WorcsWuss

Yes, that's how I do it, I hadn't thought of the space needed for pulley tending though, I might go rig it up in the shed when I've done the washing up to see how it would work.... I think it will work....

I'm basically self taught on the climbing side, it is possible to learn it but you need to be able to just keep working on things at low levels in your own time. I'm fortunate that we have plenty of trees at home to practice in so I can try most things. I wouldn't recommend buying some kit and heading out on your own, it's dangerous as hell, even if nothing catastrophic happens except you panic and can't go up, can't go down and get stuck there and suffer from suspension trauma - it can lead to a pretty quick death in the right circumstances. You can learn the knots by sitting in front of youtube with a length of cord, that's how I learn many of the new ones, but when it comes to getting up into and around a crown you really need someone with you who knows what they're doing. My current basic kit was as follows, you can price it all up at Buxtons.. Heightec Treehopper harness 35m of Marlow Aeris [plus a spare] Marlow Gecko split tail 4 DMM crabs Couple of lengths of cord [for footloop, auto-tend etc] ISC Micro pulley 150' of throwline [and a bag & throw weight for it too...!] Cambium saver Fig 8 for the fun bit at the end! That got me up there....

Can't beat some ping 'n rattle..... I don't use a hitch climber, I'm still old fashioned and use a split tail which presumably it will have less effect on. I also assume that a swivel would get round that problem, albeit moving it a little futher away. Using a small crab like an ISC Gator would help here I suppose. The rings on the Harkie harness don't look very big in the pictures, which sort of led to the question... One other question then, is it acceptable to anchor my climbing line onto a crab, say an Ultra-O and clip my split tail into that same crab and hang off that single Ultra-O off my bridge? The fixed bridge on my harness isn't especially roomy so when I have my lanyard on it makes managing hardware a bit of a pain. I can't think why it wouldn't work, unless it would cross load the crab maybe? It would also allow a bit more movement around the rope.

So it is just an alternative to a crab. Do you anchor straight on with your line or clip on with a crab to the rings?

I use a Treehopper harness with a fixed bridge. I can see the advantage of a replaceable bridge, but can someone explain the advantages of sliding D's on said bridge? The Harkie harness which I really quite fancy has a pair of them and I was just wondering if there is anything which makes them a great thing to have? Thanks guys Simon

You need to decide HOW you're going to climb first.. SRT or DdRT... DdRT is the cheapest way up a tree, you can get up with just a rope and a harness. Expand this with a split tail to save the end of your climbing rope, a cambium saver, a couple of crabs so you can get off without having to de-rig, another crab, micro-pulley & length of prussic to auto tend, length of cord as a foot loop.... add in an ascender to speed up advancing your footloop... Don't forget throwline & weight too! Harness & climbing rope will be your biggest expense, everything else is cheap in comparison.... The Honey Bros lanyard kits are good and quite reasonably priced and you'll need another attachment point if you're cutting anyway. Spurs will be your next big expense, although mine cost just 90 quid from a guy selling them locally via eBay... I have a pretty cheap kit but I daren't add up the cost... I would like to upgrade a few things, I like the look of the new Harkie harness and the ali spikes. Rope wise I'm happy on Aeris. I have a spreadsheet which I input all the suppliers costs into and add them all up to see who will be the cheapest for whatever bundle I'm buying. It's an interesting exercise! The other thing to factor in is VAT...

:lol:

She's not very pleasant is she..... I can think of lots of ways to clean the likes of her from the gene pool.... I would dispute the fact that Britain is shining example of a fully functioning multi-cultural society. I don't think it's possible and I don't believe we should be constantly forced to adapt our way of life to enable non native cultures to share equal standing with our natural Christian / Pagan way of life. To live in this country should require basic rules to be followed - learn the language, follow our holidays & respect our attitudes and belief systems, not isolate yourself in a little bit of home on the backstreets of Britain. That turns me off as much as 'The Royal Oak' in the Mediterranean....! However, flat out racism like this is a sad indictment of the generally low standard of intelligence amongst many members of our population. How does she know that all the people on that tram don't live a better life than she does...? I think we can all probably agree she's a shocking disgrace and really, she shouldn't be allowed to bring up that poor child with such venom being introduced into his blood...

Brill thanks.

OK, that is an excellent point. Although a bit far fetched... However, I think that operating power tools in the vicinity of private property is a different proposition to a stone flicking off the wheels of your car. Who did the track belong to? I would say the council must be responible for their stone flicking off your wheel....!

