flatyre

Yeah probably wasn't the smartest thing to do but felt it needed to be done, on the plus side got my ugly mug on the front page of the local paper because of it, so a bit of free advertising. Also not to sound like i'm profiting from it (which I am) but getting some decent jobs from the storm. This was an interesting one, limb snapped and barrel rolled over on itself twisting the fibres holding it, two lv lines and an electric fence directly below. removed the brash and started nibbling it up but as we got closer to the break we started getting compression on both sides. If I could get the images to stick without becoming all distorted that would help????

true but if you clear it up as it happens you don't end up with a total mess the next day, and it keeps the roads free for emergency vehicles, I think it was a bit irresponsible to leave trees blocking roads, especially at night.

thanks folks, just got a price of £26 for aluminium composite board, basically the stuff signwriters use as it has a 1.5mm aluminium skin over 3mm plastic, this on the outside, inch box section frame and 4mm aluminium sheets on the inside. Total price=£400 including all stainless steel hinges, locks etc.

Sorry to hear that, my dad just lost the use of his right arm after a motorbike accident, no more bikes, no more fishing, no more anything he used to like, not as bad as your friend but here's hoping medical advancements will make the impossible possible in the near future!

buy a 365 special and stick a 372 top end on it!

the sun was a very strange red colour here in County Down right before it turned black, the winds been howling all day, and muggins here like an idiot has been out all day clearing fallen trees from the roads while getting showered in sparks from the power lines because the council sent their staff home on a half day due to the weather, arrived at some places where trees were blocking major roads for hours and not a single police officer, not even a traffic cone! Road service sent home by the looks of it as well, biggest storm to hit for decades and the government decides to send its relevant staff home and its up to fools like us to keep the place running!

Been pricing aluminium for the tipper body, 8x4 aluminium sheets are £60 each and 24mmx25mmx3mm aluminium box section is £5.40 per metre. Would an aluminium box section frame clad in the aluminium sheeting on both sides be strong enough for the whole body, or would I be better keeping the original steel sides and tail gate (heavy but strong) and making a lightweight aluminium upper section to replace the angle iron and plywood?

Not sure if this is relevant, but its easy to judge a job on the drive by without knowing what the customer wanted, condition of the tree, etc. I know I've been asked to butcher trees by customers who don't know the science, and reluctantly done it, at the end of the day if that's what they want then they'll get it, at least if I do it the cuts will be clean and the maximum amount removable won't be exceeded.

i'm a groundsman, not a climber and I don't claim to be a tree surgeon, small jobs I do myself, anything bigger or technical I sub in experienced and certified people. I also don't know about wood id, fungus etc. and the guys I use all use prussocks. Sometimes feel like the "dirty Dozen" of the tree world but we get the job done in a safe and tidy manner, we may get looked down on but Gods honest truth we don't take chances like some of the bigger "reputable" firms in our area.

having no certificates some might say I have no right to work in the industry, and that might be true, but I've worked with guys who did have certs and they didn't have a clue so getting the relevant qualifications doesn't necessarily make you a safe tree surgeon, I would strongly advise getting them all the same, more for the actual training than the fancy bit of paper. Not sure if being an "adrenaline junky" is a good attribute, personally I prefer to work with people who suppress their rash side and opt for a more methodical approach.

if you want to work in this game buy a tree firm and get other people to bust their b**ls for you, its the only way to make any money in this game!

I agree but currently the government doesn't have the money to police the current rules never mind new ones.

maybe she seized?

more frontera woes, towed her back to my shed and fitted a second hand turbo (from a reputable breakers, tested with 6 month warranty), ran perfectly for about half an hour, suddenly started getting lumpy and erratic revs, smoke belching out the exhaust, switched her off, oil level good, no sign of oil/water mixing, removed pipes from new turbo and all good, tried to start her and starter just clicked, looks like she drained the battery but that shouldn't have caused those symptoms, at a loss?

I'm working towards being a subby groundsman with chipper and tipper, Does that mean I don't need PL as it won't be my job?

ant account will do as long as both signatories are required for large withdrawals!

