drinksloe

It depends wot u want the winch for? Do u want it for skidding timber out and some pulling standing timber over? Or do u just want a powerful winch that will pull over hardwood trees or for rescuing/debogging other machinery? Not sure wot Hp ur major will be which might restrict the pull off a more normal skidding winch. A normal winch would be better for 1st type of work while ur Cooke's will be better for 2nd job. I know a few hardwood/firewood cutters who have Cooke's/Broughton type winches on majors

Cheers hdav I'll give them a look, sound exactly wot I was after. Cheers again

Is it chain/bar oil or 2 stroke mix? ( never noticed bar oil been referred to as synthetic, more a 2 stroke thing) I would happily mix bar oil no probs, I'll put almost anything throu ( and can remember when many woodcutters used waste engine oil but u had to remember to fill every half tank off fuel) And to be honest I also mix 2 stroke mixes, if I didn't have enough to make a Jerry can up. I do usually buy a decent brand synthetic mix thou.

Must be an English thing but I've never seen anthills look like that before. Althou a crappy picture on my tablet

Just mole hills. That 2nd photo looks like some sort of moss growth, u often see it on undergrazed hills, no soil below the hump just a massive hump of moss. A real bigger to drive over a will flip a quad if hit wrong. Or stick a 4x4

Is that u doing a bit off slash and burn in the Amazon afore its banned Aspen??

I see ur I n Lanark. There is a bloke in moffat who is very good. Just started doing it full time, but his dad done it for donkeys years before that and he as very good. Sam bowsher think calls himself chip of the old block on faceache he has a few carvings dotted about the moffat area in shops

I was going to say the same as above, if u use an upside down gub ( think called Humboldt cut, like the yanks do on TV) the butts tend to jump of the stump. Althou it will depend how far from the fence they are I'd also ratchet strap the stems to stop them barbers chairing as look like they would esp being ash, and saves u bothering with the fancy cuts to the same extent if u can't get in to some trees Todo the correct cut. But every tree will be slghtly different

Alright Apologies for another tractor related question. Does anyone know of decent sellers/scrappies specialising in old tractor/dumper wheels/rimms? Or the best old tractor mag for adverts for specialists? The tyres are 8.3x20 and look similar to old fashioned Lister engineer type dumper tyres, the tyres have decent tread but are badly perished, althou still seem to hold air ok. I can still buy new tyres to fit so not a problem there. But was thinking if I could get a 2nd set of rims I could save the perished set for twins for occasional use Just trying to keep costs down a wee bit the now to see how it works and make sure I get enough work for it Originally thought about making/modifing a set of modern 6T dumper wheels fit for extra floatation and modern cheap high ply rating tyres. But after working the machine the traction and grip it's got is brilliant with these narrower tyres worried putting big tyres on it would alter this and sit on top and just spin in normal use and use the twins for wetter ground when needed Obviously been designed this way for a reason and the wheels studs we set up for twins So if anyone could recommend a few scrappies etc would be geat

Just an update, still dunno how to post photos. But going 'green' , just had it out on an unexpected job for a mate, was a mix of original orange and red oxide primer, left it up in the wood and it's stood out like a sore thumb, not to bad in white grass thou Not that there much to vandalise and steal on it still better if folk don't see it. Machine far out performed wot I expected so not going to be sold in a hurry, althou stil has a few small issues but nothing major.

I bought a Stihl last year, not the biggest but has electric start. Bloody brilliant, if u meet the nieghbours etc turn it off and starts again at touch off a button while still on ur back. Only time u need to take it off us to refuel. Must admit not started it for a long time so hope it starts ok after signing it's praises.

