Spruce Pirate

You've lost me again. What's a school marm? By our standards a 4' tree is a big one, maybe not massive, but big.

I think bucking translates as cross-cutting? Bore cut to me is going in from the side when diameter exceeds bar length and working round. Leaving a bit of holding wood at the back I'd call and strap cut or a dog tooth more recently (and I agree, it seems too popular at the moment). I think what you north americans call a sink I'd call a gub, but also called gob, face, notch, mouth - probably others depending on where you are. Personally I'm not that keen on the Humbolt, but I'm not used to it as generally use the cuts I was first taught - I think a large part of it is how you were taught and what you're used to using. Most felling here is done by machine here these days and most of the old cutters are now gone and have taken a lot of their skills with them. They've been replaced by NPTC units teaching a very limited skill set. I'd love to be able to get the time with a proper old cutter and get the benefit of their knowledge, but they're difficult to find these days. I'm not saying there's none left or that all modern cutters are unskilled, just that a lot of knowledge has been lost in this country. I think the US and Canada do a better job (currently) of passing down knowledge from one generation to the next. We are to concerned about paper trails and certification to learn this way here. Keep posting Craobh, but maybe slow down a little, a lot of us seem to be struggling to keep up with the foreign lingo.

Scary, I had almost the same thing last month five days before the MOT. Pulled up put full oposite lock on to reverse the trailer in, thought the steering felt light, went to move off and steered the oposite direction (ie, wheels hadn't turned at all). The inside of the steering box had dropped out! Drop arm was still attached at the box end and ball joint end. I was all right as I was stopped turning on a private track, but scary to think what could have happened if it had been on the main road, especially as I had the wee one with me. Again, no external signs of wear, no excesive play in the box, no leaks, no reason to suspect iminent and sudden failure. Glad you're OK and got it fixed easily. (mine wasn't quite as quick and easy fix as the whole box had to come out).

If you don't already have one the first place to start is by getting a driving license. I seem to get a lot of guys asking for work with tickets but without a license they're not really employable. Has to be said that this is more forestry than arb, but all the same, my advice is get a driving license first. Then basic tickets (30,31), then get some basic experience before doing more advanced or climbing tickets - learn to walk before you start trying to run.

Don't like the cold season, don't like the midge season, don't like the wet season. The other three days of the year I'm like a pig in ****. Wouldn't want to do anything else though.

I like that idea. In all seriousness I think we would all be more willing to sign up to these things if we felt there was a bit more reward to them. The benefits of "it means you comply with H&S", "it will allow you to stay on our approved list" make it seem as though you're having to do it just to stand still. The "you need it if you want to work for us" seems more like a threat than an incentive. More carrots, less sticks makes a lot of sense to me.

Believe it or not I once had a machine operator extracting the Michael about the height of my stumps!!! That was funny. Back to the point - it's not just cutters the problem is with. Quality planters are hard to find, and if planting isn't done right the problem knocks on right down the chain. Forget the cutters and get some quality planting squads sorted out. Far too much "its only sticking a tree in the ground" mentality at all levels, especially managment.

Well said, just about sums up all the recruitment problems this industry faces in one post. Anyone got any ideas on solutions? 'cause I don't.

Must've done if it supported the whole tree including the root ball! Presumably it withstood the dynamic loading of the rootball lifting out of the ground as well. Buitlt 'em strong back in the day.

Try asking around the local farms. There are still a few around which might be for sale for the right money. Other than that I think they're getting into "collector's items" and a decent one will either be too much money or too restored for putting to work in the woods.

Without the adjacent trees I don't see what you could do other than get some kind of crane in. Even with the trees it still looks a proper head scratcher of a job. Good result, very tidy.

Semi-Chisel Chain. That's always a mistake!

Yeah, to be fair, you did get in first. With saws, my general philosophy is: if in doubt, get a new saw, prefferably bigger.

This thread moves too fast! By the time I've finished typing there's always a rake of other replies duplicating my thoughts!

Even if they're not hollow, a bore cut should get them down with a 24" bar. It needs to be a REALLY big tree to be unable to bore it and fell it with a 24" bar. If you can't get a 36" bar for the 395 straight out of the box then just buy the power head and a bigger bar and chain separately. Personally I'd look at getting the 395 with a 28" bar and chain, then you've got it, and get the bigger bar and chain (plus probably drive sprocket due to different pitch) for occassional use.

I run a 660 on a 30" bar, but wouldn't go much bigger than that for any period of time, even though they say it will take a 36". I think I would treat the 395 the same way. It maybe says 28" max in the catalogue, but pretty sure it would pull a bigger chain for occassional use. 385 certainly runs a 28" bar with no problems.

OK, so I've now looked on the link and found its 6,293km. Should've done that first. Well done.

Out of curiosity, how far is that? How long has it taken?

I like the big Stihl bar. Previous one was a Bahco, which broke. Never tried the Oregon for comparison, but would recommend the big Stihl.

I think this is the point I was trying to make in my fist post on this thread - Ant, you appear to be competent to make the decision if you need to use the brake or not. In the context of a professional ground saw user I find the habit of clicking on the brake after every single cut excesive and this is what I seem to notice about the way saw use is taught these days. I was thinking about this thread on Friday (had a rare Saturday off yesterday) and did find myself using the brake more often than I thought I did. Not sure if I'm just getting soft as a result of this thread or if I normally use it more than I think I do. Still no one has explained why putting it on with the right hand is so dangerous. Could somone please do so as I genuinely don't understand?

Isn't that why we're all in tree work - the glamour?

I totally agree with this, I'm much better using the brake in a tree - I think a greater sense of self preservation kicks in. Maybe I am too old fashioned, or not concerned enough with my own safety on the ground, but it's the way I was taught and has become habit. I'm not saying I never use it (slopes, awkward situations etc as said by others), but I'm certainly not as keen on it as the guys who've done training more recently, and yes I've been refreshed, and yes it did come up during that too. I still don't understand the problem with putting it on with your right hand (I normally use my left wrist by the way). Putting it on with your right hand = right hand not on throttle = chain not spinning, so what's the problem?

If the idle is set properly and the chain is tensioned correctly and the saw is in generally good conditon then don't need to use it all the time, and yes I agree it does slow you down. I also don't see what's wrong with knocking it on with the right hand if you're holding it in your left. The chain shouldn't be moving in that situation as your hand won't be on the throttle. Constantly having the brake on seems to be a modern thing, all the new guys seem to do it. When I did my ticket I asked if I needed the brake on in addtion to having the saw on the other side of the tree when moving branches and was told no, it would be a fail as the saw is in a safe position anyway - in other words if you were "competent" you needed to know when to use the brake and when not to. Now it seems to be brake on to start, brake on to move an inch, brake on to fuel the saw. Seems to be a good way to wear out chain brakes to me.

Good point - well put.

This thread makes me sad. Has it really come to this? That an experienced operator cannot show another person how to operate a tool because they must ensure that they don't end up in court or held liable if something goes wrong? I fully appreciate why people say that you should in no way offer training (indeed, you may be liable yourself if you say anything else!), but still, just sad really. It is a pretty poor reflection on our society if you ask me.