devon TWiG

There is a 400 metre zone imposed ( which covers my 4 acres ) to prevent disturbance , I think they must be easily frightened and this could be one of the reasons why they are rare ....the local police wild life crime officer ( along with various ornithological groups ) are monitoring the site .... I hope it does not cause a 3 month exclusion every year !!...

I never pay for materials myself ... always get customer to pay for / order them ( unless small quantities ) .... Looks like you have landed in an awkward situation to which there is no definitive answer really , just try and negotiate ....does the type of netting make any real difference to the fences purpose , or make injury likely ?

I have had birds nest both in the cab and on top of the injector pump of a tractor , also in a coiled up rope hanging in a shed . I am currently buying 4 acres of woodland and will complete within a few weeks , however in the meantime a goshawk has nested in there and as a consequence I will not be allowed on my land at all ( even on foot ) until early July ... I have never heard of this situation before ....

Brilliant stuff ! really good interpretation on the theme ( mountaineering ) and I am sure it will be appreciated by weary mountaineers at the end of the day .....

Perhaps the contractor was of the "home on wheels " type ...they are also immune from fly tipping as well ...

I was half expecting you to post a pic of an evergreen oak , with a witty caption !!

With reference to the old saying , down here in sunny , sub tropical Devon the Oak seems to be coming in to leaf before the Ash , so I am looking forward to a long hot summer ( but expect to be disappointed ! ) ...... just wondering what the rest of you are noticing in your area ?

Great post Mick , I had many happy years on multiplat, and used to splice it myself , an eye in each end , it is still available from yacht chandlers , ( approx £3-£4 per metre ) it is, and never was a specific climbing rope it just suited us at the time and was far nicer than 3 strand . I can just imagine the debate about multiplat Vs 3 strand if there was a forum like this 20 years ago !!!!!!

A recently finished coffee table made from old "bone " oak (very dead wood ) and a very weathered plank , all been wire brushed, so hard but textured ... very rustic , and will never need to be polished !!

Brilliant stuff !! the film crew covered this well I think and not let the "presenter " get in on the act too much , hope you think it was a good article about your self and it helps you with your work ( always a bonus !!) It is interesting too hear you have an Art background and it shows in your work , especially with the blowlamp , which is something I use on my wood turnings at times , especially Ash ...

Why do you need to keep fit ?... it would appear there are loads of expensive fancy gadgets and techniques that make climbing effortless these days !!... or so I am lead to believe ...... ( a bit of lighthearted sarcasm included ! )

Interesting to the views of others , particularly regards MEWP's , I guess if we all had them we would use them a lot more , however I have only used them where I consider it to be more efficient , such as large road side hedges etc ... as for safety I consider climbing to be totally safe ( if done correctly ) I can not think of many occasions where safety required a Mewp , but where do you draw the line ? I looked at a large very dead Corsican Pine some years ago in a very difficult situation to dismantle and the customer told me some other contractors declined to quote and the few that did were very expensive , so after looking for a while and chatting to a neighbouring landowner I felled it through 2 hedges across a lane , ( it was quite a mess temporarily !) this was safer and cheaper than taking the risks of dismantling etc just to avoid damage to a few shrubs and hedges , and some fence ! Sometimes a bit of lateral thinking can avoid potentially risky tasks as most people are looking for cost effective solutions and it is easy to think about getting lots of gear in , I know this was an unusual solution , but it was not the only time ! It would be easy for another contractor to think I was a cowboy for doing it that way , but I would not accept such judgment !!!!

To me it sounded like sour grapes as well , not sure how it ended up in the press but they are in effect putting themselves up as the more professional outfit , but letters had been sent to senior members of the Authority as a complaint ( not sure this was wise )......... The RA was of contractor a) not the client , I am sure we have all done jobs where a MEWP would of been easier / safer BUT more costly so it was not used ...does this constitute taking unnecessary risk/ bad working practice ? and I believe local Authorities are legally bound to accept the lowest quote , without very good reasons not too .

