JimM

Blue skies and sunshine to start 2014. Off for a walk this afternoon. Expecting breezy and showers much later though. Happy New Year Jon.

Off till 6th, but need to be working again. Still have a ton of beech out back, so will cut that up today.

Paternal grandfather was in the Royal Signals. Did Africa, Italy, France, Germany. The YMCA they had tea in in Cairo is still there. Got bombed in Caen, we think mistakenly by the RAF (the lines were very fluid then). He died before I was born. Luckily we have all his medals, a tiny Spitfire made out of Messerschmitt plexiglass, and his letters to my grandma. My maternal grandfather was in a reserved occupation in the railways at the Springburn works in Glasgow.

Cracking afternoon's walk. Walked along the coast path with the wife and kids to Burghead to watch 199 people leap into the harbour for various charities. On the way back, blues skies, calm sea and saw loads of dolphins heading east along the coast. Back to a hot stove to warm chilly hands.

Sunshine, blue skies, but blowing hard. Getting stronger later on the forecast. Only had one damaged cedar to play with yesterday, apart from that nothing. Kit is all stored away and half a field removed from the pickup. Stay safe guys.

Our friend broke her neck when her family crashed into a fallen tree on the road. She's had 6 years of constant pain since. So it is worth going out for these, payment determined by customer/circumstances though.

Ditto. Talk through the cuts more when I'm tired, so that the guys on the ground can comment.

As ever, well done for organising this Steve. Great prizes too. Tickets bought. A few are on my next years shopping list. Guess I'll wait a bit

Cheers Pete. Cleaning out the woodland behind them tomorrow. Cluttered with rotten birch stems and windthrow sitka.

First two Elms of the day. Main one down into the field. The smaller one to the left I put behind the first ones stump, so that the stem didn't shatter. And then it snowed.

Sunshine then sleet, then snow today. Raining now but at least the wind has eased. Had a Thai red beef curry for dinner, so expecting breezy under the duvet later on.

Had a great sunny and calm day. But now it's blowing a good 'un. Expecting gusts over 60 up here tonight. It's already rattling the tiles. Not too wet though.

The best thing about newsawchains is they ship to me in the north of Scotland with no postal surcharges. Winner!! Obviously other postal surcharge shops are available.

Use them regularly. Never any problems.

Shouldn't have used the Tesco Dating Agency. I got a bag for life.

I've also got a very strong 540. Often it's starting from only one pull. One thing that sprung to mind is if the issues the NZ boys are having with it are caused by local temps being high? My 550 is great from around maybe 18C downwards. But during some really hot days in the very high 20C's it was an absolute pig to the point if leaving it in the truck. I only got the 540 in September when the temps were coming down so no chance to see if it does the same. So what temps are you boys at down under, and was it hot when you were trialling the saws?

3rd option is the Brian James trailers. Used a 10x5 tipper for the last two years and it has been excellent. Wheels under the body, so is the same width as the body of my Ford Ranger. Nice and stable on the road.

A downgraded 560?

What you need to remember is that your builder mate has his own daily rate. He's a professional and quotes for his professional time and expertise. If you have an idea in your head of what you reckon he gets for a daily rate, then you should be aiming for similar at the very least. Ignore the fact you're just starting out. Get into your head that you too are also offering a professional service. How long is the job going to take you (ignore how long the others on here will take). It's how long it will take you personally. If its a couple of hours then it's a half day rate. Taking stuff off at ground level I assume a chain will get blunt or even completely goosed. Add on the cost of a chain and a tenner for fuel. If the chain stays sharp, you're up on the day with money for a replacement for the next job. The fact the customer could do it himself is irrelevant. The fact you could take it down with your grandma's false teeth is also irrelevant. You go in professionally dressed, with a professional saw, ticketed, and with your insurance covering the job. When I started out I got told by a business adviser and an accountant that "Mates Rates" kill businesses. Don't under-sell yourself. (Favourite topic on here!) I've had quotes rejected by mates. It now doesn't bother me in the slightest. In ten years time it'll be Stevie's £30 on the way home, but just now it's your kit repair, insurance, kit replacement, chains, fuel, advertising, business cards, food on the table, that must drive your prices. My tuppence, hope it helps?

Protos Now and again I've put my petzl helmet or my Husky helmet on for ground work. Within 20 mins they're dumped back in the truck and the Protos is back on my bonce. Hard to beat for comfort.

Thanks for taking the time to do the photographs. Should have the opportunity to try it out in about a weeks time. You were doing so well up until the poetry

Whilst I am more than happy to use the 346 and 18" combination up the tree, it would be last choice for serious ringing up. My 576xp will be out to play for that. Fine for small amounts, but no more than that. Nothing worse than listening to a small saw screaming endlessly in large wood.

Very happy with the saws performance with the 18" bar. Used it cross cutting bar depth Beech and it was absolutely fine. No qualms about using this combination up the tree.

PeteB is your inbox full?

Surprised at that. 13" makes it a fantastic snedding saw. The day I put that size on I had a grin that just about split my face. 13 and 15 are good. Trying the 18 on bigger stems when climbing