Must admit I'm so so glad I don't clmb now other than for myself and mates. But someone summed it up perfectly early on, throwing extra spanners at a s##t mechanic solves nothing. Throwing extra ropes at poor climbers will only make matters worse as almost everyone has said. The only times I have had a triple lock carb open on my was when climbing on both ends off my rope, granted probably down to my poor rope management and tight spaces, so if ur doing that 100% off time the chances are it could happen more often. Not everyone is an expert climber. Looking from the outside I think u have been well and truly shafted by numerous folk, Hse just doing wot they do, possibly the climbers for making it look so easy and I can see how a few folk flying up a single rope with fancy gadgets will look very much like rope access/irata techniques Thirdly I would say ur asoc the Aa ( althou I would take my hat of to Paul? for coming on here and posting the way he has, fair play to u ) have shafted u big time by setting up a poor demo with no rigging, cutting and also bending over when asked. If they are meant to be looking out for ur interest it should be them writing to MPs and going over Hse's head, not relying on individual members to do it.

I'd say very unusual and surprised if it happens much nowadays. Insurance may be a grey area, usually use the word competent, which does not necessarily mean tickets. But if the brownstuff hitting the spinning thing tickets would be the 1st thing asked for. My mates dad still does a bit on local estates, never done a saw ticket or wears any ppe, apart from a lumber jack shirt, has a donkey driven circular saw that scares me just looking at it. Yet he is still the best hardwood cutter in the area. But he is from a dying era/breed Not many like him left now

Do they all use 2 ropes thou?? I'd certainly never heard of it before I'm a bit out off touch nowadays but 5 years ago spikeing up living trees with 1 rope and strop was standard practice. Even on live trees and near live wires. Wind back a further 5 to 10 years to railway work and free spiking to top/where u lost ur bottle, was the norm, which even then was against all best practice guidelines. And in the rail industry which regarded itself as extra safe

So glad I rarely climb these days, sort of lost for words. I'd imagine most of the reasons climbers fall out of trees is free climbing so not tied in at all. I know 1 company that used to give the climbers extra if they free spiked to the top. Not going to say wot I really think about the HSE Nazis, but as usual do more harm than good When I 1st started climbing was just after they outlawed screwgate carbs, I mind the instructors at time saying it was a backwards step as a screw gate won't open by itself I've twice had a modern carb open on me by itself, both times when tied in with a few ropes and the other rope has opened it

Cheers everyone so far. I'll head up after tea the nite to get a better idea of sizes. Aye monkey I think that's the problem, bunch of folk playin at it with no idea. Before I moved here from next village down, not sure wot happened , some local politics etc but they had a forester employed and it got very messy. Sacked and court cases front page of local rag etc So there trying to do it all themselves. Still in the early stages and AGM is not too far away, hence why asking the question. Never been involved with the selling of timber or paperwork side of things before I just cut them down usually.

I would guess most butts would be 2- 3ft possibly some bigger but I don't think much over 4ft which is wot I call a decent beech. Be decent sized crowns too. I'll mibee take the mutts a walk there the Morro and take some photos measurements. Not a managed woodland just been left to grow althou at fairly big spacings

Sorry I meant the price estimates/indicates 2T per tree, which I think sounds very low. 2T isn't a particularly big hardwood tree. I'd say there far bigger than that from memory. But I will have to nip up for a proper look. Southern scotland

Alright Now I realise this is a bit off a length of string question with the info provided. Long story short I'm sort off involved with a local community woodland group, speaking to 1 of the trustees ( who is absolutely clueless, infact scarily so considering running the whole project) We were both volunteering on a red squirrel conservation stall at a local agri show, he was saying Scottish Power want to fell just under 100 beech trees on there ground. Think taking over 1 tree length from power lines instead off the standard 5m clearance. Normally wot is the score money wise?? He reckons SP will fell all the timber for free and we can sell it, a buyer has reckoned worth about 8- 10k for the timber with brash chipped and left scattered over the site. Must admit not looked at site properly, but from memory not the biggest/best beech trees ever but all mature and fairly big I know everyone thinks timber is worth more than it is,.but £10k for 100 trees is only about 100 quid a tree or 2T of timber per tree if at £50 a T roadside. Rally just firewood grade according to the buyer ( which I imagine will be right enough) Does that seem ok? ( Not great access but u can get artics up to it) Wot advice to get the most value would u give?? The group relies on charity, fundraising, volanteers and grants so maximising any income is important. I have heard off landowners only allowing this if SP buy the timber, althou often where access/extraction is hard so timber actually left to rot. Can we ask SP for money or deny them this extra clearance?? I have also heard hard wood wood chip is making great money the now. I know they shut a road completely for 2 days locally so they could sit the attics on it and chip the brash into it Near a biomass burner. Wot measurements do u take with hardwoods?? I'd imagine the dbh isn't much of a guide the way it is with softwoods as stem and crown can vary so much from tree to tree. Most of my hardwood cutting has either been on railways or conservation/Peatland sites so never really pay much interest in wot tonnage is in a tree. Cheers for any advice. I will be going up for a better look so if u told me wot to look for I'll come back on here as a I realise without seeing the trees very hards to estimate value, But to me 100 quid a tree doesn't seem very much, esp if u had to pay for the felling in normal commercial situation

