drinksloe

Was it a new tranny? Was a load of them getting done locally a few years ago but only targeting tranny's.

For the OP. How wide is ur pond? Or the furtherest I'd expect to pull a tree? So how long u need the rope to be. Also can u get a pick up or tractor reasonably near to the pond ( althou it doesn't need to be that near if ur rope is long enough) If only occasional use/trees. If u can get a 4x4 reasonably close I'd just use that to pull the rope, set up any redirects u need. Ur pick up could be 100m away if ur rope was long enough, just need extra blocks as needed And I'd do wot was mentioned earlier, find a tree near one edge with a decent fork/branch and set up a pulley there to lift the butt as it comes out off water. Ur not talking about big timber really. In the past tirfors were unique and the best as I believe we're the only folk with the patent for the winches, but now patent has expired so loads of knock offs cheaper, might not be as good but good enough for occasional use.

I thought the same but I suppose u can't put agree sheer on a loader or skid steer, so mibbee handy if u don't have access to a digger. Amazing how it works really

I think Steven and spud summed it up well. No reason u couldn't tell a tree at that size with a 24" bar, all depends on the tree, and esp so with the rot where it's is. Boring out the heart wood off hinge shouldn't make a big difference, chances are it will be the heart wood that is rotten anyway. Even in a healthy tree the majority of strength is in the outsides of hinge U just got to know wot ur doing guage where the wieght is and any danger areas and make sure u position itself on the safe side towards the end.

Will u not need to put some specs in? Hieght, size of posts, rails etc, caping rail as well as access ground conditions.

Why do u want it in front? If u mean to lift it I doubt the front of bike could take it.. I've done a bit with snow ploughs and they fairly pull front end down when lifted and flails should be a lot heaviier, or atleast decent 1s

Dunno much about front mounted flails but the kelfri and Chapman trailed flails are both meant to be very good, althou not cheap both putting out about 23hp.

Is the UK timber industry not going the other way thou. Smaller dia stems and shorter crop rotations, are some of the new SS hybrids not meant knock 5+ years of rotations. Surely shorter faster growing will not benefit quality timber. Mibbee different in other parts of country where u tend to grow better quality timber, in this area tend to have lots of quick but poor quality timber.

Must admit the smaller u go the cost goes throu the roof. There wll likely be no ideal answer or ideal machne as Eddie already said which means having machines sitting in the yard not turning wheels/making money. If u want the ideal machine for every job So ur looking at a compromise, really depends where ur market is and if any bodies already in it. And the compromise will be different for everyone on different ground and wanting different work. For value for money and versatility a compact tractor and timber trailer takes a lot off beating, esp if running twins over flotation tyres ( again more versatile, choice between narrow for access or twins for LGP) Must admit over summer was doing quite a bit off fencing on estates where small compartments off diseased larch trees were felled/extracted, the 1 thing in common was the mess left behind. A lower impact approach would have been similar money esp if no low loader transport, by time shift a harvester in/out and then forwarder for jobs with only a few hundred T's other options could be vaible.

I looked at this while ago and even went down to the APF to look at trailers. I think it must depend where u are if its viable. For me the 2 biggest drawbacks that I couldn't see any way round? The first and major 1 was I can often get the quad stuck on its own never mind with a trailer, a lot of forestry in my area is on wet and/or steep ground hard enough to get a quad to travel anyway without a trailer. I also know when hauling feed out on a wet area about 10 bags ( so about 250kgs) on the light trailer is the limit and even then ur making a mess when going over the same tracks. I just can't see how even with HYD land drive a quad could pull 1 or even 2T trailer over wet rough ground, atleast in my area. The 2nd problem was the price ucan often buy a 2ndhand full size Botex trailer cheaper than a quad trailer. 1 company at APF had a brilliant looking trailer it it was 20K, lot o money. For that u could buy a complete 2nd hand full size or compact tractor set up. If I went down that route was going to it tracks on quad to ease 1st problem but that's another 4k. Just too expensive for me and I think would be very limited in my area atleast. In drier flatter parts of UK may make more sense. I think used a lot in scandi when bikes running on top of frozen ground and snow which is very different again.

Aye used proper licenced 2 ways on some bigger cutting jobs where quite a few cutters as well as on numerous shoots, hounds and estates and they work very well, most of time. Althou I have to admit I do struggle to hear it over saws going full tilt. Even with cheaper 1s never had a problem with batteries, most of time unless actually working with a machine it's just a simple OK every hour or so ( must admit I often do it every fill or 2 as walk back for petrol) But those 2ways won't be picked up by a cb, or atleast I don't think so. I'm asking about hand held a that will be picked up by proper cb's in wagons, machines etc. As most machines wil have CBs to speak to each other as well as wagon drivers. Would mean ur 1 handset would work on almost any site and nochasing handsets at end of shift. I never even knew u could get such a thing till last nite.

