TGB

Well that was an education. Took a while but read entire thread from original post through to current end. I've learned a bit, forgotten much and didn't understand some. But all in all, well worth the time to have got through it. It has to be said, that there certainly are some very knowledgable folk around. I'd originally started through the thread in the hope of finding out, if particular saws of interest to me had a bad rep. I didn't actually find what I'd originally sort for; but soon got interested in the whole thing for its own reason for being. And I've enjoyed it too. [before someone asks. No, I'll keep the list of interested saws from this thread. It would be a shame to derail it at such an early point.]

Until now, I've not heard a bean about this organisation or its aims. Now I volunteer with a couple of groups who coppice. One the coppice work is done as and where among their various woodland. One has a large hillside woodland which is being put back to coppice and run on commercial basis by volunteers within local community. Both have been going for some years now and I know of a number of other similar groups. Non have even been approached or even aware of such. So I know they have to start somewhere but how come they're aiming for national status, when few people are aware of them. Or is this a professional body, aimed at fully commercial operators only?

... and how much?

"We only speak English or German" So not planning on exporting to China then. They're missing out a market there.

You haven't lived, if you've not had to pass a tractor with trailer on Redbank. That was a long reverse uphill for me. I was more interested in my mirrors but the tractor driver must have been chuckling. Right up to the point when the trailer managed to pass me and he would have shortly encountered the next vehicle near the 'Pink Palace', (YHA). The next one behind me, was a brand new saloon towing a tiny box trailer, loaded to the gunwales with holiday stuff.

Another for, 'For a Few Dollars More' and '3-10 to Yuma'. The Magnificent Seven and may be not quite a western, as there's nobody shooting the town up or searching for a killer out in Montana and it's set in the 20th c, is 'Bad Day at Black Rock' with Spencer Tracey.

There has been many a time, when I've watched people reading a sign, talk among themselves and agree to ignore what they've just read. Catching up with them, I or one of my colleagues has asked after their chosen actions and location, only to be told they didn't read the sign or that there wasn't a sign. Leading them back to where they were allowed to be and showing then the same sign/s. I've even been accused of affixing the sign/s after they'd passed. Some people are stupid, some are idiots, some are right nerks, some are just belligerent and some are all those with whistles & bells. And in my time, I've dealt with all.

Signs and information boards in general - people see and read what they want to see and read. If it doesn't suit their immediate thought pattern, they mentally adjust the presented information and or signage to justify their intended actions. For those people who can connect more than two brain cells at once, signage is just a gentle nudge into the correct action/s. For the, "But the dog knows this way." and "I have every right to walk through here." kind of people, no amount of signage and or information boards, are ever going to divert them from their chosen path. Last year I was watching the reduction on a big tree after it had been struck by lightning some days earlier. I was well outside the cordoned area and able to observe both the work and surrounding paths. (I had nothing to do with operations. Just an interested person walking around the park on that day.) I spied a mother with very young child, who ducked under a barrier, passed a running chipper, (taking care to briefly lift the child to let her see inside), pass through the drop zone and on between groundies with chainsaws or dragging brash. Work soon went to a complete stop. After the initial yells, not a word was spoken. I'm sure not one of the crew had any idea why this person could be that much of an idiot. The mother turned and waved to them all, just before ducking under another barrier and leaving the cordoned area. I think it was only me who witnessed the chipper incident. (I was too far away to verbally warn either crew or the mother of the impending doom.)

As with the 'Puma' I presume you have to carry a backpack of batteries. I can't see the weight saving myself. However, the devices are a lot more quiet and there isn't all the associated dangers of working with liquid fuels. An innovation for small works close to base of operations.

I'd wondered before about that myself. Especially since Grasmere has quite a bit of wooded hill surrounding its approaches; of note, coming in over 'Redbank'.

Galv is good but can rust in time, (though it will take longer to do so than a non-coated steel). Galvanising steel is a bonded coating only. Once the metal is cut, punctured or heavily abraised, the underlying steel is bare to the elements. Steel sheets to be galvanised, used to be broadly cut to size and dipped in open tanks. Now the entire sheet is unwound from its rolled coil and fed through the process, before recoiling. Great, unlit the sheet is then cut for product. Have a look at Galv sheets that have been stored outside. Corrosion usually starts at the cut edges and around drill holes. Having said all this, galv steel is still the way to go. Just treat cut edges, hole edges and deep scratches with an anti-rust compound or chemical before final fitting.

Are the leaflets only going through doors where there are associated trees/hedges in the garden? And I hope you're missing out flats and the like. In a country where private home ownership is at a low ebb. And where there are a great many properties being turned into flats, bedsits and or rented out on a six month lease. There is likely to be many letterboxes through which your leaflets drop, where occupants can barely afford the rent, let alone command the finances for gardening work or tree surgery.

