lgl

Not smitten no but I have used it many times before I saw the video and will again, I know I am very good at what I do,

He also said "much lower down"

Oh ok , that's fine, you obviously have a lot of experience of this.

Nothing quite like windblow!

Quite , some of the trees we cleared after the 87 blow were on banks with two artics of timber in them and root plates as high as houses.

take note of the "BUT" in the comment above folks... big difference

I also note that a winch was used , as has been said those that do not feel they have the skill level don't attempt it, it is a perfectly safe technique used by the right person, as I said I have been a large tree faller for 35 years and feel confident doing that.

The ideal situation is to run the wire over the root plate, the problem with that on a short pull is that you are more likely to lift/snap the posts.

I certainly wouldn't recommend using reclaimed fence posts for it.

 

From your previous post I thought you sounded as though you thought it would be difficult to winch it back upright - in my experience it's not, as long as you've not got a lot of weight to move past the horizontal. Hence I thought you'd be surprised - no offence intended. If it's lying down-hill then that's a different kettle of fish. The root plate is normally the heavier bit, if you can get that to move from perpendicular to the ground back to the horizontal then it will pull the stem up with it. Been a long day, I hope that makes sense.....

No problem, I worked five years+ solid on windblow so have a little experience.

Assuming that the stem isn't lying downhill, so it is on flat ground lying parallel with the ground, you'd be surprised how easily a stem can be winched back.

 

From what I understood the OP can't get in to off-root it as the ditch is in the way, hence wanting to winch the whole lot over.

 

Rustcutter's description of how to tie the fence posts together is far clearer than my attempt earlier.

Why do you think I would be surprised? A lot of it depends on the weight of tree to stump ratio as to how much pull is required , pulling from ground level you are in danger of pulling from a point lower than your point of lift , fence posts do not take a lot of snapping.

Would it not be easier to cut it off the stump then winch the stem round ? It will take a lot of force to winch something from ground level into an upright position because what you are effectively doing is initially pulling it back into the root plate hole, you need a lot of power to go from that stage into the upright position.

I've been on windblown trees for an age it seems. Not one tree is the same to work on, not one hazard on the site is duplicated. The only danger I see from these videos posted on the Internet, is from those who do not know how to do the job, people grabbing a saw to clear a road, or get the tree off their property, so they google it on the net. There is no substitute for the correct training, but many have never had big windblowns to train on, til now. I would hope each and every member here Has more than a passing interest in the job, and would take some of the available videos on the net with a large pinch of salt, or at least apply common sense when dealing with such dangerous trees.

Fair points Andy, there are risks in the game but they can be calculated.As a faller I obviously felled for timber and would not cut something of value as in the video out of choice in that manner , but in stands of large timber down the years you do come across windthrown rotten trees hung up in standing stems, I got paid for getting things down , not leaving them up as did the guys before me, so you find a way. In that particular video law of gravity says the butt end was always going to fall away from the cutter, cutting it lower in stages would not give it enough fall to clear the tree it was hung up in

Chainsaws were around long before training boards and tickets, and believe if you couldn't fell timber you weren't long in the trade.Kind of grates on me a little when people knock other peoples skills.

It comes down to assessing the risks based on experience.

 

Training's never going to cover every single possibility, and sometimes you have to deal with things with whatever equipment you have available.

 

I think part of the problem with Dadio's videos is the way he comes across.

Quite right, I know I can do whats in the video and what may appear dangerous to others because in my field I have had to , including 5 years on the windblow after 87

No , not kidding, I have been a faller for over 35 years and as I said I have seen guys that have the tickets but no skill that put themselves in terrible danger straight felling trees.

Not sure that I agree with all the comments , if people work within their skill levels then a lot of these things aren't an issue.Theres potential for anyone to get injured within the industry and tbh I have seen guys straight felling that have put themselves at more risk.

Oh ok, but from how I read that if there had been charges relating to red there may have been a case?

why are you trying to winch it upright?

But didn't you say appeal court and Judge

 

 

 

.........

Hmmm, I am quite interested to know the details of the alleged crime.

Oh ok, nothing wrong with that. Saw tickets are a barrier obviously , try all avenues , Norfolk has a machinery ring. Someone on here may pick up on these posts.

Tbh a lot of people know the rules but choose to adapt them to suit themselves.

Just interested, some local authority woodland schemes were offering 40% grants for training , its always worth a look into. Whats your past work history , whats the attraction to the timber trade ?

OOOOPS, typo,

David I am sure lots of people can empathise with that, in fairness when something like that happens work takes a back seat.

You could try the local machinery ring, sometimes they get discounted courses, if you have connections in farming.

Out of interest how old are you ? where are you located ?

David,

I have not quoted verbatim ,the judges summary ,meerly the gist of it. Personaly my expereience is that judges interpret the law.

If you choose not to believe that there have been a couple of cases recently where the judge was severely critical of HMRC ,it doesnt matter to me in the slightest.

I think a couple of us were more interested in the details of your particular case.

Do you drive your lawnmower on the road? Agricultural based machines working on highway construction work have to run on white if they are hauling , I doubt whether hmrc are going to go round golf courses etc. dipping tanks on the greens because its not the highway, its as simple or difficult as you want to make it.

Hello David,

Ive read some of your other posts and admittedly life can be a bugger at times.

Getting into this trade even at entry level is sadly not cheap, I do wonder if there is other work you could do to help you save towards getting started?Sometimes we focus on things and actually go backwards.

If theres a case for people running mogs etc. on red then where do you draw the line? does that give someone the right to tow a chipper behind a transit carrying their tools to do the same job as a mog the right to run on red or a climber or a faller transporting their tools to work to run on red ? of course not , its illegal road use.For a while people got round it by fitting duel tanks , red empty , white loaded , another grey area, there were farmer/ contractors running soil around in tractors and dump trailers on red by the hundred, doesn't make it right though when someone with a lorry has a lot more expense to do the same work, it was people exploiting grey areas that were in the wrong , not the rules , they are quite clear.