Perfect thanks, we have an account with Speedy, I'll give them a call tomorrow. Can you remember the cost of your replacement handle Alec? Thanks, Simon

What have I got then? Plate is long missing. Number stamped in one side of the casing reads R14934. Other side SWL is stamped as 30 cwt. I need a proper handle for it, scaffold pole is crap, and what I presume was a roll pin which retains the end of the freespool lever has broken. Anywhere I could source these bits? Tractel seem to be no help and have not responded to my emails. Thanks! Simon

OK Dean, you obviously have something on your chest... did you smash Simon's window....? I accept that he was only doing his job. It was also just an accident. But, as it was also not in any way Simon's fault any damage caused, accidental or otherwise, should be made good by whoever caused it, or their employer. This isn't someone demanding oodles of compensation merely for having scraped the bottom of the gene pool and still not grasping the concept of looking where they're going.... This is just someone who rightly wants damage done to his property put right by the party who inflicted said damage. It's not going to bankrupt the country.... it's just the right thing to do and EXACTLY what we would have to do if we smashed a window in the course of our work. Why should the council be exempt from responsibility for their actions and mistakes... or act of god or whatever they want to call it?

Or, the muppet who merrily throws stones up while they're strimming tight to the floor - because let's be honest here, it's unlikely that a stone big enough to smash a window would be 'floating' a couple of inches off the ground in grass - get's the 60 quid taken out of his pay packet and he learns to be more careful in future. That would save our money. Sort of....

Can we have a 'Like' button on Arbtalk please?!

A friend of mine in the trade HPI'd a car I bought off eBay for me. All he told me was 'it HPI'd OK..' whatever the hell that means! To be honest I don't know whether it was worth doing, because if I decide I want something, I find it very easy to discount the fact that it's two polish coffins welded together inside out anyway.... Ref chassis number, you'll need the VIN off the car to make sure it matches up with the one which comes back via the vehicle check anyway....

The planners are on shaky ground there. Someone has complained. Where abouts are you in the country? Do you operate the land as a bona fide agricultural holding? If so you could probably argue that your operation is a natural extension of the agricultural activities taking place on the property and is not change of use at all. The planners just need to tick the right box, so if you can clearly demonstrate that it is not change of use, they can put a letter on file, case closed. If it is change of use, you need to get your planning officer on side, get him to buy into it and then make an application for whatever he says you need to on the basis that he will recommend it for approval at PC level. I wouldn't get too concerned about it but you do need to take some advice on it...

This is like black magic the first time it's seen! The guys I work with aren't pros at all but they are fascinated by all this stuff.... I love watching them trying to reverse engineer a bowline....

Lift one end onto an old axle & ratchet strap it on, other end on your skidder winch, home brew trailer, job done...

If my car was parked on my drive and my neighbour's kids were playing cricket and smashed a window in my car, I don't think it would be unreasonable to expect them to pay for the damage, it would have been an accident, but they would still be responsible for the damage. This is no different. Claiming it's not their fault because 'these things happen' is fine, but they should pay for the damage, and I'm pretty sure a court will say the same. What's a shame is that it WILL get that far because no one in the public sector would risk putting their head above the parapet and saying 'actually yes, that was my fault, sorry..' and let it get sorted out. And it's been made worse by ambulance chasers persuading every pillock who can't read / walk / think to exercise their 'right to compensation' when they make a mistake. If I dropped a tree on someone's car I wouldn't say 'yeah, sorry mate, but I followed the guidelines in the handbook for the saw so it's not my fault, I'm afraid you're on your own buddy....' That would just be ridiculous. Sorry, I've been to a County Hall this afternoon to look at some work, I find it hard to bite my tongue when they whinge to me about how bad all these cuts are, then tell me that we can't allow a cost saving to use the welfare facilities already on site and must provide separate kit....

I don't think anyone's saying that they shouldn't carry out their work, but, like the rest of us, if something gets damaged they just need to own up and put it right. We pay for this work to be done, they do it, but accidents do happen, it's no problem really! Or maybe they know that just as when some idiot trips over their own feet and sues them for wobbly slabs, they're bound to get sued for this eventually so why take responsibility for it themselves now, when they can just keep their head down and let the LA's solicitors sort it out without them having to own up to their incompetence? Afterall, it's not their money that gets spent, so why admit they personally made a mistake for £65 of our money when they can get off scot free for a few thousand....? Or am I being all cynical and private sector about this....?! BUT DON'T START THAT AGAIN!

I think he's already had his screen replaced, it's not the sort of thing that can be left for long! As I understand it, Simon's car was parked on his land near where the council were strimming. A stone flicked up and smashed the glass. They admitted they did it but did not admit liability. The windscreen has been replaced under car insurance. This cost £65 excess. SO, all that need happen now is that whichever prat at the council offices - sorry, prats - think that they can fob everyone off with flannel believing us all to be as incompetent as they are, who claim it's not their fault because they followed some rules, to be made an example of, the excess be refunded and a fairly damming article to appear in the local and national press highlghting the incompetence, lack of common sense and accountability, not to mention dangerous bureaucracy blindness among local authority management and everyone's happy. Or that's what I'd aim for anyway....

Pretty sure he said his car was parked on his own land.....

That'll be why then!!!!

Is that a Holder with the floatations on...?