I have a personal page which I ignore as its full of random associates posting up crap I have no interest in, but also a separate business page which I update with a few pics of any decent jobs, links to relevant horticultural issues, and general info about the business, no friends request option so everything on it comes from me, landed some good jobs from it. Unfortunately we live in a social media world, yellow pages and local papers are still a good source of business but expensive and ignored by many of the younger generation, facebook and social media are becoming the "go to" for many, a properly set up facebook business page is cheap and effective.

Ok it may not be mint, duff turbo, but its been garaged its whole life, no dents, no rust, no rips in the interior, a quick trawl of gumtree, ebay etc. and a similar frontera with a working turbo is selling for a grand at least so its a solid buy as far as I can see, but as I didn't buy it for profit then at that price its worth every penny, priced a recon turbo for £100, that's £250 all in. You don't get much for £250 these days and they certainly don't come with fully electric leather heated seats!

hey folks I just bought a 2.2ddti frontera to use as a general work motor, pricing jobs, towing, family runaround etc. I know its not a great motor but I always liked them and wanted one so when a mint lwb turned up on my doorstep (3 miles away) for £150 I had to have it, problem was a whinney turbo. So I picked it up today and set off home feeling chuffed, top spec, five brand new tyres, solid chassis, straight body, low on oil, but only had to drive three miles and didn't have any oil in the van. Next thing is she starts chugging then starts screaming her head off, turned ignition off and still she screamed, jumped out and stood back waiting for her to blow, but she finally died without any obvious bangs. It seems like she suffered "diesel engine runaway" which means she started drawing up the engine oil from the sump and used it as fuel. Anyway gave the key a few short blips and she still turned over so thankfully the low oil level probably saved her, removed the oil feed pipe from the turbo and blocked it off. Then started her up and drove home to the sound of the turbo gradually seizing up, anyway will this happen again once a new turbo is fitted as I damn near sh*t myself and don't want it to happen again!

thanks folks.

went to a local dealer to buy a new chain for the 560, while there I priced up a new Oregon bar as I have a few new Oregon chains which I bough in error as the drive links are 1.6mm wide whereas the saw still has the original 1.5mm husky bar on it. The guy behind the counter said he'd need to order the bar in but i'll need to buy a new sprocket as well due to the difference in drive link thickness. I've already tested the chains on the saw and they fit the sprocket perfectly well, spoke to a few guys yesterday who say they never replaced sprockets because of a 0.1mm difference in the DL width. Should I change the sprocket as well?

Has anyone used pvc sheeting over a metal frame for a tipper body? I'm thinking of getting some 5mm 8x4 sheets in white and riveting them to an aluminium box section frame. The lower half on the inside would need be aluminium as it won't crack when throwing big chunks in, but the upper section will only come into contact with chip and brash. It would be fairly light, easy to work with, and as its used for signage, easy to fix graphics to?

all sorted, managed to get the grub screws out of the old pipe and fitted them to some new pipe, problem solved. Much appreciated.

thanks folks, I've already given my daily rate and its fairly low so I don't burn myself out, hey Bill hows things?, the customer has some big lumps of timber and i'm a firm believer in the old "better looking at it than for it" saying. would pulling a 48 incher through 36 inch timber be more expensive than having to say "I can't mill that bit cos I don't have a big enough bar"? A 36" bar is pretty big but once you loose an inch either end on the mill and have to start your cut wondering if you've got the length to make the pass? Just don't want to scrap good timber because I wasn't properly kitted out.

Hey folks I do a bit of hobby milling but have been asked to do some contract milling for a local firm, maybe two or three days a week for a while to sort out a back log. I'll need to buy a decent quality Alaskan mill, 48" bar and chains to fit an 075. Firstly are there any good quality mills out there other than Granberg? Also would tig welding some extra bracing to counteract the stresses of a winch warp the mill frame? What would a suitable mill/bar/chains kit cost roughly? and as per the title, how much should I add onto my daily rate to cover overheads? thanks J