tim361

Does anyone know why they’ve all of a sudden shut up shop. Have dealt with them quite a lot and always had a good experience. Will be looking for some to sharpen my blades now if anyone has any recommendations. 

Seems to be unusually slow here in mid Sussex. This time of year things normally start to pick up with people heading outside and finding trees/fencing that needs doing. Looked at my first job for two weeks today, started off as a load of trees and some fencing that needs replacing. By the time we had had a look at a few bits it went to just a few trees to remove. By the time I left it’s one small maple to remove and I doubt I’ll get that so a complete waste of time. Out of every 5 jobs I look at I’m loosing 4 to people working for peanuts. Recently lost a job which i had priced at £3500 + vat for two of us for a week. Guy I lost it to had come in at £1200 and said two of them would have it done in two days. Spoke to the customer a couple of days ago about another job and asked how the guy got on with the trees. Said it took them 4 days with 3 men on site….. I honestly don’t know how people like this can exist running a business.

Were fortunate that we still have 8-10 weeks work in the diary, just hoping it picks up in the mean time. 

Sorry to jump in and hijack the thread. I’m also looking into getting a mewp later in the year when funds allow. Would anyone be able to help me with which are the better brands to be looking at and if there are any to avoid? Will be looking to buy second hand unless I can either find or a good deal or you get very good warranty cover when new. Also would you look at better machines with more hours over a cheaper machine with less? This is a completely new area for me so have little to no experience with purchasing these. 

If your trying to work out the value of something that has VAT included in the price divide it by 6 will give you the VAT amount, times by 5 will give you the price ex vat. 
 

120 / 6 = 20 the VAT

20 x 5 = 100 the amount before VAT

Just to jump in quickly. The 540i xp rear handle version has a metal side cover which is night and day compared to the plastic one you get on the top handle. Keep meaning to swap them over on my saws and run it on the top handle

I’ve just finished my first year since being VAT registered. Spent 3 years just skating under it and got fed up with constantly having to check my turnover to see where I was so took the leap. First VAT return got me a rebate of £17k which they didn’t fight to pay back just asked for lots of documentation to show the purchases/finance on the big items. Yes I’ve lost a few of the regular people I use to work for who decided to get other people who aren’t VAT registered. The vast majority of people don’t seem to care, they have to pay it with other trades so makes no difference to them. I’ve found you get more of the work you want to be doing and less of the people who want it doing as cheap as possible. Normally just mentioning in VAT registered is enough to stop me wasting my time going to look at a job I wouldn’t get anyway. 

I’ve got this bag in 70l. Has the loops on the side for clipping carabiners on. I’ve got a 16mm 60 metre rope, a portwrap, rigging rings, and a couple of racket straps in there. Pretty heavy but holds it all fine. 

1 hour ago, Treetom15 said:

I’ve always thought these look really good, both in value and the fact they’re mostly recycled materials-

Rescuedfromlandfill - Etsy UK

WWW.ETSY.COM

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Shop Tough outdoor gear - UK made from reclaimed materials by Rescuedfromlandfill located in...

 

 

I’ve got one of these bags to carry my rigging kit. Really good bag for the money and takes a beating. 

On 31/12/2023 at 00:17, redwood1993 said:

Hi does anyone know where there is stock for replacement chains for the echo 2511tes 10inch carving bar? Normally got it off a guy on eBay but it’s out of stock and can’t seem to find any online anywhere. 
 

spec follow as:

 

10" Echo Carving Bar Panther Mini Chain 1/4 .043 60 Drive Links

 

thanks 

Are you after the stihl/panther chain or is it to fit the standard echo 1/4 carving bar?
If it’s for the standard echo bar it’s .050 or 1.3mm rather than .043 or 1.1mm which is the stihl chain

On 17/12/2023 at 15:57, Pbtaylor2014 said:

Hi I got a forst st6 and was wondering if the is only OEM or rotatec

QRMS do blades for forsts. Think they’re about half the price of genuine (rotatech) blades. Not used them but I’ve never had any problems with the green teeth copies I get from them. 

Try this guy. He lives near Ipswich but travels all over the country. He’s been to me a few times for services and bearing changes. 

Got one about a month ago. Replaced my sequoia, Just wasn’t comfortable in it. MB harness is really comfortable but quite a big harness, really like it. Even with my sister bringing it back for me worked out quite expensive. 

Just to throw my 2 pence worth in. Rather tan doing all the tickets in one go, get your maintenance, felling, and possibly your chipper ticket done. Should take you just over a week to do those bits maybe two. Find a good firm locally to you and either do some weekend work or take a day or two off a week and work for them then. You’ll soon decide if it’s a job you want to move forward with or not and providing the company is half decent you’ll learn a lot while you’re there.

I’m 10 minutes from plumpton, probably the other side to you. I did my climbing tickets with Scott frazer. Would highly recommend him. 

I’ve got both. Both have 25” bars on them, but the 461 has been ported. Can’t really say I have a favourite. Just alternate between the two. Major difference is the 500i seems to really drink. 

You’ll also have to make sure the saw has a 1/4” sprocket rather than the 3/8” one

You can get a stihl bar to fit, just have to re drill the tensioner hole. I wouldn’t get a panther bar until they’ve sorted the manufacturing out.

I use bits of gravel board off cuts fixed in an L shape with some braces in the corner. Take maybe 10 minutes to make from the off cuts pile. Lasts me a few months before I have to make a new one. Protects the wooden floor and stops the teeth chewing into the head board. 

I really like these,

Solidur Waterproof Jacket

WWW.CHRISFORESTRY.CO.UK

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Lightweight waterproof Jacket PU on polyamide 2 Chest pockets with flaps Extended back Underarm ventilation Large...

 Cheap and seem to get a few years out of a pair. My jacket needs replacing but is 3 years old now. There’s a matching pair of trousers to go with the jacket. Chris is also a really good guy to deal with.

Get your teeth from QRMS. They sell green teeth copies for a lot less

I have the same with my hilux. The rear bar is removable but it’s quicker just to tip the body up a little. 

Try Chris forestry. He sells a lot of solidur stuff which isn’t expensive

I have a few people who buy rings off me. If I’ve got 15 minutes at the end of the day I’ll ring up enough to fill somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 way in a similar back to yours and get £80 for it. 

Anyone who runs an auger on their worky quad or similar, how do they perform and any brands you would recommend?

I think the price has been fairly stagnant on them for the last few years. £3k ish is around average selling price with a really good one fetching £5-6k. Unless your planning on storing it for quite a few years I’d just use it. 

4 hours ago, Dan Maynard said:

Is the idea of hydraulic drive to be more reliable than belts etc?

 

When I spoke to the bloke who makes them about the power loss with belts vs hydraulic’s he said it’s normally around 10-15% less. Then said it’s rare that the belts are adjusted correctly so probably less than that. From looking at the machine and it’s price point it’s aimed as a competitor to the SG40.