Alright Just had a daft idea never thought of before and never heard of anyone else doing it. Does anyone use handheld CB radios to speak to harvester/forwarder drivers when handcutting on-sites for safety?? Everyone I've met usually just used cheapy walky talky sets, which to be fair work fine. It's just if ur going to different jobs it means u have to walk up to the machine at end of day to charge it or take it to the next job. And machines are always miles away esp at the end of ur day. Or yesterday I was out of sight/hearing off the forwarder driver i usually deal with but the other 1 could see me ( and in a phone dead spot,rest of site is not bad) so they had radio each other, would of been handy to be able to speak to both. Did have charged radios in van but couldnse be bothered with getting it at end of day as all working up a bloody steep hill, so steep harvesters right on limit Must admit never had owt to do with CBs before of any type. Do hand held work ok? Esp in about trees/hills. It does seem a better set up than 2 way if they work Had a quick Google before and seem to be plenty sets for about 100-150 quid, so a bit dearer than cheap 2 ways but if they were going to last and worked well still vaible

Not sure I see the benefit either, looks to work well in the clip but never seen many trees with as little branches on them iñ my area Liked the ideal trees to demo on as so straight and very light branches. Also nice flat even dry ground,be a different story handling it on a wet restock on a hill side where ur only ever 1 foot step away from going baw deep into a hidden wet hole. Is it likely to chance of bark damage is SS with the smoother bark or interesting to see how it handles pappy Norway. How heavy is the machine? And how heavy is the power pack ( i only watched a bit of clip and never seen power pack) The head bit looks heavy enough with the 2 folk lifting it, I wouldnae fancy dragging it throu some forest sites esp any 2nd gen stuff. By time u add 2 wages plus ur money u need for machine probably not be a cheap operation Think I would be trying to mount power pack on a tracked barrow, iron horse or something, think ud get sick of lugging it around very quick.

Alright Just wondering if u have a capstan winch set up is it just a simple case of taking the capstan drum off and replacing it with a drum that can store cable/rope? I imagine the motor will turn at the same speed/force wot ever type of drum is fitted?. Must admit not had much to do with capstan winches previously

I know different with the ARB game but somehow i seen a press release from the FCA stating under no circumstances should contractors pay for welfare units. Seemingly it's the first/timber owners responsibility to provide welfare units on site. Was quite a strongly worded statement too saying quite rightly initially u could charge extra for the extra expense of welfare but eventually when things are tight it will be dropped and come out the bottom line which is low enough already

I'd say others are right with common sense, then training and/or safe techniques ( not standing inline with bar, knowing about kick back etc) Then I'd say a tie between boots, trousers and helmet. Chainsaw gloves are a complete waste of time and offer no worthwhile protection. A lot might depend on how cut ur firewood? On a bench or on deck boots more important

Aye spruce pilot is right Not a big banking so a skyline would never be vaible commercially and to be honest not many anchor points for a skyline at botom And a river close below so felling downhill is not an option. U could fell along the contour but then u have safety issues if a tree above u starts to roll, bad enough felling but esp so when u start winching them up. Even felling from the bottom 1st and winching from top 1st would have risks. I'm mibbee making it sound more dangerous than it is but definitely a job u need ur head on a swivel and get right out the way as soon as back cut starts opening. Hence the questions u have far more time to get clear as tree falling then when u have to go back to cut hinge. Definitely not for inexperienced cocky cutters.

Aye jmac exactly like that, there not so bad when they just ping up althou they do have some force, it's when the bigger butts decide to chase u down the hill, esp if they roll and come down at a different angle. When u thought u were safe sliding on ur arse at an angle. Ur to busy looking down to make sure u don't end up swimming in the river if u slip. Aye not so bad if doing single trees to harvester but it broke down the other day so ended up just felling them on my own for an afternoon to put day in. Lu's some of the butts are getting up near oversize kgs so harvester struggling a wee touch with the bigger 1's, if still on hinge might be too much for it. Aye I never thought of making gub tighter ( but I should off) althou I have got into a bad habit on normal trees off having quite a tight gub keep meaning to open it up but must of been doing it for years and just seems natural now. Mind doing it years ago for a skyline with closed gubs to snap hinges ( downhill felling) and a particular skinny tree just hung up in mid air didnae have enough wieght in it to snap hinge. Won't be a problem the stuff I'm on now thou I am tending to over cutt the gub cuts in both directions on purpose to weaken it too ( althou remembering this when leaving hinge, seen u forgetting the over cut and just about step cutting the buggers, not good if need to wedge), which I hate doing + plus the sap wood cuts. Butt odd 1s still hanging on, not many thou. Aye jmac, speilberg has nowt to worry about, but then again won't be easy catching them the speed they ping at while keeping u safe. I doubt speilberg has ever had to worry about a couple of tonnes of timber chasing him down a slope u can barely stand on when dry never mind this time of year

