Wood wasp

FC are hardly planting at all these days. Any major planting scheme announced by quango/charity is always for native woodland and it's not even for native woodland which will ultimately have commercial timber value.

If we actually had a coherent planting policy to replace the softwoods being harvested then things wouldn't be too bad. Instead we have the FC which is truly not fit for purpose and another multitude of quangos/"charities" obsessing with native woodland and planting hectares of useless rubbish. Incidentally, one of the reasons conifers get such a bad name is because the FC proved incapable of managing the nations forest estate, as a result we ended up with millions hectares of dense forest consisting of choked dying trees. "Self thin" was the term they conjured up to try cover up the mismanagement! A mature, well managed, thinned conifer plantation is a beautiful thing and host to a multitude of beasts and bugs

The big estate near Perth, forget it's name but covers Scone palace, hire in a processor from Fife

Great pics MD, makes me want to get out and travel again If you have time I'd love to see more, not just pretty girl ones but the landscapes also

Ok have done most of basic stuff above (haven't downloaded anything yet) and I'd say it's definitely running faster already. I remember blitzing start up programs before but I can't get rid of the two remaining, Blackberry stuff is all uninstalled. CPU usage is running about 10% split between 3% CPU/7% user Thanks for all help, very much appreciated

Salmond won't win a as long as the silent majority come out and vote. the worst thing (or second worst) will be if it's close and then it will just drag on and on

Thanks gents, some very good advice there. I'll go through your suggestions and see how get on. Machine did parallels installed on it and I've always had suspicion that was slowing it down also so I "removed" as much of parallels as I could in absence of uninstall facility, or at least I couldn't find it.

Thanks Elf, it's the extra payload on the 250 that appeals. Just a bit wary of buying a machine with dodgy electrics or transmission on way out... Hence why thinking of tractor trailer combo, albeit manoeuvrability is compromised.

I've got couple thousand tons to take out on reasonably straight forward site and then another few thousand from site, straightforward also but with a longer haul. Finally have another site that is bit steeper in places, got a few burns etc so will need to pick roads with but more care. Can't decide whether to get osa 250, bruunett or new trailer/crane and run tractor trailer combo. What payload are you guys getting on your 250's? Thanks in advance

My 2012 MacBook Pro has got slow as a week in the jail, spinning beach ball is a familiar sight now. Know they're different from pcs re defragging hd but anyone got any solutions? Someone told me to clear out iPhoto as if that is taking lot of memory will slow it down. Thanks in advance

At a guess I'd say pump. We had crane that worked fine till oil got hot and thin then it wouldn't lift perform as it should but switch off and cool meant it would work fine again - a new pump resolved issue completely.

Sounds like total BS!

Tree you make a good point about the "need" for training and what drives it. Whatever the reasons our industry and the others you mentioned are labouring under an ever increasing regulatory burden. And while this undoubtably drives up costs its impact on improving safety is debatable - how often does someone here post a "Darwin" video of the unregulated masses butchering trees or themselves? Looking at the overall big picture the UK economy is still totally buggered: Spending less is the key to cutting the deficit - Telegraph And there was another article recently lamenting the fact that manufacturing is still in the doldrums also. Now it's not just training that is the issue here obviously. However, In my opinion one of the factors is the huge cost burden of trying to do anything in this country, there is a whole plethora of quangos and govt bodies enforcing and regulating ... Basically contributing very little but creating massive cost base. To come back to the thread and why I think people like Mog get annoyed: the younger generation grow up knowing nothing but this bureaucratic circus, the older generation look back wistfully to the days when you could just get on and get things done. My own opinion is that you need some form of regulation and training but balance has tipped way too far in other direction and the country is the poorer for it. And not just financially poorer

I'm with you Mog, training now is revenue raising/box ticking exercise and has become an industry in its own right. Quote below is from ex trainer (forestry cotractor) who jacked in training: “I had become disillusioned and could not stand the way the system was being run. Some people insisted that conifers were only ever felled by harvesters, which just is not true. When I first started training, it was geared around the tasks the lads were doing. I learned as much from the contractors I had dealt with as they did from me. Now it’s set to teach safety rather than producing timber using safe techniques. A lot of the lads I ended up training were never going to make proficient woodcutters.”

I was quoted £1,000 plus vat but inc delivery for hydraulic one a year ago. If you're cutting lot of wood and can find a use for the sawdust then arguably it's worth it, not unknown to lose half a day cleaning up all the sawdust around ours. I'll have HW ideal for processors later this year but located near Stirling so haulage may kill it

BBC News - Are these England's last traditional craftsmen and women?

Yes that 810 He was there when bruunett, Lokomo, osa were all rebadged as fmg and underwent tweaks to design like Bruunett crane moving from roof to back of cab and rebadged as 810

Having dealt with these people on a couple of occasions my strongest advice is not to meet with them until you have taken advice and are sure of where you stand plus strategy going forward. If you don't, and you get an officious council worker coupled with a neighbour complaining then you have potential for a whole world of grief.

Looks good Elf, maybe benefit from getting injectors done once you get a chance? My Mate used to be fmg mechanic, liked the osa 250/1210 but hated the 810. Electrics on 250 used to be an issue and I also remember him saying there's a grease nipple somewhere awkward, if you don't get it then it's a machine splitting job to replace bearing. I'll ask him where it was next time I see him

And before visit does occur make sure your yard is clean and there's nothing that can get other quangos and state bodies involved... 45 gallons diesel drum might mean an EA inspection is required, is there old machinery sitting around near a watercourse.. then they should be drained of oil. Old fencing materials - did you remove them from another site to current location? And so the questions go on You're now enmeshed in the system, it only takes a dickhead council officer and you could have a whole world of grief. Usually they're ok and I'm sure you'll be fine but don't leave any opportunity for the dickhead one ..

I would add that you should take proper advice and you should also consider cancelling visit from enforcement officer until you are clear on what strategy you wish to take. Forewarned is forearmed Good luck Edit - I would definitely cancel council visit until you are 100% sure where you stand legally and what your best options are. This visit could have substantial implications, financial and otherwise, for your business - make sure you're prepared

Look up Certificate of Lawful use, if you've been doing certain things for over a certain period of time (10 years?) with no objections then it's outwith council control. Good luck

I remember in Kiev a few years ago watching a team working on lights maybe about 40ft up, my jaw hit the floor when the truck they were using drove onto the next one with basket still fully raised and guys in it. It was a flat road but still looked like arm was flexing quite a bit. To cap it all once job finished they took off down the road at full speed, basket was lowered this time but the guys were still in it!

15 litres at a time into jerry can, 3x100ml shots using the measure on top of squeeze bottle then another 20ml to be sure. Seems to work ok

I see the orange paint now TCD! Obviously new paint can hide multitude of sins buts looks a tidy Osa, good luck