sammym

Eh? Confused

Err - well I've only recently decided to get back into the garden work. More because I was getting calls on my phone for jobs, and decided it would be better to earn some money rather than looking for a "normal job". So I currently have a bmw 320d, but I'll have to change that for a van, or if I decide to start very small again a pick up.

I think you have made my mind up for me. As a collective on the forum. I've message jonesie asking about offers at his show, and I'm sure we will be able to work something out. I'll be itching at the bit to actually use it though. If it takes a couple of weeks for a job to come in using a saw then I'll be gutted. At the moment I only have hedges booked in. Sadly.

My view. And off topic. Is that people see the £ signs in big work, without working out the costs. £2k for two days, 4 men each day and then all the waste and extra chipper etc. Vs me and one other bloke earning £5/600 a day smashing out hedges and small work to a high standard... In the end I had four blokes working for me, all earning GOOD money. And we nicknames ourselves the hedge specialists. We were knocking out jobs other people were claiming would take a day in half a morning, and then doing loads more work. It just meant when it came to something bigger, we were not as used to it. We would take apart the "big tree" brigrade at small stuff, and they would do the same to use with big stuff. I know who drove nicer cars though...

I've done the training and know the theory However when you are only doing something once every few months and your bread and butter is hedges and small work, you are not 100% confident. I know some will say that it's the wrong attitude. But I found I made a LOT more money doing smaller work. So did that. It's what I plan on going back too

Pop in and have a coffee then. That way they can listen if they want, and ignore if they don't. Upside is that you MAY get work out of it, and you will know that no grief has been caused.

Either that or get on with your life and use the time to be the best that you can be. Best case scenario if you call them is someone get's fined. Worst case is an elderly lady who doesn't know better is caused a lot of upset. I like to think I'm a fairly moral bloke. And have been put in hopsital before twice standing up to people picking on vulnerable people in town. However I don't believe in causing grief because you can, do it because you need to.

I've just read the rules (as I've been breaking them by accident). And you arn't meant to post others work to have a dig. That said. My view is that the tree has been battered. If the customer is happy and that's what they want, it's not big enough (from what I can see) for conservation rules, or a tpo to be relavent so it's an ok job. I've had to do things which I don't like to earn money. At the end of the day it's the customers tree and if thats what they want and it's legal, thats what they will get. Painters and decorators do not knock each other for painting houses horrible colours. They accept that it's what some people want.

As someone who does rock climbing and who used to climb trees. Put simply, rock climbing rope is more stretchy. It's resigned so that you fall and the rope absorbs the energy rather than breaking your back... When climbing a tree your prussic (insert fancy bit of kit) is not meant to have much/any slack in the system. Try hip thrusting up a tree with rock climbing rope. You will be bouncing all day long. There may be other differences.

As I said it was only my opinion. And I respect yours. I just know that when I had a mate do some work for me a few years ago, when he was skint and on leave. He told me how grateful he would be going back to finishing work by midday, having his scoff provided and being pampered in the line infantry. My point isn't that manual work in gardens is all bad. It's just that there are easier ways to earn a crust and I'd rather the bloke know it. Glad it is going well for you mate. For a bootneck it seems like things have turned out surprisingly well for you!

Good point. I was joking, however it can come across in the wrong way on the internet. I suppose if I wouldn't say it infront of my fiance's parent's I shouldn't write it here.

I had one of the first 261's in the country. And had that problem... Was a major drama as the local dealer refused to loan me a saw when they repaired it... The second one I got was fine. However once it stopped oiling the chain and it wasn't blocked... I will never use that dealer again. However I do like Stihl. The saws really did put up with abuse. I just wanted to see if there was a new kid on the block. It appears there is! So thanks.

I'll remember that some people on the internet believe in political correctness and have no sense of humor then. These blokes must be amazing to work with, and great fun on the lash.

Once the drugs wear off and they get their bearings, they are off sharpish

This is a very friendly forum. Thanks

Just to throw my opinion into the mix. I've recently (not the recent, I've been lazy) come back from a tour with the TA's. I closed down my company to do it... My advice would be to stay in if you can! If you have got redundancy then do something else. I'll explain way... 1) As others have said, your limited with age in arb. When you are late 40's if you arn't running a company your life is horrible. Thats my experience (I'm younger than that) and that of everyone I know. 2) The pay isn't great. Yes you can earn decent money occasionally, however it's never regular and you will have to EARN it. 3) Companies in Arb, are generally small and because of that play hard and fast with the rules... If you upset the boss, your likely to find yourself with no job and no money. That's just how it is in this industry. 4) It's hard. Like really really hard. In the summer you will sweat and be close to passing out. In the winter you will be freezing. Climbing a tree in freezing rain is about as much fun as being on an exercise when it's pissing it down. 5) People will treat you like dirt. They don't view "lumberjacks" as anything more than tramps. I know people won't like what I've said. And their experiences will be different to mine. However I can honestly say that not many people would look back and say "yep I'm glad I did that, it's been a rewarding and enjoyable career" when they retire with no pension at 50. That said, if you do. You will work with some great people, and have a bit of fun along the way. You will end up all standing around scratching your head thinking wtf, and have to find an ingenius way of working it out. Your call, but I would feel a bit rubbish not being real with you.

You say tom-ay-to I say tom-art-o. I don't really do big tree work, and when I ever had any hard wood work over a couple of foot I liked to use a big big saw. I was more confident with a bit more grunt to breeze through the wood, rather than standing there for eternity hoping it wouldn't barber chair.

Maybe it just seems like a long time ago. I closed my company down around 18 months ago, but since then I've changed a lot and am just getting back into the swing of things. Also remembering properly now, two were 260's and two were 261's I'd replaced them with. One of the 260's didn't work but I was keeping it thinking that I'd fix it or something one day. And have a bit of chillax, it was a tongue in cheek comment, that is all. I treat all women very very well... Until it's the morning then they are kicked out pronto.

Surely they can't be tha good? Back in the day it would have been a 660 for that sort of job...

What I meant was that I had three separate stilhl 261's. as I used go have a few blokes who worked for me. However back in the day a few years ago it was between the stilhl 261 and the husky 346. I went stilhl as they felt more solid and all my other kit was stilhl. Does that make sense?

It's just a case or working out if I want that bit of extra power. I don't need it, but it might be nice.

Won't bore you all with the story. But I used to own and run a landscaping company. I've been busy in Afghanistan and doing other stuff for the last 18 months so am a bit out of the game. Before I left I sold my three 261s. So I wondered if you can tell me what the newest shiniest 50 cc saw is, capable of taking abuse and rocking a 15 inch bar. Back in the day it was 261 vs 346xp. But these days I have no clue so please let me know what the weapon of choose is?