If one can play the long game and wait while the competition goes out of business or is reduced to no meaningful competition. Then making less now, may pay dividends in future. Plus if one were the type, who's to prevent you agreeing to sub for a given job. Then if you know where the job is, going direct to the customer that night and giving a quote for free work. It might not always work but for those times when it does, there'll be one more knock at the competitors' defences. Plus if you've done a pleasing job, another person who may recommend your 'free' services. Charge a fair price now and make a living as you go along. Or seemingly work for peanuts, until you can rake in the profits with no competition.

I like all of them but the frog is really quirky.

I can fully understand your mate losing it when someone tried to run him down. But if he'd kept his cool, you wouldn't now be wondering when the idiot driver will take his revenge. Lashing out at somebody, who has shown a complete disregard for the safety of others, to the point of using their car as a weapon. Could easily end up with the driver doing something more drastic in future. Presumably the name of you business is on the side of your truck. Maybe but hopefully not, the idiot driver could take it on himself or some of his friends, to slyly do you or your property further damage down the line. Let's face it, he's shown little regard for others' property or the sanctity of life. It's a sad fact of human life. There are such idiots around and sometimes your path might cross their path. The best thing I've found is to not excapirate the matter. Don't turn your back on such people. For one thing, they may well go for you and often such an action will put the aggressor over the edge. It can be trying being polite to such people but a calm manner diffuses these situation more quickly and more safely. There are some, for whom when faced with another's calm manner, can blow anyway. But if you're not lashing out at someone who was the aggressor, such events tend to end better. And don't damage their property even if they deserve it. If you do, they'll have a reasonably lawful claim against you. A few pointers to calming the other person/s. Don't cross your arms, don't link your hands behind your back and don't stuff your hands in your pockets. Don't point in their direction or adopt a wide stance. All of these are perceived as indifference or dominating posturing and can quickly lead to an escalation of the situation. Try not to swear at the other person and try not to lash out at them either. If a vehicle/s are involved, try to get the reg. number, description of vehicle and number of other people in the vehicle at the time, (But do it without them noticing.) If there are more than one of them, never let any of them get behind you. If they're friends rather than family, one might verbally engage you, while another starts to wander. Beware the wanderer! When they've gone or if you feel threatened but safe enough to do so at the time. Ring the police with a brief description of what happened/what is happening; the vehicle details and description of the person/s that faced up to you. If they're still there in front of you and you do contact the police, let them know you are doing so. Don't bluff contacting the police. And if you've contacted the police and they turn up, do not back-down from your original position. Not only will the police then be put at a disadvantage in dealing with the situation as is; but they will be disinclined to help out in future or if the matter goes further. (Remember, you called them and there must have been a reason.) Continue to remain calm while in the presence of the police. If they can see you're the calm one, they'll be on your side. If you lose it, the police are then faced with two warring parties and you're unlikely to come out the victor.

I'd favour a long-handled slasher too, (or a brush cutter if you have one). As has already been said, waving a chainsaw about is not its intended method of operation. Nor is clearing of brambles its intended use. Carry on waving a chainsaw about and an accident will happen sooner rather than later.

I don't often use the word 'amazing' but he and his furniture are.

Bit smokey but yes, it burns well, gives off good amount of heat but also burns fasts. Rhododendron will burn from almost green.

As I understand it, he can't even leave the structure to his kids, if he has any in the future. Though there maybe a case, if one of his future children carry on what he's doing in the same wood. But that's a way down a long road.

It's snowing - again. This morning it was fine, windless and sunny. Now there's an 25mm on the deck and rolling fog. Why can't we have I.O.W. weather? It only seems to rain in the night there and by mid morning, it's all dry and dandy.

Worked with a guy about a month ago, who'd had his about 3mths. It had serious oiling problems. It was fine, as long as he wasn't actually cutting. I've seen less smoke at a fireworks display. Eventually, I saw him emerge from thick brush, right after the hand propelled saw had landed some 3.5m away. He wasn't a happy camper at that point.

Tried cooking eggs in chips. First attempt resulted in blown shells and blobs I didn't fancy much. Pierced eggs for second, resulting in intact shells, cooked eggs but an ingress of something which tainted the whites. Third went with a pierced shell but placed egg in tin and just immersed tin in top of pile. Resulted in a good cooked and edible egg. Happy with experiment but a lot of fuss for a boiled/roasted egg.

Glad you're on the mend! Could have easily been so much worse; if the brake had been off or faulty. Despite what the HSE think, accidents can happen and there's not always someone who must be blamed. But maybe next time put the saw aside while dragging bash to the chipper.

Is that around the 'Heads of the Valleys' area?

When reading through 'Unread' threads, I'll come to the limit of the threads-page. And when I swipe up, the further threads which then appear for viewing, include some of the read threads, mixed in a different order along with the new unread threads. (Maybe this is because people have contributed in the meanwhile. But they're still marked as being read. So I have to remember each of the thread titles, so I'm not re-reading that which came before.) Also, I've set number of threads-to-page to 50. However, while viewing threads, the actual threads-to-page is alway 39.