devon TWiG

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 .......

I was half expecting a reference to the infamous "codwood" !!!! apparently the Council are concerned about fishermen drowning ..... it seems the fishermen are less concerned , and will they wear them ? Perhaps motorcyclists can get top of the range Arai helmets ....the whole thing just came across as bizzare to me ...

In my regional newspaper today was an article about Plymouth City Council have obtained £77k from the EU to buy and provide top of the range lifejackets for local commercial fishermen ...... really not sure why they feel it is their responsibility to provide them , perhaps treeworkers can get free Pfanners !!!

Are you sure he has not just puked in to it ??? !!! ( jesting)

I have topped a few Yew hedges and Western Red Cedar over many years and they regrow from pruning points .... Leylandii and Lawsons do not, however Leylandii is very resistant to decay and to maintain a hedge it is also wise to always trim BOTH sides as well or every time some one has to top again it is wider than before which makes it harder work .... do a hedge well and you will probably get called back again ......it is bread and butter work for most arborists and I have done loads over the years , I would not say I enjoy it but there is plenty of work to be had doing it !!!

A typical ( private ) customer does not produce a contract / specification of works ....so each individual company are quoting for the exact same thing , you may find that the winning contractor will not spend time avoiding shrubs or damaging the lawn etc etc and advise the client that leaving the wood in situ will save her plenty of money , doing this is not about low standards but proposing a more cost effective solution to the client ., also some times the winning quote has just got it wrong and underestimated the job by mistake ...we have all done it I am sure !!

Planning an exit strategy is a bit hard because you may not be in charge of your own destiny ....are you now where you "planned " to be 5 -10 years ago ?? Some time ago I did a lot of studying for the RFS Prof Dip to possibly move in to management of some sort but really could not see myself in an office environment ... so many things can be out of your control , financial , health , personal circumstances can throw any plans out of the window .....I stopped climbing full time when I was 43 -44 not because I could not do it any more I just did not want to... I do a few days now and then ,sometimes a full week or more , I drive a lorry part time as well now and really like the combination of the two , as well as my woodturning work , and other arty / craft interests . I also own 4 acres of woodland where I can play when I feel like it and I spend as much time on various hobbies and interests as I can , so have not fully "exited " the industry , I do not want to as I still really like it but the level of tedious bureaucracy and petty rules will be the cause of my ceasing professional work ..

Didymus ......if you have been out of the industry for 15 years then you will find that there is much , much more kit to choose from now and it is nearly all good ( far better then 15 years ago ) the best stuff is not cheap but is that not always the case ? I wear stihl x lite trousers which are very light and not too hot either but they are type A , type C will be heavier and hotter and more restrictive especially if you are wearing waterproofs on top as well ...as for boots then go to a show or dealer and try some on , they are available in a wide variety of styles and colours ( be sure they do not clash with your trouser colour though !! ha ha ) it is very hard to tell though compared to working in them for weeks

Well I just swept my chimney today , first time in 2 years and there was a half bucket full of soot , so I suppose if every house produced this much ,as well as what has gone in to the atmosphere then it could be an issue I guess !! Even with the most up to date stove there will be smoke whilst lighting it and if it is used incorrectly with the wrong fuel etc etc ..... No doubt neighbours in some areas will make grossly exaggerated claims of suffering ,and the industry will see an opportunity to make more money with new stoves , filters , kiln dried logs only etc etc .

I have used sections of wood that straddle the union for woodturning and it gave a very interesting effect to the finished piece ...see pics ...

Tell him he also needs to pour concrete in the fork as well to glue it together ....

The rules are imposed upon commercial operators to ensure that one company does not gain a commercial advantage over another in a competitive market eg overloading , excessive hours etc , for caravans etc this is not a problem generally , and although VOSA do not concern themselves too much with caravans etc if / when something happens the insurers will look very hard indeed to avoid paying out !!

No they will not exceed their driving hours ( 9 per day , up to 10 hours 2x a week , extra break required , 90 hours per fortnight ).... however whilst at work on site the driver will need to leave the tacho setting on "other work " (cross hammers ) and the working time directive comes in to play here , half hour break within 6 hours work , including driving ... also if your driver finishes late then he must have a minimum daily rest overnight of 9 hours , before he can drive again the next day , similar sort of regulation with weekly rest periods ( weekends ) ... if you are driving a 7.5 t and towing in excess of 750 kg then you will need C+E ( class 1 ) and CPC ..... bloody complex all this regulations stuff !!