WorcsWuss

I'll ask my oak man, he's phoning me back later this afternoon with a price for something....

Send me your email address Tommy and I'll forward you the details. Cheers Simon

Want one!

I'd love to have a go at that but I'm no where near fit enough. Or well trained. I have no doubt any attempt would end in disqualification or aerial rescue!

No problem Wayne, so long as he doesn't chase pheasants! Joe, I can't footlock off the ground, never mind 100 feet..... Thanks for confirming Jack and Allister.

Could everyone please just confirm that you've had all the info now and that you still want to come? Gives me a chance to fill any empty spaces then. 5 weeks on Saturday, be here before we know it!

HSE? Come on Rupe, keep up!

Don't spend more than necessary on nptc's. After all the discussion in your absence it's clear you know what you're doing, if you know trees and want to climb, do your 38 & 39 and get start to get into it. I did lots of ground based CS units but actually, 30 & 31 are the only ones you really need to get going, everything else comes with experience and working with others. Have you done any horticulture courses? I personally feel that a formal arboricultural qualification is a must if you want to cut out 20 years of shadowing and start off being a tree surgeon. I have a limited knowledge of he biology of trees and this limits what I'm able to do. As it's a hobby this is less of a problem, but if you're advertising your service then I personally feel that formal qualifications are important. When I look for tree surgeons to work for me I want them to know what they're looking at and I respect them as a professional. To get your PLI & Eli you usually just need 38 & 39 (if you think you'll ever want to claim anyway, many insurers will give anyone a policy and look more closely at you when the time does to pay out!) so to be 'legit' that's all you need really....

Tragically (for nice trees anyway) there are plenty of people out there who will employ someone who doesn't know what they're doing or have the quals / insurance, that's how the NFA's make a living..... Anyone can call themselves a 'tree surgeon' but the proof is in the pudding. To actually be one you need more than just nptc quals, they're expensive but pretty worthless when it comes to making decisions about tree health. A driving license doesn't make you Hamilton or Button......

There were some on eBay probably in your budget the other day, think they were Buckingham steel ones. Stretch your budget a bit there are some distels on there....

What about Whitney on Wye....?

If you phone your local authority highways department they should be able to tell you who has a contract to buy them, there'll be a yard full of planings somewhere.... Not that it helps you but in Worcestershire they go to D Talbot at Stourport.... Google says down your way Mainland Aggregates and Nick Ager Haulage....

My only experience of it is watching your videos Thomas... It looks like a lovely piece of equipment and I am a pretty stinky throwbagger, so I identify with all the points you make. I couldn't personally see me buying it though until it was under £100.... and I don't mean by a few pence!

Pontrilas Timber have a MA-HOOSIVE kiln.... they may let you slip in with one of their bakes..... Imagine it will be all softwood going through though so perhaps not the ideal cooking conditions for hardwood ...? The other people who might have something would be Good Brothers at Mortimers Cross or Kingsland Sawmills. Not sure how they'd feel about sharing though if they do have their own kilns though. Still, don't ask, don't get! Don't know anyone else myself....

Depends really. Do you know anything about trees or will you just have certificates of competency in operating equipment...? Experience counts for more than tickets when it comes to doing things by yourself. You could apply for jobs as a 2nd climber, that would allow you to learn about the reasons for doing what you do from others. Alternatively you could just hunt around for straightforward dismantles of small stable trees and learn from there.... That's mostly all I do.... What you won't be, although this is just my opinion, is a 'qualified tree surgeon' - and I say that as someone who is not one either!

Seems to me that recently purchased MS261's are getting good feedback and not featuring in bad reports like the early ones did. I have had my 260 since new 2001 and it's been absolutely faultless and a brilliant saw. For a while I did think that it's replacement would be a Husky 550 but having now seen one working in the flesh [although I do think they look better than the 261!] it seems a pig to start next to my old Stihl and is quite heavy. So I won't discount the 261 yet....

50 t0 60cc, without bits like tool-less chain tensioners, 15/16" ish bar, from a mainline manufacturer....

Your log production scheme sounds a lot like my treework. I do it because I enjoy it. I don't set out to undercut or compete with pro's. I know how business works and I imagine you do too. If you enjoy it, you cover your costs and make a bit of pocket money, all while not destroying the commercial market, then go for it. I don't imagine my retirement to be endless games of boules or pétanque either!

I don't think it is, but it would need to be to sell here as it is primary life support, the hitch cord attaches to it and it to you, unlike the rw which doesn't form part if the primary system.

Have a read through this one Charlie.... http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/srt-single-rope-technique/54183-srt-alpine-butterfly-redirects.html

I know, I can't afford the fuel to get to the protests anymore!

Price war! Get in! Nice that it'll be a supplier who can stand it getting screwed for a change, rather than the bloody growers as usual....

I think you already have a sound business case David, if your organisation has bought something which needs further equipment to enable it to work with it to it's full potential. It's a good idea to have these things on a standalone machine anyway, video editing is very power hungry and there is nothing more devastating than losing hours of editing when an inadequate machine falls over.....

Rich, just found these on honey's website and thought of you.... Edelrid Conecto Bridge Ring

If it's just generating the image on screen which is the issue, you can buy replacement video cards on ebuyer and fit them yourself, I replaced the one in my workstation with an uprated nvidia one after lots of things blew up inside it, easy job. Making sure it's compatible is the tricky bit. If it's ram you're short of that's a cheap clip in option as well. The main processor is less simple I think, it's part of the mother board and tied in with your operating system. Ram and video cards are 'plug in peripherals' though so far as the PCM is concerned, just like printer but inside the box.