drinksloe

Yet the local massive sawmill has went down to 4 day weeks as has so much cut timber lying and its main haulier contracrors also down to 4 day weeks as soo much round wood in stock also. Trying to keep prices higher, not right

Plenty of decent advise above, much of it from experienced boys who don't just have the T shirt but i'd say worn a few out, telling u not to be so daft 😀 Definately not a carear for everyone and if its for u probably something no quite right wi u anyway 😀 1 thing i will add which hasnae been said previously, and is usually an other on here's big moan about newbies both arb and forestry. And is very easy to fix for free LEARN SOME BASIC TREE TYPES/NAMES/SPECIES!!!!!!!!!!!! Its not rocket science, no good having all this fancy gear if u cannae tell the difference between a spruce and a pine or native and non native ( which is quite often a spec in doing forestry scrub clearance or environmental work) Probably even more important for arb as dealing with planted trees in gardens etc, possibly even more so down south as u have so many more tree species down there. For forestry very important u can identify in my area ( south scotland) Sitka Spruce Norway Spruce Larch Scots Pine, lesser extent Lodgepole pine in this area Doug Fir, very occasional grandis Then just a few basic hardwoods Birch, Oak, Beech, Willow, Ash, Rowan, Sycamore, Chestnut etc To be honest most basic tree types should be common knowledge anyway U dont need to know latin names ( althou most planting boys will) Just to add its very important u know and ID ur tree types so ur definately cutting doon the right tree but also they way u cut them will change from species to species. I'd put cuts in a Sitka Spruce i'd never dream of doing with most other species even a Norway Spruce as all the fibres behave differently so hinges hold or not. If u cant tell them apart ur in for trouble

Is that a sycamore or maple he's cut that mega gub in?? Some of the others look a sycamore type growth/shape to them He's a braver man than i cutting a gub that big in a syc, surprised its not went on hin or pinched his saw. Guessing there can't be much above it or it would of either went or pinched his saw

Horses for coarses will depend on the exact circumstances. I wouldnae fancy being the climber in the above pic, althou it depends how big the piece is above the gub. I ****************ing hate cutting tottem poles, u see some harvester drivers leaving them for u thinking there doing u a favour, just a bugger to fell, even worse when he has already had a few goes at cutting it at the butt so u have no idea how far his saw has went in and where any holding wood is and they usually have done that on a few sides too just to add to the fun I've seen others esp on leaning trees get there saws nipped as they try to put a big gub in, so sometimes better to take 2 or 3 bites at it. On small leaners i will use it if no room for holding cuts, but dont normally do it on large trees. On soft woods some sawmills may not like u putting gubs in 50% throu their logs? Esp the angle we do gubs taught in this country, in america they will likely be humbolting the tree so log is still decent flat edge no 50% chunks taken out of them, althou the stump is far higher I also think on soft woods there must be a point when the small gub vs bigger gub when u will get extra leverage and lift from ur wedges with a smaller gub, so if u have to wedge a tree anyway ur sometimes better with a small gub. Sometimes when u see stumps left from other forestry cutters lucky if the gub is 10%, no idea wot the tree looked like standing wieght/lean wise but good exp forestry cutters. Sad man that i am looknng at others old stumps

A massive shortage of forwarder drivers, has been for a wee while now, so much so many folk have stopped advertising for them as just getting numpties. In the next 5 -10 years gong to be a real massiv shortage of operators on both harvester and forwarder as so many are nearing or past retirement age, a massive amount of experience and knowledge will be lost in a short space of time. Many of these lads will have started 1st thinnings, hell some might have sned with an axe, bench felling, hand loaded wagons and dragged with ponies, went throu counties/skidding mibbee a timbermaster all before they sat on a seat. Even then the early harvester/wanking machines ( stroke processors) were a million miles away from wot u've got now. Most now wouldn't have a clue wot any of the above actually means never mind do it. But it is the classic catch22/chicken and egg thing, all desperate for experienced ops but very few willing to let a newbie on a 250 grand machine that needs to produce and not get broken Some companies arent paying great rates even driving a forwarder, some of the brash draggers are only on around min wage or not an awful lot more. And when u get into the forestry side ur wage will depnd greatly on the bloke in the harvester, can make ur life easy or hell, plus a lot of other unpaid work on forwarder, hagging up, building bridges, cleaning out ditches, catching dirty water, if on by the T all unpaid extra's. Personally i think all machine ops should do a few years on the saw 1st, they'd then appreciate how hard and shitty the job is and try to help u far more than many do. Ex cutters stand out a mile the way they set there sits up and harvest them, they've actually thought about the hand cutting side, most sites its an after thought

