devon TWiG

where did you get the wood , and is it fully dry / seasoned ? it looks like laburnum to me ( esp bark ) , but photos are not very good !

Green man wales .....have you got back to your trainer and informed him of what happened ?? he really should no longer be teaching methods which are out of date with H&S , neither should he be out of touch as to what the exam entails !! there could be a case if you failed your assessment that you could make him reimburse you .....perhaps get in touch with which ever training body he is from and make them aware of the situation ....

It can also be a problem for normal works if such things as bats , badgers certain bird species etc etc are present , with ever increasing rules I fear even more woodland will become neglected as costs for such things as surveys etc rule out any possible small profit that may be gained from working the woodland ....

Simple Simon ....if you live in a mostly rural area ( as I am ) then farmers are often in need of our services , and this will become more so as ADB takes hold , some trees will be too difficult for them to do , some farmers are too busy , some too old to be doing the hard work etc etc , you can keep prices low by not needing much machinery as they have tractors etc and brash can be left or burnt in situ , very few farmers will pay full "pro arb team " rates ....I do quite a bit of work for farmers now ...hedgelaying esp on one site , cutting firewood etc no sweeping up at end of day , no road signs etc etc ?

A big woodland near me was cleared of its dead Elms in the late 70s and is now a stand of perfect tall straight Sycamore and looks great and cost nothing to plant !!

I think everyone agrees that there is a great deal of woodland that could benefit from being managed , yet reading TVI's story highlights the fact that it is rarely ( if ever ) economically viable . Even with grants which for most people are a ball ache to apply for even if eligible ! TVI has also found a benevolent and presumably wealthy owner ......I have looked at a few near me after being invited too , however most are steep , rocky , wet and with poor access !! best of all was one owner suggested I could take trees for firewood , only poor scruffy specimens , no decent ones and then he felt it would be fair that he received 50% of log sales !! ( i do all felling , cutting , splitting and delivery !!) needless to say that wood is still left untouched ...The problem is that most owners think the wood is fine left as it is and would not let anyone make money from it unless there is money in it for them and the economics rarely allow this ....sad ...

great thread TVI !! .....lots of useful and relevant information and it comes across that you are loving the work / lifestyle ....I have a small woodland 4.5 acres 75% of which is 30 m douglas firs which I am removing a few at a time mostly to let more light in to allow natural regen and some planting which is working out nicely , deer are my biggest problem , coming from an arb background I did not fully appreciate what destructive bastards they are ☹️

looking at getting one soon .... but this thread has left me just as undecided as I was before I read it !!? any other pfanner stuff I have had has been brilliant , so I have little doubt the protos will disappoint !!....

I am now 58 ...been at it since 1986 ( last century !!!? ) mostly climbing , often more than 5 days a week , only part time now but all is fine .....can do a good days work , two in a row feels tough at times , rarely do a full week , no need to , I have all I want , house paid off etc ,life is good , my hobby life has always been quite physical as well !

English is very well used in Holland ....so no communication problems there !! would be polite to learn some though !!

The stumbling block for any idea would be planning permission as it is a change of use if over 28 days per annum , some LA's might favour ideas but if not then the ensuing planning application regs and process may be so expensive even if successful that costs are unlikely to be recouped .....things like access / highways , environmental impact assessment , bat survey , woodland management plan ...blah , blah , blah . I have 4-5 acres and not wanting to do much with it yet so many people think there is potential ( in their dreams ) to build a house etc etc . I am in a National park as well so no chance , not that I even want to anyway !!

A mate of mine who is a fitter locks his tool box and shed up every night using an impact gun on several bolts using wheel security nuts off a toyota rav 4 and has never been broken in to ...his brother uses the same idea to lock his trailer and motorbike up !!!

They may well be heavy in seed as a survival strategy due to being under stress !

Is there a building code for a garage roof ?.... how many pieces is the damaged ridge broken in to ?

I used to work with GRP and that would be pretty easy to someone who knows what they are doing ...........

just use a knife then a curved cabinet scraper , I do quite a bit of Ash that way ,,,fresh as possible is easier !!

Yep the sap on a fresh one is a nightmare !!

not this time of the year !! I have used a fair bit for turning and find it keeps OK , spalting is a sort of grey streaking effect and not particularly attractive

I use these for anything thorny and wire cables .... brilliant !! Polyco Granite 5 Beta Leather Cut Resistant Gloves 891 - SafetyGloves.co.uk WWW.SAFETYGLOVES.CO.UK You Can Buy The Polyco Granite 5 Beta Leather Cut Resistant Gloves From £16.41 Each With Free UK Delivery On Orders...

really ? .... what catapault do you have and what length pole ...?? I gather it is possible but I cant do it !!!

Birmingham seems a logical choice for diving ....close to the coast ? ?

My first suspicion would be that oil tank !! how long has it been there ? construction of concrete pad it sits on ? were roots severed laying a pipe from tank to house ? spillage of oil contaminating ground ? lines are LV 240 not 11KV , just my initial thoughts ....

perhaps we could have a try at carving some topical characters ....Boris , Nigel Farage , Corbyn , Abbot ...and any EU leaders just to combine politics with art ? just to see however badly carved can we identify them ??

Perhaps many ordinary Arb types who fancy having a bit of a play with chainsaw carving see the incredible work of some of the dedicated artists and feel that it would be not worth posting basic pieces on here ..... bit like comparing vids of large takedowns etc with a nice bit of hedge topping / trimming ?

Yes i have seen that device where you effectively use a pulley to gear down effort and then capture but i do not really think i will bother as 60 ft is probably enough .........would be interested to know how far others get on a straight pull ...