on a cost per day basis it is pretty minimal.  I wouldn't employ anyone who didn't have one, but that's because almost everyone we work for insists on them.  I don't think refreshers really serve any valid purpose, I don't believe they've had any real impact on reducing accidents which is why we're now getting hit with logbooks and such like.  On the other hand, I wouldn't employ anyone who I considered actually dangerous.  I'd imagine most of us have come across a few characters over the years who would fit into this category, and most of them could easily pass a refresher course with a five year ticket!

Overall I think its a waste of time, unless perhaps you've had a ten or fifteen year break from using the saw, in which case it might come in handy.  If you're cutting all, or most of, the time you know what you're doing and it won't do you any good other than being allowed to work for the big firms.

1 minute ago, Dan Maynard said:

You need to talk to your DNO (distribution network operator), they will probably suggest a shutdown. This depends on your area, round here UKPN and if you go on their website there's a section on tree trimming.

 

Live working is another whole kettle of fish requiring qualifications, network approvals, different insurance etc etc - not happening for the likes of me and you.

DNO may not give a shutdown unless you've got a Permit to Work, or they might send out their own crew with a Permit.  The latter is rare in my experience.

1 minute ago, Mick Dempsey said:

 

I mean exposed HV ones or domestic insulated ones.

Yes, I was simply taking the piss.

17 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

What sort of power-lines?

I'm guessing electric ones! 😂

3 hours ago, jose said:

had to google that one! do you not worry about it coming undone?

I did a bit when I first got them, but they stay tight and secure.  They've lasted as well, can't remember when I got them, but its a number of years ago and they still seem in good shape.

I've got a couple of Quick-Fists on the roof rack.  But no pictures.

U2.

There will be others but they're the first that spring to mind.

14 hours ago, slack ma girdle said:

Thank for that,  thats a bit of bold forward thinking from FISA

No bother, it is somewhat surprising to see FISA getting to grips with reality!

12 hours ago, slack ma girdle said:

Have you come across Calum Duffy, he has loads of different jacks, it would be worth chatting to him.

And no doubt @Spruce Pirate has had a little experience with them.

I've mostly used a 20t Clarke bottle jack with adaptor plate, but I have used the Treemans a couple of times.  The Treemans is definitely a nicer product, the spreader plate being attached is great but the biggest difference seems to be the amount the ram advances with each pump of the handle which on the Treemans is a lot compared to an ordinary bottle jack.  Unfortunately the price is almost prohibitive, certainly hard to justify against an off the shelf bottle jack and a plate.

I'm pretty sure Calum has the Treemans, the Clarke Forest and a Borntrager jack so he'd be the man to ask how they compare.

1 hour ago, slack ma girdle said:

What you are paying for is a certified jack designed specifically for tree felling. If it goes wrong you will still be covered by your insurance.

The only tree i haven't jacked over the wood of the tree failed not the jack.

 

Non tree specific jacks have been used for felling for ages and have finally been recognised by the powers that be.  Provided certain criteria are met the jack falls within the allowed scope - you can't modify the jack but it must have a removable top plate which can't deform and must have a collar attached.  

FISA Technical Note 001 _ Tree Jacking - August 2021 (1).pdf

I've a 2.4 and it does about 30ish on a long run if that's any help.  Dips into the 20's on short runs or if towing a trailer or if you're doing a lot of miles in lower gears in the wood.

On 11/11/2023 at 09:20, Craigb said:

I’ve been a welder for over twenty years now and I’m going to get into tree work instead. I’ve secured funding for my 38/39 with that forestry funding application. I did apply for 30/31 but didn’t hear anything on this. Cue the Simon bates music, I’ve become fed up with a trade I one enjoyed and have felt like getting into tree work for some years now. The problem is at 40 you have a bunch of financial commitments, I realise jumping career will mean I’m starting at the bottom so I’ll be effectively an apprentice. Anyone done this transition care to share any tips on making this as financially painless as possible and also share any success stories.

 

craig.

Can you do 39 without 30 / 31?

I got a Portable Winch version.  Great bit of kit, really useful in the right situation.  I got it from Jones before they went bust, don't know where/if to get one now.  I like it, but if I had my time over I'd get one with a clutch if possible, although the Portable Winch does have the advantages that it's (relatively) cheap and runs on any rope, normally a retired climbing rope.

