tree-fancier123

that 23hp Skarper looks alright I think there is room for a bigger narrow access machine - ingredients as follows 1 Hatz diesel 66hp, chipping gear off e.g Safetrack or TP200, but with quick release hopper and unpluggable cables, the rotor and motor are on a narrow steel frame only 650mm wide, with a hydrostatic drive to wheels, like the M500 , but more industrial gear like from a big hydro mower. And with all important hydraulic feed rollers. So the contraption weighs north of a ton, but is air cooled no rad to worry about, will chip 30 ton a day if required and fit through a narrow gateway. Not a redundant concept due to narrow access tracked chippers, as I recon the hydrostatic drive could be configured with a freewheel (like on Hayter Condor), so if there is a breakdown its easy to winch onto a trailer/ into a van and away. So in summary a Hatz powered Jo Beau M500 chips 8" only 650 wide without hopper, assembled in Ethiopia, only 12k inc tax

I was thinking about your wifes accident today, having to drag stuff under a low hanging tree, twigs went under my glasses a few times, so i spent the rest of the day with these trendy Dewalt goggles over my glasses. I have worn these goggles over glasses climbing with lid and earplugs, much safer from a poke in the eye, good vents help reduce steam up. Screwfix 15 Thanks for posting about your wifes accident, I never considered how serious a hazard plants can be to the eyes.

Good points, case also shows why professional indemnity is needed in addition to public liability if a tree worker wants to get into surveys

in the document posted by Craig Johnson above the fungal bracket gets much discussion - would it have been visible to the last inspector back in 2009? Opinions were divided, apparently the experts were saying annual growth increments were visible on the bracket, but it couldn't be certain that it would have been there when the tree surgeon surveyed the tree almost three years before the accident, was well rotten by 2012 apparently. Also goes on about the tree surgeon changing his story as to whether or not he included the tree in his parish survey or not, luckily for him the judge didn't try to crucify him

not seen The Seventh Seal, will have to check it, the other two were good had a crack at watching some of the Palm D'Or winners - some great movies among previous winners and runners up, many worth putting up with subtitles from the winners list - Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

piss it up against the wall

the only thing is, from his advert, he wants a good man, able to run teams and do every aspect of arb, even to know a bit of background plant science. Now, there are I'm sure many one man banders with a few occiasional hired hands to call on who can clear 35 - 40k profit doing trees, hedging , fencing, but wouldn't be any good at being a foreman. It's easier to run a small outfit for themselves, than a bigger one for someone else, where a greater technical knowledge/ability and leadership skills are required. So saying 'is it worth trying to get your own work when you can make as much working on the books for someone else?' doesn't consider the fact that a lot of one man band chaps can make that money, but would struggle to do what the advertiser is asking

each big old tree near a house should come with a pipe sticking out the ground with a cap on, and instructions to water x number of litres per day in a hot dry summer

Well I walked from a bay tree clump this week coz I was wobbling about on top of a 12ft tripod ladder with the ht131 fully out, hedgecutter on. They only wanted a metre off and it was 15ft wide. As above I said find someone with a platform. I felt a bit demoralised. Too much of a wimp to get it done. Still next tree will freeclimb with my chineeze 660 no muffs to regain my manliness feelings

Nosing through the photos of people's websites I found this, posted yesterday by @King92 I've not seen this before - can anyone explain what its called and what it does?

Not heard that before 'Arboricide is a crime, as well as homicide. The name of Gastrell, who cut down Shakspeare's mulberry tree, is justly followed by the execrations of posterity, and hangs forever on a gibbet of reproach, vainly craving the boon of oblivion. ["New England Farmer," March 1853]'

murdering is ok, as long as you think it through first

nature has inspired many inventions

all these devices wrench, RR, BDB etc work by bending the rope - if you're slack over winter, why not invent one that tightens on the rope like a sphincter? You're no doubt familiar with bio ones, so can a metal one be made?

nice press brake, good to see UK engineering. Why isn't it profitable to make power tools in the UK? The germans and swedes pay their people a reasonable wage and they can do it

Germany seems a good place to pick up a bigger used Jensen. They are naughty though making itchy scratch girls legal

Ah, thanks for info.

the old Timberwolf 230 is a beautiful machine and properly industrial compared with the modern 230. Back in those days they proudly called it 230 because it would chip 230mm. I was watching this one before xmas, regretting not pulling the trigger, sold for 8000 plus vat, showing under 600 hours, would have been £9600 well spent imo. Even with the inevitable repair bills that come with a used machine. I have heard these old air cooled beasts do suffer with electrical problems

Go and climb a few mature ash not covered in ivy (if you can still manage it) you will see that although most foliage is near the tips, there will be side branches with growth inside the crown too. It is these that are shaded by ivy and die off. And you know it full well! Just look at that big side branch in the photo - I've seen similar ivy clad limbs completely die and break off (alder). The limb can't be maintained just by a few leaves right at the end, the ivy has covered what would have been healthy shoots, as it keeps going in winter after abscission of the tree leaves. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

Looks handy. Got any pics of the the thing itself? I was also interested by this throwsaw, after hearing Josh's description of its uses in windblow etc Freeworker has two tidy looking kits, but very expensive or if you really want to push the boat out (you're worth it) coming back down to earth the bay of thieves has this version it's not over yet - you will notice a chainsaw chain only has cutters on one side - so those metal rectangles help to orient the chain over the limb - well a double sided one has now exploded onto the market, claiming to cut on either side

Better to pay £150 and get the job done with no troubles. £80 a day I wouldn't trust him on anything, especially nothing with targets, roof, fence, dare I say it sewage pipes

and walk the dog for exercise?

it seems to me the main thing with rustic furniture and garden tree trunk derived features is finding a buyer. I've seen stands for outdoor pot plants made with three or four trunk discs arranged around a pole like steps on a spiral staircase 200 quid wtf. those upmarket out of town garden/home stores with a coffee shop seem to get people to part with a lot of money for not a lot of wood I worked with a gardener of 71 last year, he'd kept one last customer, nice 2 acre plot, couldn't top the hedges himself anymore. He's bought himself a lovely big bungalow, probably £450k worth and told me he bought out his daughters house for her when she divorced. Apart from the money I expect the exercise does him good. Why not do tree cutting 2 days a week and potter about arts and crafts for the rest?

ivy in a deciduous hedge, or a mixed hedge is a nuisance, the evergreen part of a mixed hedge can cope, but the deciduous part gets shaded out by ivy, made worse by any top growth from the hawthorns etc getting removed with a hedgetrimmer. Quite a few ivy hedges about now that were once something decent. Leaving the ivy on that ash tree is like seeing an elderly person being mugged in the street and crossing to the other side to avoid getting involved - the tree is being mugged of daylight. Just don't cut into the trunk