devon TWiG

Equally you will not see a Guardian headline about how much theft gypsies are responsible for !! if you only like to hear what you want to hear then you may as well be deaf .....

Aside from the immigration issue , how many people really think our continental neighbours are truly friends ?? It would seem they are the type that will be your best mate as long as you keep buying them drinks !! One of the reasons for the leave vote was that they simply do not listen to our concerns and just continue with their own grand plan for Europe . The free movement of people seems a good idea but it seems to have been a one way thing , how many Brits ( or other nationals ) have moved to work in Eastern Europe , very , very few I think , more have come to the UK and Germany purely for financial gain and have no vested interest in our country or ways of life and are of the opinion " what can my ( host ) country do for me ? in effect we are just using them , they play a small role in local communities and tend to stick together , as do most Brits overseas , multiculturalism may sound nice but in reality it will lead to dilution of cultures until they are lost which will be a shame . Financially I think most of us should be prepared for an economic downturn ,mostly due to "confidence " in markets and consumer spending which I personally think is not all together a bad thing as we just cannot keep getting richer for ever and when is enough ,enough ??

From what I have read recently only 6% of the UK is developed ( houses , factories , shops, roads etc ) and 12% is woodland and approx 50% farmland . Just look on google earth and see how green this country is , I do not wish to see more development but as the population everywhere increases and people always seem to want bigger houses , second homes etc etc it is inevitable ...sadly ....

I do not think safety standards need to improve , the existing standards are more than adequate they just need to be more closely adhered to and complied with , on the whole they are , and risks can only be reduced not eliminated . ..... even paramedics / Ambulance drivers must crash or hurt them selves on occasion .

If doing the latest nptc for aerial pruning etc is it acceptable/ permitted to one hand a saw ?

Whenever there was jobs in or around water I was always the one in it .....once whilst working on a river bank there was no real option other than to fell leaning trees in to river , then I was the one who would wade in ( no trousers , old trainers ) and cut major limbs so they could be pulled out , on one as I stepped forward the water was a lot deeper and my mates ??? said it was hilarious to see me disappear beneath the water but keep my saw above my head !!!! another time whilst working next to a stream I accidently knocked my own saw ( still running ) in to the water , jumped in after it but made the water cloudy and could not see the saw so was crawling / swimming around and eventually found it by feel !! that was in winter ...Another time whilst working on an estuary bank we were burning up below the high tide line but the tide came in before all was burnt and tried to stop large lumps of charcoal from being washed away was messy to say the least .

I am very dubious of the claims made by sellers/ users of Aspen , firstly even if the fuel is cleaner burning than petrol it is still mixed with 2 stroke oil , and it is the burning of oil with fuel that gives 2 strokes the reputation of being "dirty " also the way a 2 stroke works means that fuel is burnt less efficiently compared to 4 strokes , also consider the fact that there will be atomised lubrication oil flung in to the air form the chain , also not to mention DUST , from the saw you are using , the chipper ( plus it's fumes ) and the blower ....also background pollution from traffic , industry etc etc when all this is considered as potential hazards to health in this industry then the level of reduction of potential harm overall to the users respiratory system by using Aspen must be so small as to be impossible to quantify , and the cost /benefit to me is ridiculous , I have never felt I have suffered from fumes or had saw problems that could be positively attributed to the fuel ..........however if others are convinced and are happy to pay such a premium then it is of no concern of mine ...

Will the RSPCA be prosecuting for cruelty ??....or will the man sue the eel for sexual assault ??

Could not agree more !!!! life is for living, not being in the rat race , although being realistic that a living needs to be earned , this profession on the whole is a satisfying and enjoyable way to supply life's needs . Not many people in the grave yard wished they had worked more in their lives !!

I know for a fact after speaking to some potential workers that the excessive level ( and cost ) and timescale , of certification and kit , is a big obstacle , also moving to different areas due to high housing costs is a real barrier and also this industry is just not viewed as a serious career compared to many others .

This is a heavy reduction !!!! 90% ? a 70ft beech tree reduced to 10-12 ft on main stem leaving one low limb to form a new small crown ( hopefully ) this tree is in a woodland , has major ustilinia , and the "aim " is to create a future veteran specimen this was the first job with a new ms661 , climbing with it !!