A recent event fairly local to me received press publicity ( not sure why ) where 2 contractors were asked to price a job ( dead Elm removal I think ) contractor a) completed THEIR risk assessment and considered a MEWP was required ..... Contractor b) ... was seen doing the job at a later date using a rope and harness ....... contractor a) was aggrieved that b) won the job , presumably cheaper than a) and has made strong representation to the Authority for whom the job was for about the fact that b) did not use a MEWP and was therefore cheaper , does anyone feel this is right ? have you done this yourself ? ( or considered it ) surely the RA is the opinion of each contractor ( although in some circumstances thing are not a matter of opinion but fact eg power lines in the crown ) also does the client awarding contracts actually read RA's and are influenced by them ? and what is the position of the client ,as they are likely to accept the lowest quote ( I am assuming here that a,&b, are both on a list of approved contractors for the Authority )....interested in peoples opinions .....

Tell him you do not want to borrow his saw again as it does not cut straight !!! ... on a more serious note why would he say you bent it when all he had to do was a simple check to see if that was the case or not , before getting in touch with you ? .. hope you resolve it amicably because co-operation ( including borrowing / hiring gear ) is very useful in this industry and most do it from time to time ....

If any one can get the fish TOMPOT BLENNY ( yes it is real !) or GURNARD in to this thread then I will be most impressed !!!!

I think he "sole"d it ...

I just hope after YOU have paid for the Training costs AND their time they do not then insist on a pay rise because they are now qualified !! as others have said it is no wonder people are reluctant to employ staff , but in many ways it is a catch 22 .. if you employ people , and comply with all the rules and regs , training , holiday , sick pay , kit etc etc then your "man day " rate becomes high to the point of making you un-competitive which just seems wrong really and I do not think anyone has the answer , but most just get on with things the best they can !!

He does not have a dozen butts , even then they would have to be moved to a flat area for milling , then stacked / stickered / dried and then marketed , also softwood sawn timber is not really worth a lot nowadays and I doubt he would cover the high costs of milling , also he might have a few down next time there is a storm .....

A local ( to me ) land owner with some woodland called upon my services to sort out some windblown/ hung up /broken off Douglas Fir approx 20-25 metres tall and 500mm dia , he has a few acres and now and then some blow down .... he asked me the best way to get revenue from said wood with minimal outlay , there is not enough quantity to sell as sawlogs (timber ) it seems prohibitively expensive to hire in a mobile sawmill and then he would need to market the timber , logs are one option but he has hardwood for himself elsewhere and does not want a log merchant on his land due to previous bad experience and the fact that the money he would receive is quite small ... after some thought I suggested that if he was happy to do the work then he could turn it in to kindling , this is something he could easily do himself especially on wet days , it needs no special ,costly kit , and would probably be quite easy to sell ( and store until it does ) and after looking at and measuring a typical tree in his wood it could yield quite a lot of money from each tree .... I know this seems quite simplistic , and is quite a lot of work , but he is retired yet very active and it would appear to be ideal for the situation and he thinks it is an ideal solution to his situation , just wondered what others may think , or have had experience of doing kindling this way ??

Erect a scaffolding shelter over the pile with a tin roof , it can all be dismantled and moved or extended and sold off when no longer required ........ At one yard we used to sling a rope between 2 trees and this effectively became the ridge pole of a tent ( large tarpaulin ) we could also work under it when wet as well , but you need a relatively wind free site ( this was in woodland )

Many trades provide their own tools .... mechanics and carpenters for example. One company I worked for for a long time everyone had their own saws and I used to look after the company provided big saws , mainly because I used them most, and it was a system that everyone appeared happy with and it seemed to work , and you could tell a lot about individuals by the state of their own personal saws !!!

People will pay as little as they can to get what they need ...just the same as most customers look for the cheapest quote . I do think this work should pay better than it does , especially compared to some other trades , but things are as they are and it seems unlikely to change any time soon ....... I am happy though and that is worth quite a bit !!

Try hanging from the side D rings on a Willans and you probably will not do it again as it is rather uncomfortable .... no load goes on to your leg loops just up in to your rib cage ... it is certainly strong enough though , but as for working on spikes or changing anchor whilst sure footed then no problem !!!

A site not "correctly "set up as per all the rules and regs are of no interest to the general public , as they neither know or care unless something did go wrong , ( very rare ) then it would be down to experts ... ... it only seems to bother officious H&S types and other contractors !!!..... not saying that this how it should be just the reality of life .... a great deal of effort time and expense is expended to comply but in reality it is only marginally safer than the bare minimum , most is done just to avoid the possibility of being sued rather than genuine concern . for example ... have you ever come across a set of traffic lights out of order ? yet everyone seems to sort them selves out without much trouble ....