Spruce Pirate

Is that up behind Callander Tom? Looking up towards Venachar, or am I imagining it looks familiar? Good job, regardless where it is.

What's to happen to them? Are you just dropping them and leaving them? Drop and sned fully? Drop and partial sned to get them to lie flat? Cross-cutting into set lengths? Cross-cut into random lengths? Do you have a rough stocking density? How much variation in size is there? Are you doing the ring-barking as well? - don't underestimate how long it takes to do it properly. Are you going to be expected to get any really small stuff that's regenerating as well - getting in to hand pulling and lopper work, very unpleasant and time consuming, also easy to miss trees and then have to re-visit to put right. More questions than answer's I'm afraid As far as very rough estimates go I'd guess anywhere between 0.2 and 1.0 ha per man day dependant on stocking density, size and spec. Hopefully the busy bits balance out with the empty bits and you can average it out. For the record, I always find these kind of jobs horrendously difficult to price.

Phase One is very broad brush, we did it a college as part of the ecology module. Its a good starting point for getting into ecological surveys though. Are you doing it through Echoes?

What an interesting table . Or am I just sad? Has anyone measured the angles for chip and logs?

Out of curiosity Tim, how much does it actually weigh? Health and Safety will bankrupt this country, causes more delay and cost than anything else.

I don't think it would work on P. ramorum as it's an air bourn infection which enters through the foliage and causes the tree to die very quickly. From what I know of P. lateralis it's a soil bourn infection which enters through the roots and is slower acting. Hence soil treatment may have an effect.

I helped out peeling Scots pine poles for a log cabin years ago. We did it all with drawing knives from memory. Keep them sharp, straddle the log and just keep peeling. It was hard work as I remember it. I think you can buy a debarking spade from Stihl, not sure where to get a drawing iron.

I like ours, it's pretty good off road, it does a long journey in comfort, you can seat 7 in it (albeit at a squeeze), fold the seats down and there's loads of space, it tows well. That said, it has to be serviced regularly and it's had a bit of money spent on suspension and steering recently. All the points mentioned in previous posts are valid too. Bear in mind that the newest Td5 you'll look at is 10 years old now, there are probably bound to be a few parts needing maintained. Our current one is 15 years old, but still good to drive and got a bit of life left in it. MPG-wise it will do 25 - 31, 31 only on a good long run with little weight an no trailer.

Assuming you already know how to plant a tree? Emergency First Aid at Work + F, which is what I presume you've booked yourself a place on. For the FC you need to make sure that your squad has adequate first aid provision, which generally means at least two members have a EFAW+F cert. I think the FC prefer all on site to have the 1st aid cert. Quad ticket if you're laying stuff out with a bike. PA1 will be required for planting treated trees on FC sites from next year, not sure about private. I don't know if PA6 will be needed for FC or private. If you want to pick up other stuff through the year then PA1 PA6 will let you do spraying, this is needed for all operators. Strimmer and brushcutter tickets would be an advantage for other work. Same with chainsaw.

I have an IPAF and NPTC CS39, this has, so far, been enough for our clients. If you're operating a two man team in the basket I think you would get away with the MEWP operator holding a relevant MEWP cert and the saw operator holding CS39 (but this is only my opinion). You would need the protective screen between the saw operator and the MEWP operator.

That's the one Mat, I knew if I mentioned it someone would know how to find it.

As I understand it - and I've been wrong before - it is perfectly acceptable to use a chainsaw from a MEWP if you have CS39 and an IPAF or LANTRA or NPTC or any other recognised MEWP CoC. The reason for CS47 coming into being was that some operators wished to use a chainsaw from a MEWP but did not have the relevant climbing certificates. There is an old thread on this on here somewhere with a link or reference to the HSE confirming that in their opinion CS39 with a recognised MEWP ticket is acceptable. I'd put up a link, but I'm still pretty computer illiterate and don't know how.

Count me in - you can add my travel and subsistence expenses in to the quote. Have a look on the members directory on the FCA website, there might be someone on there who can help you out.

Without wishing to fan the flames of this, could someone explain why it is illegal to tow in the third lane? Especially on congested roads or when overtaking two large vehicles taking up the other two lanes. For the record, I was aware that it is illegal before this thread, but have never known why.

Ditto. I presume you've actually looked at the tree and you're not pricing of the pic?

I like the sound of it. I've been put off applying for AA membership for various reasons, mainly that I'm mostly forestry with a bit of arb on the side, but this sounds like a good option for folk in my situation. Count me at least pencilled in.

Could you not have straight felled into the field? Put a winch on it for a back up?

Now that chainsaw refreshers are well established - in forestry at least, if not arb - it is only a matter of time before they start on pesticides, then quads, then strimmers, then.............

What would happen if an employed person got a mortgage on the strength of their current employment and then either found themselves changing jobs and ending up with a lot less income? Unless you're suggesting that self-employed people deliberately cook the books in order to get the mortgage approved. In either case:

My wife and I are both self employed, we got a mortgage with no problem at all. I don't think it's the being self employed that is the problem, but as other's have said, the tendency for us to try and minimise our earnings for tax, hence big spends at the end of the financial year. If you declare your correct earnings and are applying for a mortgage within your means, IME, you shouldn't have a problem.

I'd have said beech, personally. Will happily defer to superior knowledge of others though.

I had a shot of one on the ground once, found it like the Krypton Factor, could barely open it even once I'd been shown how to do it. Could be I'm just a bit slow though.

Ditto, don't know how many old cans and spouts I've got in the shed. I swapped to a Stihl can this time last year, big improvement over the Husky. Like the look of the new Husky's, but until they're on the shelf impossible to tell what they'll be like.

Was that a bespoke course for one person? Even if it was it still seems expensive, but if you have four candidates for training that's £1640 for a trainer for a day???? I know trainers have costs, and if it's through the ring then there's their on-cost as well, but really - £1640 for a day??? I'd be genuinely pleased if any trainers on here can justify that cost.

Sounds exactly like that. Quite common here too, especially out west.