Just been up power washing it and degreasing it. Looks a bit better than I thought. Aye I understand keeping it real on a classic tractor for show, but on a working machine I really only are it works as it should. But I am thinking more about keeping it original. I could soon throw a camo net over it if I was really worried, burt got no windows to break and little electrics. Itis also road towable if in real bandit country Dumper how do u post pictures?? i 'm a real numpty when it comes to computers etc. I did a quick search but couldnae find anything Still use a push button phone althou thinking I might have to go back to the dark side and get another smart phone. Really enjoying only having to charge phone every week or so

Alright Just wondering folks opinions when tarting up an older tractor/machine ( possibly even classic/vintage age) are u better to keep the original colour?? I finally got time to pick up a mini skidder I bought a few weeks ago, I plan to work it in small scale forestry so planned to respray it green so less visible to vandals if left on site overnight. Not that there really is a lot to vandalise on it But my mate who came down to pick it up reckons I should keep it the orginal funny orange colour. His reasons possibly higher resale value ( which I agree with althou not planning to sell and would imagine be sold as a working machine anyway.) Also u always miss the wee nooks and crannies which can look bad ( but again I tend to be function over looks esp with work tools but do like them to look well to a point) His final point which was a sort of joke but does make quite a bit of sense, I could put it into odd local vintage tractor things/shows. Not really my thing but could be good cheap advertising as quite a strange looking machine. Esp when that side off business is pretty new. I'm I wrong in still wanting just to spray it green??? All his points make sense but I still want to spray it green!! Plus got some green paint in workshop

I'd try looking at it if ur were the companies wot would u want to hire in??? To be fair if u were going down the railway route and the big company did hire in men and chippers u might be ok. But railway work can be very boom and quite literally bust. A company I worked for went tits up and had 40 plus men. Also both the main contractors on railways from 20 odd year ago have had financial hardships. Also can be seasonal with bird nesting time and sometimes it just stops for yearrs Mibbe different if u want to be working for big companies. But I'd imagine if ur subbing to smaller companies the types offjobs they hired u in for would be big or multiple dismantles or Conny hedge bashing, which would still be a 1 chipper job but an extra tipper and tipper trailer would be massively handy. If I've been in and about the industry in ur area u LL know the craic.

The only thing I'd say is there many folk already at this in ur area?? Is there work for u?? Do most of the companies u intend to work for not have there own chippers?? Possibly u will get more/ as much work just as Subby workers with no expensive chipper to pay and mantian and worry about it getting nicked In my area almost all tree firms have there own chipper, or relatively cheap to hire considering how expensive they are to buy. Mibbe 2 workers/cutters/climbers with a tipper and trailer might be handier for companies than a chipper?? Also as is often said on here no point competing with loads off others already doing the same thing. Only way is undercutting and it just becomes a race to the bottom. Unless ur really top notch great workers. Possibly u might be more of a niche with a wee mini loader/skid steer, ie something others haven't got

Aye u could be right. Never thought of that. Must admit any festival I've been too I usually ignore the healthy eating area and am in no condition to notice how my pizza was cooked. Or even if it was cooked, embarrassed to say on more than 1 occasion I've tried to cook and eat pizza still in the plastic when bevies

Can I ask wot the logs are for?? Never been to cream fields, but can't imagine it's a safe environment for open flames and log burners