Just to add if u have been offered some work ask the min tickets they need u to have. Get wot u need even if u could bororw a saw of them (u'd have to know them pretty well for that thou) some saw shops may even hire a saw out. Do a few shifts see if u like the job before u jack ur own job in ( esp if u have a trade, althou being in engineering if u can weld/fix stuff would be a very handy skill in forestry esp if u ever progress onto machines) see if u like it 1st esp in the cold p@@@iing rain at this time of year or midge, cleggs and heat wearing cutting trousers throu summer. The job itself is good but hard, the walking in with ur gear is still a bugger and the worst part of it BUT it is all the other crap that goes with it nowadays a host of folk (foresters, machine ops, contractors/bosses) often making ur job harder throu having no understanding of hand cutting. Nowadays most foresters will be straight out of uni and never worked the tools ever, and most bosses or machine ops now have really only sat in driver seats. My pet hate is when u have to spend 5 mins cutting crap away form the base of a tree that machine ops have actually piled there and driven past it loads of times knowing fine well a cutter has to fell that tree. Or the lack of notice phoneing/texting night before needing u the next day Ex saw men on machines always look out for that sort of thing and have everything cleared, or would never put stuff there in 1st place and tend to give u a bit of notice. The really good 1's have the foresight to look at the weather forecast for wind direction in advance phone u a week or so in front trees to fell next week got an east wind forecast for next wed etc and u work around the wind. And often will harvest around the hand cut areas 1st/well early to give u heaps of time to get the job done when the wind suits without holding them up at the very end of the job But those good operators are very rare now and retiring every year

If u have a contact and been offered work i'd ask wot they'd advise saw wise, or wot size of tree they normally handle? Even ask wot size/model their harvesters mainly are as that will effect the size of tree there leaving behind If they do mainly 1st thinnings and like them brashed then ur 50cc would be a better choice as u will be doing more light saw work. If there just doing clearfells with no brashing and mainly on bigger timber might depend wot part of scot ur in ( esp if u were following say a tigercat, they take some big ruff trees, unbelievable really wot they can handle) u might be better going straight to a 70cc+ saw as it takes a big ugly mother to be to big for a tigercat esp if its got 1 of the larger heads on it.. Th price difference isn't that much but it then becomes a heavy saw for doing any lighter work. A 60cc is a decent enough compromise still a wee bit heavy for some jobs and a wee bit under powered for real big hairy stuff but can cope wit the vast majority of work. I'd 2nd wot others have said esp if u mean to be on the saw full time support ur local dealers, when u have a breakdown they will look after u, and u will need that when starting off esp if ur only running 1 or 2 saws. I used to be a husky man but not any more, althou u do get a 2 yr warranty on a husk ( they bloody need them thou) 1 big advantage the small stihls do have over huskys for forestry work is internal clutches, means when u get ur saw stuck in a tree/log ( and u will!!!!!!) a simple job to take power head off and put ur spare bar and chain on u keep in ur piece bag on and cut urself out in minutes rather than the long walk back to van for a spare saw. Small huskys are a nightmare to get bar and chain off when stuck in a tree, so much so i rarely bother to carry a spare bar for them now. That is my top tip for u, buy a 2nd bar and chain and carry it with u, saves the walk of shame back to van and then having to carry 2 saws back at the end of day, bloody nightmare. I tend to buy an extra bar cover/sheath and slide bar and chain in it so a simple job of picking the right sheath for the saw and almost always got a spare bar and chain with me.

