Andrew McEwan
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Everything posted by Andrew McEwan
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The treerunner p500 is great as you know, wouldn't be without it, the rcw3001 with the winch is a heavy lump as already said but lots lighter and cheaper than a grcs and a mega handy do it all option if you can only buy one.
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Hope you keep going with the vids Reg, always a good watch. Then retire into certification, nevermind the ArbAC, how about RCAC, stamp of competence worth having!
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My updated Agt850 ad
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My skidding grapple is for sale if it'd be any use for you? built by RSL, and with a mind to fit onto a large front loader one day.
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Probably get a little 30hp one for ~10k, but ~50hp minimum is better for tree work I think, selling my AGT850 for 16k 600hours. Reverse steer very useful for tight skidder work. I'd be a bit wary of avant type loaders in the woods, unless a very gentle site, don't think most have a central oscillation point like alpines, so will be more tippy, or split rear brakes for skidding with the nose in the air etc.
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That sort of job is exactly why I got a skidding grapple with a rotator for my alpine tractor, yet another option! If you've got room to convert from pole length near roadside.
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Let buyers know if it's on the original pot and piston, subtly mark the main parts if ebaying, (fb marketplace better) and film it cutting first in case of a scammer/parts swapper and returner, would guess at least worth £200 if not tatty. Then find a decent husky 350 and get spud to port it for you!
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Yup, excellent car, still going at 180k but think the lpg might be finally winning against the valve seats. I'd heard the same about the volvo 5 cylinder, sounds a good tree car.
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Cheers Billhook, might be a decent legacy replacement option
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and commiserations on the bumper mod!
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Have you been happy with xc70 billhook? Is the 4wd up to much? haldex?
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Spot on hope he's getting a start somewhere, good effort Green man
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Mentioned already nearly but try a cam buckle load strap attached to the base of your poles then to an archery bow trigger, that clips into (and releases) a loop of throwline on the back of the catapult pocket. I bought an archery trigger with the wrist support and mount and just chucked that away, and tied the actual trigger part to the cam buckle. Lets you use double poles and aim easily, and fling a heavy bag that will come down more easily as high as you could want in the UK.
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Without boring everyone to tears Edward, again our views differ, Bowen vs NT was about a tree in low frequency of use zone, and the Micklewright tree hadn't been inspected, and the limb union was obscured by ivy. Erena Wilsons death wasn't due to an included union as far as I know, disputed summer branch drop I think, and Sutton NT death was due to a whole tree failure, again not an included union that a surveyor had recorded and not actioned. I don't think there has been a case where a surveyor has seen and identified an included union over a high frequency use target, recorded no signs of failure, specified no action and then successfully defended a subsequent failure causing death/damage.
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As I said earlier I'm not trying to persuade you Edward, just lodging an alternative view on here. I haven't said or pretended that I can make a land holding safe, we are discussing included unions, which if you reduce them to a stub or brace them correctly can be made safe, whether the same tree then falls over with some nice new bracing in it due to a compromised root system is another issue. Have a read back through and focus on the unions, there is no residual risk if the union is gone or braced correctly, I'm happy that my clients understand this approach, we're not discussing whole tree safety and risk, just your approach of leaving included unions if you don't see signs of imminent failure. No one is tugging at heart strings, I'm pointing out that some of us recommend action on included unions, and some seem less keen, I'm happy with my approach, you're happy with yours, other readers can see both views, forum job done.
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I think that just comes to a difference in business approach Gary, never mind included unions I think a lot of arb recommendations are made without clients expecting or being offered an absolute guarantee on safety. If you want to brace an included union over a busy car park, but not a similar one inside a woodland I'd say that was still a reasonable approach, without trying to offer 100% certainty that the car park union will fail. In that case I'd say yes that union over the car park has been made safer, I don't need to 100% guarantee its failure potential to have made a reasonable recommendation. Re. budgets I don't let that affect my recommendations, sometimes I will give various options, which will have different costs, but that buck should stop with the landowner not the surveyor.
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Maybe, or you could be under instruction from a risk adverse client perhaps following a tree failure incident/ near miss. How about union condition, proportion, lean, bracing (natural or synthetic), brown edge or not, mutual canopy support, topex
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I'm quite happy to tell a client I have eliminated risk from this type of defect if they follow my recommendation, eg bracing spec and re-inspection program, or reduction of the included limb to a stub (not in a co-dominant case) if retention of the tree justifies some ugly pruning, both mean a failure of the type we are discussing isn't going to happen. I suspect we will have to wait and see the outcome of a case where you have left an included union with a target. I suspect whether the zone is high use or not won't count for as much as you hope with this sort of failure. There is always the moral argument to consider, these are very obvious defects that can be seen, and as we can do something about it before damage is caused so shouldn't we? Reserve the act of god defence for those truly unpredictable failures that cause damage.
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I'm not aiming to change your mind Edward as I suspect that is difficult to do, just making sure that subsequent readers are aware that you firmly stating your view doesn't make other views invalid and undefendable. I don't think anyone has proposed mass felling as a response to included unions, but landowners would be be better served by early formative pruning to single leaders and using basic forestry thinning principals in arb, as well as reduction, cable bracing, target moving and felling. Your approach of..... survey - spot included union with target - guess will it fail before next inspection? - no - then no action - tree fails - act of god defence. Isn't an approach I would take, or recommend to clients as reasonable tree management. I'm confident that without removals, and if talking about included union defects I have made many trees 'safer' over the last 20+ years with the approach I use, and I believe you can eliminate risk for this particular type of defect without disproportionate cost.
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Given there are likely to be folk new to inspection work reading this it is worth pointing out that no reasonable inspection regime could pick up all incremental failures, and I'm sure as Mick says many of us have seen included union failures happen, without any incremental signs of unions opening on trees we are very familiar with. I wouldn't expect the act of god defence to be effective.
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Useful little radio winch/grapple skidder machine
Andrew McEwan replied to Big J's topic in General chat
Or buy my alpine and skidding grapple, with winch mount! -
I was happy with my TP130 pto for a couple of years, would be worth having a look at one if you have a dealer or used one near you. I upgraded to a TP175pto which is a much quicker beast (for sale at the moment) but would be too large for your tractor I think, needs min 40hp ish.
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Hi Ian, Are you set on pear? if not have you looked at otiss? means you can run on any old tablet, has done everything I've needed for last few years, and has steadily had more features added. I came from trimble products and was expecting an ordinary tablet to fail, but still have my original sony x2 despite a lot of wet days, sometimes stick it in a weatherwriter but not often.
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Background to the HSE decision on two rope working
Andrew McEwan replied to kevinjohnsonmbe's topic in Training & education
Doesn't what we do revolve around cutting? Surely HSE needed to see the implications of what they are insisting on, especially if they left the demo done on behalf of the whole industry thinking 'that isn't safe or effective'. Working demo no.2 perhaps?
