Devonchopper

Anyone know where I can hire a decent sized stumpgrinder ( not crappy little petrol one) in the south devon / Plymouth area - and how much per day?

Got mine last week. Very lightweight and will come in handy with smaller branches/ conifer etc. Much less strain on my forearms / elbows which are causing me a bit of jip at the mo! Almost feels like you're holding a toy saw but has enough power to do the small stuff.

Been self employed doing this work for 12 years now, the last 7 as a climber and it is such an undervalued profession. If i give a quote for over £400 then usually the job never gets done. Had a friends dad with a MASSIVE conifer (5ft across the bottom) ask for a rough idea of price. He asked if it would be a 4 figure sum...... it would take 3 blokes 4 days to safely take the tree down. when i said "yep, over £1000" - he turned away and didn't ask for a written quote. He's an estate agent too! I earn more money cutting grass in the summer and the costs are tiny compared to the Arb work. No danger or complaints or risk of breakages etc..Seriously considering jacking it in and going back to regular maintenance stuff on an hourly rate. Also we very rarely have an easy days work, ALWAYS physically demanding. Round here, if its an easy fell etc then matey who's taken early retirement, esate car + trailer with a 13" stihl will cut tree down on an hourly rate and make a right pigs ear of it. But the worst thing of all is that we NEVER get made tea/ coffee. But when the plumber rocks up on £400 a day he gets a bacon sandwich!!! Rant over.!

got these spikes on ebay, not ACTUALLY sure what make they are as i bought them 2nd hand. Any ideas? Arborist Tree Surgeons Climbing spikes | eBay

looking at getting a new pair of climbing spikes - the lighter the better - any advice?