JimM

Cheers Pete. Reckon about 3k to fix. It let go on the outside lane of the M74, when I was heading home from TKF. 50p/5p sphincter moment!

Cheers Pete. Reckon about 3k to fix. It let go on the outside lane of the M74, when I was heading home from TKF. 50p/5p sphincter moment!

Cheers Pete. Reckon about 3k to fix. It let go on the outside lane of the M74, when I was heading home from TKF. 50p/5p sphincter moment!

Feel a bit better that I'm not the only one. Bit more than a week's profit though. My Ranger's exhaust camshaft broke on the motorway and threw the timing belt. Top end wrecked. Ford sucked £800 from me before I got it up to a local garage. Awaiting the rest of the bad news.... On the plus side I've been given cheap hire of an Audi A6 TDi estate as my arb truck. The heated seats are bliss, the ground clearance ain't so hot though

Feel a bit better that I'm not the only one. Bit more than a week's profit though. My Ranger's exhaust camshaft broke on the motorway and threw the timing belt. Top end wrecked. Ford sucked £800 from me before I got it up to a local garage. Awaiting the rest of the bad news.... On the plus side I've been given cheap hire of an Audi A6 TDi estate as my arb truck. The heated seats are bliss, the ground clearance ain't so hot though

Feel a bit better that I'm not the only one. Bit more than a week's profit though. My Ranger's exhaust camshaft broke on the motorway and threw the timing belt. Top end wrecked. Ford sucked £800 from me before I got it up to a local garage. Awaiting the rest of the bad news.... On the plus side I've been given cheap hire of an Audi A6 TDi estate as my arb truck. The heated seats are bliss, the ground clearance ain't so hot though

Grin. That means the missus only gets half her housekeeping money next month.

Grin. That means the missus only gets half her housekeeping money next month.

What's your take on the T540XP saga, Jonesie? I'm sitting on my hands at the moment in need of a top handle. I can wait a month or so, but January seems a long way away if that's the truer UK date. Would you take pre-orders? Gutted I missed the APF. Next time.....

What's your take on the T540XP saga, Jonesie? I'm sitting on my hands at the moment in need of a top handle. I can wait a month or so, but January seems a long way away if that's the truer UK date. Would you take pre-orders? Gutted I missed the APF. Next time.....

To me this is the best post of the thread. The public understand Corgi for gas heating engineers. They understand getting a qualified plumber or electrician. They don't get a qualified tree surgeon/chainsaw operator because there is no legislation or recognised body that prevents the unqualified/uninsured from doing the work. Or stops the DIY stores from selling chainsaws to those looking for a Darwin award. How many forestry operation firms take on blokes with a B&Q special and no quals? Until you push that level of expectation into the tree-surgery world and get it policed to remove the "have a go Harrys" nothing will change. So the question becomes; who lobbies for change in the industry? The Arb Association?

One of the oaks has its branches on the ground after the limb cracked. After the comments above I'm planning to reduce the affected limbs as little as possible whilst removing any risk to those below. Then monitor after that. Cheers guys.

Thanks so far. The limbs are over estate roads and tracks and leaving alone is not an option. Trust me I'm not doing it for aesthetic reasons. I've got 5 like it to deal with and I haven't even scratched the surface of all the oaks here. My only concern was that if I cut back to the stem the open crack on the face would increase the risk of fungal attack. From what you're saying Paul I'll go for the long stub option. There are dozens and dozens of large dead elm here which I'm hoping to monolith, so the beasties are doing ok for homes and snacks.

Can't resist. But which ladders to get? Stihl or Husky?

On the estate I'm working on there are quite a few mature oaks with limb damage. Several have bad horizontal splits running back right to the stem. Should I prune these right to the stem or leave a good few feet of limb remaining? I'm worried that cutting back to the stem will leave an open wound right on the stem. Or do I leave a few feet of limb which can perhaps allow the cracks to heal now that the worst of the weight is off them? And maybe prune further in a year or so. Advice please.

Loved your carving Roni. Good to see you in action. We managed to get there for 2 o'clock, but had to leave just before the judging started.

Looking forward to seeing the end results in the afternoon. arbtalk tshirt if the sun comes out :-)

Sorry TCD, my 346 is absolutely awesome. I love it. I take it to work even when I'm not going to be cutting. Sometimes I take it inside and let it watch the TV. But I might divorce it for a 550.

Didn't try it mate. Ate the MASSIVE meals in the Old Bridge every night.

Just completed my 38/39 with Tim Kirk in Holmfirth. It was part of a service leavers 1 month course with an ILM business start-up module thrown in plus chipper/stump-grinder and Basic Tree Survey. What a great course! I've got to say a big thank you to Tim, Jonny, Vanessa and Mel of TKF and to Jim Philpott who managed to get me up the tree without recourse to a MEWP. Since I already had 30/31, Tim arranged some work experience with Kirklees Forestry's chief ear-blackener, Bob Peaker. Big thanks to him and his team for 4 excellent days. If you are a service leaver I can certainly recommend this course as a great start into the world of Arb.

Ok, now an Aspen 2 convert after running a load through my 346 today But the cost is eye watering for the 5 litre cartons and I currently can't store larger amounts. Guess I'll factor it in for better paid jobs only. :-(

Doing my 38/39 in a couple of weeks. Quite happy to test the 540T on that if Husky are listening.

Nice one Ed

No, taking the piss is when you cancel £3.5 billion worth of aircraft, that are already paid for, and cutting them up for the local metal dealers. You paid for them, I was within a month of flying on them, and your government scrapped them. Which is why I quit and headed treewards.

I'm on my final leave/terminal leave/resettlement now. About to go to TKF Training to do the climbing/chipper training. They're approved on the ELC list for 30/31/38/39 and have just got approval for the UA tickets too. Best advice is get an ELC in this financial year and if you're leaving post Apr 13 then you can get another ELC too, before you're technically out. Bear in mind that while you are still in the service all the accommodation and food is covered as well. You don't get it afterwards and I think you also get taxed on the ELC. I got great help from the Education Officer at Northwood and again at Lossiemouth. They're great help if you go in with the right questions and help sort the finances for travel etc. I'm also using an SLC for MEWP 3a/3b, and can use travel warrants and accommodation for that too. I went down the road of voluntary work to gain experience last year and it paid dividends in earning a reputation/getting recommendations. Best of luck mate, I'm loving it. And I still sing "I'm a lumberjack...." But quietly!