Alright Bit of a newbie question really considering how long I've been on a saw, but wondering wot others do as every day is a school day. And thinking there must be a better way than wot I'm doing. Must admit never really learned many fancy cuts The craic is felling soft woods ( larch in this case but also done similar with SS and Norway) up a pretty steep hill to a harvester at the top Wot I'm looking for is a cut which will sever every time, even if at 45 uphill angle, but still strong enough hinge to control direction and wedge if needed. I think I'm right in saying a Humboldt will?? Have used it occasionally, when I used to climb but never used it that much. These are big enough sticks I dinae want to be p##ssing about with cuts not confident in and need to get timber on deck, althou safely I'm just using a standard cut with sap? wood cuts ( think that's there name to stop great big rabbit ears/tears) althou often slightly split level as coming in from both sides so i can be on the safest side Adapting it slightly and it does sever most trees, but every now and again I absolutely hate having to go back in the sever the hinge, esp when they ping up, see saw and then twist and slide back down the banking at u

Aye that's wot i seem to be doing except n lunch bags, wedge bags and every other work related bag I have. I thought about using Tupperware type boxes but seen the price off them and wondered wot others do. I'll have a look at those other things, my tablet or letting me open it the now. Aye ammo boxes a bit too heavy lugging about a forestry site. Ideally I would change everything to run on 3/8s and even change sprockets/bars etc so could run all the same chain no matter wot colour Got a few smaller cc saws for some jobs so handy running Pico or 325 chain, they'd struggle stepping up to 3/8s Got a few mates trying out the new husky X cut chain ( basically 325 Pico) . Really like it say cuts really quick even on up to 60cc saws. Althou bars a bit flimsy only 1.3mm guage I think.

Alright just wondering how u all cope with managing and storing spare chains either in vans or tool boxes lunch bags etc. In the past I only really done commercial forestry so usually only had 2 saws big and med both running 3/8s, althou have to admit 1 Stihl q husky so did have different guages. But u could always tell them apart by the numbers. Why the hell do Stihl and husky not run on the same sized chain????? Now I have a complete mix of saws from different makers running all sorts off chains from 3/8pico, 325 and 3/8s. And bars f all different sizes I always used to carry a spare bar and chain in my piece bag, had a tidy up the other day was like a lucky dip of chains of all shapes and sizes. In the shed they all hang on nails with size/saw etc written above In the past tried those take away curry boxes but break to easy. How do others cope a keep chains ingood nick loose and indefinable Cheers

Or it could equally prove ur either not as good/quick as u think u are Or it could mean ur not as hard a worker as u think. Or both the above It could also mean the boss fcuked up his pricing when he estimated the job. It happens It could mean a whole lot of things other than the boss is a cowboy, althou he may well be. Surely ton rate and piece rate are pretty much the same thing and it would completely depend on wot the tonnage rate was. But I can't imagine the tonnage rate being much different, would it not simply be simply the piece rate multiplied by its average wieght ( if an average piece was 50kg ur ton rate would be about 20x that) can't see how it makes any odds. The harder Moe effeciant u work the more u get paid.

Not being funny but surely it's quite a big jump from asking wot a decent rate is to actually running the company. While not rocket science but if u don't know how many pieces u can cut in an hour/day out of different timber stands how are u going to agree a price on a job just by looking at it?? Loads of forestry companies go bust every year ( as do ARB companies) good bosses make it look easy but it can be harder then u think when u have to price in plant too. Really need to walk a long way first before u start to run.

Aye bit cauld too if in North sea. Good job I'm not Sherlock Holmes my deduction powers are rubbish.

But is that not exactly how most subbies or 2 and 1 brickie squads in building trade get paid? Either by amount of bricks they lay or meter sq, or pipe layers meterage of pipe laid. Really not that unusual in most walks of life. Like others have said rewards the hard workers as long as standards/quality not cut I take it u work on the railways Andy? ( Talking about orange hi viz and sitting in a van on a Sunday night getting paid) have u never had a job and knock night shift?? Essentially piece work paid to complete a job and go home. Occasionally had them on big sites, althou often the coss/main subbies man would bottle it when we knocked it out in double quick time and made us work on. I know when I worked on railways on bosses priced jobs we occasionally got jobs with a bonus if we completed it under the man days boss had quoted