That is a good example of how a skilled and dedicated arborist can make a silk purse from a sows ear .....with a chainsaw ...well done !! I have had to do some real hatchet jobs recently for ignorant customers and can well imagine other arbs driving by and shaking their heads in disbelief ....

Consider the following scenario ........ In 10+ years time England is an impoverished nation on the fringe of Europe , The government applies to join the EU , we are accepted and now we become a recipient of EU grants ( the opposite at the moment ) and we will receive loads of EU money for fantastic infrastructure projects etc etc , loads of our young people move to Poland / Romania to pick veg , wash cars etc, etc ... will they then receive benefits from the host country ?? subsidised housing , tax credits , free health care, education etc etc , and expect to be liked and welcomed by their host nation when they subdue wages , put pressure on public services etc etc , and if they commit serious crimes are still entitled to remain in the host country with legal costs borne by the host country ?... I doubt that this will happen ..BUT this is what has happened in reverse over the last decade has it not !! ?? Sadly the freedom of movement has been mostly a one way thing , and just why is this a non negotiable thing with the EU , it is their utter refusal to negotiate on such issues that has lead to the current situation , I have no doubts that many EU member states will suffer when we leave and their leaders will pressure the EU leaders (unelected ) to be more flexible , Germans want to sell their cars to us , the Spanish want us to holiday there , Polish will return home to be unemployed , etc etc so I am pretty sure some sort of deal will be reached ...

The burr type lumps on red HC appear to look more like canker to me , at least in the ones I have seen and know of locally , plain HC often have plenty of burrs as I always seek these out as I do a fair bit of woodturning and they are very desirable indeed !! As to the OP, I have no idea if it affects the growth rate but I know of some fine, big healthy specimens with plenty of burrs on them and do not appear to be suffering poor vigour .....

Probably worth around £400 ( approx 80 hoppus foot @ £5 ) but if you can get it for £200 and both of you are happy then all is well !!! Also depends how clean you need to leave the site .

Not many "celebrities " I do like to be honest !!

Also known as radial sawing ...to maximise the beauty of medullary rays in woods like London plane ( large ) or on occasions can be cleft in same manner .

This is very true .....in fact I believe recent H&S research identified that high numbers of injuries involving ladders were caused to the person "footing " the ladder ....person up ladder fell on them or dropped things on them

Basically it is a stack measurement , volume of space occupied rather than volume of actual material ...... it was long before metric cubes or before there was any practical way of weighing the wood .. I guess the system was taken to America where it has evolved in to slightly different calculations , bit like gallons ...

Cordwood refers to the sections of wood that were ( in woodland management ) traditionally put in to piles then measured in multiples of cords 8'x4'x4' this was usually the branches from a tree left behind after the trunk / timber sections have been removed . Cordwood was usually straightish lengths cut to about 4' long and under 1 foot dia for ease of handling etc . It was used for firewood and charcoal making amongst other things and was a unit of measurement for negotiating sales / productivity or payment . It has become a generic term for short lengths of small dia wood as opposed to "rings " or timber lengths .

Ways I have used ( and abused ladders ) When doing powerline work ( fibreglass ladders only ) sometimes it was a fair hike to site where vehicles cannot access we carried our kit on it like a stretcher ..... also used for crossing ditches / streams . Many trees in Devon are growing out of thorny hedges and being able to by- pass this part of the ascent is very useful . Also have tied one section of ladder to another at right angles forming a T shape which is great for leaning in to thin hedges to cut the top off , also have had ladders laid on top of hedges a bit like snowshoes to support me whilst trimming ahead of myself ( not standing up !! ) and many years ago tied one section so it is vertically sticking up from back of pickup and doing roadside clearance / hedges .

No Devon ...

I have used Morbark chippers quite a bit ( down here in Devon ) and only familiar with the drum type ( not really sure of model no ) which are brilliant and very well made and know of two still in regular use one in excellent order with a 30hp yanmar ( I think ) six inch capacity I think but are great on twisted bushy growth as feed hole and roller are quite big , and the other a right donkey with an old air cooled diesel twin cylnder that really is on its last leg .

Maybe you are brilliant at dragging brash !!!!.......surely a bit of crown lifting or simple take downs are available to allow you to get some experience ....

Had to resurrect this thread today after spotting this on a local map .......