Spruce Pirate

I'm pretty sure there are several pictures in this book which clearly show two people in a basket, separated by a screen. Can't find my copy of the book just now to check.

The only reason for using it is for cutting a tree of over 2 bar length, ie, when, if you bore in from one side and swing the saw right around the back of the tree there will still be a part of the tree at the back of the hinge which has not been cut and will prevent the tree from going over. I've seen this happen on oaks and even a loader struggling to push the tree over, with only about 4" unsevered in the centre behind the hinge. The hinge should be sllightly thicker each side in order to compensate for the lack of holding wood in the center. There are all sorts of diagrams available in the books which show what I mean. Any benefits for milling are a bonus, not the reason for doing the cut.

It's a standard cut for trees over bar and a half length, hinge should be left thicker than normal either side to compensate for lack of holding wood. I can see it could be handy on high value timber if you don't want the centre to pull. If your bar is big enough to get through in one cut, or bore from one side there seems little point in taking the heart out though.

Make money? Normally you've to pay to get folk in to weed your ground! Or am I missing something?

I've only ever had a quick demo of an electric saw in the shop, but was really impressed. For pruning work these look great, allow lots of communication between ground and tree. If a car charger is available and battery life is good these must be the way forward. Also with the battery, it's only running when your finger is on the trigger, there is no lost fuel when its idling like a petrol saw. Also, starts every time you put your finger on the trigger, unlike pulling the chord on a petrol (until the electrics mess up)

The money and the glamour.

We changed from Dual Mass to Solid flywheel and didn't notice any difference in performance. Only did a few thousand miles before the vehicle was sold, but no noticable increase in vibration or rattles.

Try the FCA website, I think the AFAG's are available to download on there. Welcome to FCA Membership Ltd - Forestry Contracting Association

I wondered that too.

Agreed. And the same applies to the self-employed. None of us know everything, a day's refresher to brush up on skills, highlight bad habits, inform of newer techniques etc is no bad thing. On the other hand 3 days loss of production plus associated costs seems excesive. If the instructor / assessor is competent they should be able to do this within a day, if there are any areas of specific concern then perhaps there could be a recommendation for further training. The cost should be bourne by the client at the end of the day, incorporated into overall rates.

This is going to be an ongoing battle as more and more people insist on refresher training. In THEORY it should be part of your costs as a S/E person and therefore reflected in the rate you charge. In practice.....?

I used to use what must have been the equivalent model to this years ago, it was the same description then, a [Semi-Pro saw. I think this is about right, it would have been fine for occassional use or part-time use at best, it was not up to full on proffessional use. That was probably over 15 years ago so they might be slightly better now.

I was wondering why they didn't just ring bark the whole thing from the ground?

I would guess that my reaction to this would put me well and truly in the hinge brigade! The hinge should always play an integral role in how the tree falls! Quite right on the left handed use though, some situations you can't help it.

Is there not an equipment list sent out with the course info? Quite a few suppliers advertise on here.

Looks like two small vents in the back, but not sealable, head will get wet if it rains. Still think it looks good though.

Helmets are zero rated aren't they? WHat's the lifespan of the helmet? It looks good, but if it's only good for 3 years it's VERY expensive. I think the Petzel lasts 10 years, if you can get 10 years out of it its only £16.50 / year. Still about twice the Petzel price though.

Done, how many trees I can identify without assistance took some thinking about!

Everyone is too worried about getting sued here to put anything down in concrete terms. All these things rely on being suitably vague until a case comes to court and a judge finally has to make a ruling.

Industry best practice states that they should only be used up a tree, simple as that, it's not legal, but if an accident occurs my understanding is you could be in trouble as you are not complying with "Industry Best Practice". I much prefer a rear handled saw on the ground, they are much more stable. I agree, almost everyone uses a top handle on the ground occassionally (other saw out of fuel, chain blunt, in the van, whatever reason), but it is safer to use a rear handle, therefore that should be used. For all those who say it's not safer try this: Take a 2' piece of wood and hold it out at waist height with both hands at one end, then get your mate to push the end up towards your face. It will be very easy for them to smack you in the chest/face with it. Do the same again, but hold the wood with your hands 1' apart, you will be able to control the wood better and perhaps defelct it away from your chest/face. The difference in position of the hands is the same as that comparing top and rear handle saws. I know which I'd rather have given the choice.

That's a good point, two local tree work websites have the same photo of a guy working off a ladder on them.

Is it a tennis racket?

I think it is true that it's only a recomendation and "industry best practice" that top handled saws aren't used on the ground, BUT, if it hits the fan and there's any sort of investigation then you'll be in it up to your eye balls for doing so. In reality I think most people still use top handles on the ground from time to time. Rear handled saws on the ground reduce the risk of kick-back and are therefore deemed to be safer. In the UK we shouldn't be complaining about not being able to use top handles on the ground, we should be glad that we're still allowed to use them at all! With regards to the original post, if it were me I would not be putting pictures on a website unless they were squeky clean, but it's amazing how many you see of people using inappropriate tools, working off ladders, etc...

I think they are supposed to work this way: Take an AFAG out to work with you (in reality you need several). Get your mate to observe you working. There are several little boxes on the left hand side which he / she can tick off as required. If you do something wrong I think you put an X in the box rather than a tick. Make any notes on the back. Fill out who completed it and who verified it. Remember, whoever is completing it must not be within 2 tree lengths of you (or whichever relevant exclusion zone applies), they may therefore want to take a pair of binoculars with them to observe you. This is, in my opinion, one of the most pointless exercises you will ever complete, however if it keeps the client happy then it doesn't take much to go through it and tick the boxes. I think they're supposed to be done every 3 months or so.

For occassional use I can't fault the Mitox. Can't remember the model, but for £150 inc VAT it's good value for the money. Comes with vac bag as well. Not in the same league as Stihl, but much cheaper.