Never used the wee skid-loaders, but would reiterate what others have said that the mini-digger is a great tool in the woods.  If you're worried about tearing the ground up you can always work stuff out slowly with it so you're only tracking over the ground once.  Take material, slew round with it and stack it as far as you can reach, track back and repeat.  Works well with logs, wouldn't think it would work so well with brash.  You can also reach over and around things better with the digger I'd think, so you could lift over a fence with it rather than having to track around it with a loader.  All depends on the job I suppose, in an ideal world you'd get both, and a tractor, and a unimog, and a lorry, and a lightsabre, and, and, and, and........ My list of things I need seems to be never ending!

Our old accountant reckoned I could buy a Rolls Royce as a work truck as a sole trader as the HMRC test is slightly different for sole trader vs company, but a) I couldn't and can't afford a Rolls Royce in roadworthy condition and b) it wouldn't be very practical.  The theory still stands though, you can buy anything for work if you meet the criteria, although I'd still check it out with the accountant if I actually wanted to do it.

(note the old accountant was perfectly trustworthy and the only reason he isn't still our accountant is due to him being deceased rather than any dodgy advice he gave us about vehicles)

5 hours ago, Canal Navvy said:

Do motor manual fellers and machine drivers still live in vans on site ? 

Remember hearing wild tales and wondered if land owners still tolerated it 🤔😉

Yes, they do.  But some also get hotels, depends who you're working for and where the site is.  It's been years since I was staying away in the caravan, but it used to be OK so long as it wasn't all the time.  Most folk I know tend to get a mix of jobs close to home and further away so they're not staying on site year round.

We watched it.  Loved Chris' stuff, but to be fair there's a lot of good carvers on it.  And a lot of good carvers who aren't on it.

Doesn't look particularly like DNB, or red band if you prefer, to me, but I've no ideas what it might be.

4 hours ago, Peasgood said:

Senescence is the word you were looking for.

Quite possibly.  I'm only blindly repeating what I was told, thought it was to do with the shimmer on the end of the leaves at that time of year.  I've never heard of senescence before, but I've looked it up.  Every day is a school day!

Quite a while ago we used to spray it with glyphosate in Round-Up form.  It always seemed to shrug it off unless sprayed later in the year when it went into effervescence.  Never seemed to have much effect when sprayed earlier in the year so interested to hear different stories of how to treat.   Haven't done it in years, but do have a wee bit to treat now so I might try hitting it early. 

14 minutes ago, AHPP said:

 

What sort of forestry machines break down the least frequently and the least expensively?

Any that are parked up.

Skyline not really my field of expertise, but dragging 30-40t a day isn't bad I think.  Again, depends on the length of the drag, size of the tree, size of the winch, number of people in the crew, etc, etc.

16 hours ago, Mike Hill said:

How do you measure the volume of wood pulled up the hill onto the landing? In tonn or cubic meters?

How much are you pulling in a day do you know?

I can't speak for JDon, but in my experience timber is measured through the head of the harvester when it's processed.  Then often paid for by the ton.  Amounts pulled in a day can vary hugely depending on the terrain, difficulty and trees.  Some days you'll get hardly anything, some days can be quite productive, it does depend on who's cutting and who's on the winch.100m3 plus is possible, but I rarely actually ask what is coming out when doing this type of work.  Main contractor sometimes swallows the cost of the winching within their overall costs or will sometimes charge it as a separate part of the contract, normally if it is complex work, such as around roads, powerlines, paths, houses, etc

39 minutes ago, Mike Hill said:

Are you paid by the day rate? Do you get an allowance to run your own saw or is that and the fuel built into the day rate?

Most cutters are paid by the day, including all saws and fuel.  Sometimes you'll get oil supplied, occasionally fuel and oil, but most of the time it's a day rate you agree with the contractor and that includes everything.

I got a pair of Lavono (? spelling ?) boots with caulks a while back.  They've been good boots, great grip if you're walking on logs.  Haven't been able to find a pair since.  The thousand dollar price tag on those ones seems a bit steep for boots.