maybelateron

I am near Stoke on Trent, if that is any use for you to come and have a good look at it. I have some land to use it on for demo.

I have the hydraulic tip muck truck and I rate it. We use it less now we have a Bobcat E10 with a thumb, but it is great for some jobs. Easy to steer, easy peasy to steer if you are taller than me, as you take some weight off the rear rear wheels by slightly lifting the handles; no problem as the balance is good. We have used it with the skip full of timber and 2 guys on it for ballast to pull a big trunk over, where there was anchor point for winching, and no access for anything bigger or heavier. I would say its weakest point is traction uphill on grass/mud when loaded heavily.

Some years ago we had to dismantle a Hornbeam with a single BT line through that would be difficult to avoid breaking. Rang BT and was told £199 + VAT to come and quote for dropping the line. The BT guyI was speaking to was really helpful and said he was not on a recorded line and could give me honest advice. His advice was explain to the customer, let the cable get broken, then customer report it. Said that would be cheaper. We did the job, just managed to avoid breaking the cable, customer gave us a £100 thank you bonus.

I'm happy to come down and shift logs on my terms. To be fair the team look after the old codger really well.

Even better is when they start by asking at 1pm Sunday: "Do you do free quotes?" As a general rule if I am quoting for work for a customer who has chosen to ring at what I would regard as an inconsiderate time, eg 1pm Sunday, 8:30pm Friday, I tend to add a bit on to my usual rates to allow for "messing us about tax". Eg - "I will move all the pots out of the way before you come" but then they never do. Had a call the other morning at 07:15 from a regular customer, wanting to check when we were going, despite me having given her the date some weeks previously, and it not being until next month. I commented that it was a bit early, and she said she wanted to get me before I was at work. Has she not heard of voicemail? Anyway, this will be the last year we do her tall and very wide hedges in a sloping garden, further from base than we need to travel to get enough work in. Rant over, thanks to the OP jfc for opening that can or worms🤣

Agree 100%. We are on the verge of declining some of the more ridiculously wide tall hedges these days. Even if we can get the MEWP to it, it is still real hard on the shoulders. I think some customers have no idea how hard their hedges are to maintain.

I am 61, started climbing 20 yrs ago. Not planning on stopping any time yet, health permitting. Mick Dempsey sums it up in saying that dragging brash and timber on the ground is harder. I am a faster and more efficient climber now than 10 years ago - experience helps, plan your work as Mick says, also the confidence to drop or lower bigger sections that as a beginner. let the ground crew cut it up. Also kit gets better all the time - zigzag and pulley👍, Blakes hitch/Prussic loop and no pulley/friction saver👎. I also find comfortable spikes with velcro straps a big advance.

Insulating tape or gaffer tape tightly round rope where it is to be cut. Then cut cleanly with Opinel knife/Leatherman or similar quality. Then heat an old flat file till red hot and heat seal the rope. Cheap and effective.

Absolutely brilliant

Been chucking it down all day. I was hoping to use the flail mower on the back of the compact tractor tomorrow to clear some overgrown grass on a steepish bank under large dead beech we are going to dismantle. Think i will leave it a few days, don't fancy getting stuck at the bottom of the bank!

You'll never beat a 200T for top handled power, agreed. But my MS160T and MSA220 are great for early starts in built up areas! Then when the thinner stuff is off the top we start the 201T at 8:30.

That was such a subtle difference - did that count as one. Naughty one was beyond dispute!

On the face of it his request sounds entirely logical. Only scenario I can see where the next TO might have a point is if the other trees are old pollards being redone, or smaller trees, and the customers trees are very large, healthy, not previously pollarded. Out of the 4-6 local councils/TO's I deal with, sadly there is one TO who seems to have a habit of refusing works that I regard as appropriate, and sometimes suggesting alternative pruning which is just daft. The other TO's are fine.

Devastating for his family and friends, very sad all round

Well said that man.

How roood!!

I found that when I put some oil in the fuel tank of our Echo 2511 (realised before starting it, iirc) it took a large amount of cranking over to clear it with fuel, compared to the same event on a 201T. And no, this is not a weekly occurrence, just cos I am honest enough to admit to having done it twice in a century!

Another reason why’s we love our electric saws - half five am and climbing with leccy tophandle, intercoms in helmets, MEWP on battery mode. Customer wasn't half surprised by our progress by time they were up for breakfast.

I would vote for diagnosis being ADB. Been up to Scotland twice recently and loads of roadside Ash with it on the northern limits of M6, then the A74(M). On a brighter note I just love seeing all the big healthy Elms in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

That man was so right

I wonder how many people who have this will also be keen on litter picking etc

The waiting time on the NHS can vary a lot from one area to another. I am glad I took out private health insurance several years ago; you can keep the cost down by opting for it to only pay out only for the more expensive things, or certainly with some providers. I had my inguinal hernia (in the groin) repaired 21 months ago. I was able to be doing light duties at six weeks post op, and back to full climbing etc by twelve weeks. When I went to see my GP about it (I am a retired (early!) GP) she said she would arrange an US scan. As I had insurance I suggested she just refer me to the surgeon, and I could have the scan if needed in the private sector - that leaves another scan appointment free in the NHS. Interestingly, when I saw the surgeon he said he had given up using US scans for most hernias as he found the results unreliable, but maybe the depends on the experience of the radiographer doing the scan. Good luck, and hope you get it sorted soon.

I agree entirely. The difficulty is often when the customer leads you to believe the neighbours are on board with the plan. Trouble for the OP here is that anyone taking one the work for the neighbour, if the neighbour gives them the honest facts, may well be a thick skinned PITA type person.

We have found chicks in the nest in late September on more than one occasion. These were blackbirds about 7ft above ground in a conifer hedge.

Beats the alternative of tripod ladder and telescopic tools. I've certainly used a couple of BT poles to similar effect.