A bit of that but more so for machines travelling over the top or skidding logs out u don't want them getting stuck/bellied on high stumps or ripping bits of machine off. Looks tidier too althou being honest on a lot of commercial sites nowadays no one bothers that much esp if been machine harvested, i've seen some shockers

1st thing i'll say is don't it can be a real shitty job and getting worse every year, sites are often horrendous now with the big heavy machines chewing them up and the days of forwarder drivers giving u a lift up the hill are long gone, Most dont even think to take ur stuff up the hill for u. Some days i can barely lift my rucksack (wedges, sledge, 30T bottle jack etc plus in summer was going throu 7l of water a day, all the be carried) and then u've got to walk up a crappy site, 1km+ is not unusual. To cap it of most foresters and more and more machine operators have not got a clue about cutting, so ur getting stupid unworkable rules from foresters who would struggle to start a saw that make no sense and machine drivers that pile produce/tops and brash at the base of trees knowing fine well a cutter has to get in there to fell it. Or expecting u to push trees into wind against the lean/wieght. Or phone u up at 9pm on a sun nite expecting u there mon morn? As if u just sit at home waiting on his call even thou he's known for weeks/months he was gong to ned u at some time. When u work for an ex cutter on a machine its just night and day how the sites are set out and harvested but they are getting fewer and fewer now Whereabouts are u in scotland?? Possibly varries locally but where i am not many cutting gangs left, althou plenty of cutting work. Often just 1 cutter in front of a few harvesters so it is quite hard to learn and get experience of other more experienced cutters. For years it was very rare to see another cutter on the same site as me, slightly different now as some of the companies i work for, but the old firms are still generally just 1 man For wot ur talking about most companies will want ur basic 30 and 31 plus ur +F 1st aid ticket as a very minimum with most insisting u have the medium/large tree ticket and possibly windblow. While spuddog know's his stuff if ur starting with 1 saw i'd saw a 50cc is just a touch on the small size for felling O/S stuff, a 60cc saw should run a 20" bar which is all u really need for 98% of trees u'll ever fell in forestry and u can rub a shorter bar on it for other jobs . Easy handle 4ft+ butts with a 20" bar and not that often u get butts much bigger. But it all depends exactly wot ur going ro be doing, scrub/rhoddy brASHING, respacing, 1ST THINNINGS (****************ing cAps lock doing my head in) or felling in front of harvester. Depends on the company but some wont generally brash woods in front so u've just got the felling O/S stuff and steep bankings/gully work Personally i like running a 50 and 70+cc saw in the van is a good combo further down the line, but the 60 sort of covers everything until then. I generally choose the lightest/smaller saw i can to do the job as i will have to carry it all day and sned with it too so carrying big heavy saws and bars is just a bloody pain., althou u also want the power too.

Try looking at various shooting 'lamping' lamps, throw a hell of a beam. I find the modern led lamps quite a concentrated light field compared to the old bulb ones but the compact size and usually internal battery makes up for that. Cluite make a decent torch at not bad money ( the cammo 1 above is a spit for my clulite) Daft idea but u can now get Night Vison spotters for not a lot of money, so u could search for someone without them even knowing u were searching for them. Hell if ur half decent with electronics u can make them fairly easily

By rights with a 660 u really should be wearing a set of class 2 or 3 trousers to cope with the chain speed and power the saw will have. Was it northern arb supplies that strapped some old trousers to a log and put a saw into them after 70cc the saw just cut right trou the trousers, but that was with throttle held flat out not a slowing chain which trousers are designed for. Quite a soberingf thought, even with proper PPE on u stll need to have safe work practices and a good stance

The most important part will be getting the right sized ram to pull it out the ground after.

A decent eye and plenty of experience coupled with some guess work and a bit of luck. Even u coming from chile, tree species could be totally different and even similar species may grow completely differently due to ur climate, so any calculations from uk would be useless. I imagine even in uk comparing an 'average' hard wood would vary massively from south england to north scotland or as u gain altitude.. Most bosses will learn while dragging brash or starting to climb as a worker a tree of that size takes X amount of transit tippers/trailers full of chip. And probably learn more when they hear there experienced bosses moaning about jobs as even with experienced priced them badly as under estimated the ammount of chip in the job

Aye most of it is common sense really. I'm sure u won't have a problem. Althou I will say I mainly work in commercial softwoods which has its own challenges and dangers. But over the last 2 or so years being doing a lot more quite large hardwoods ( done lads of medium sized 4ft butts but smallish crowns) and while the general principles are the same ( tension, compression, gravity, any slope factors) u really have to think a bit more how the tree will move if u cut a branch far more so than with softwoods. Dunno how many providers in UK do ground tickets 1 after the other? I know plenty do intensive basic saw and climbing, 3 or 4 weeks later uhave all the tickets u need. Someone like H&W training from Dumfries would be well worth a shout. Really know there stuff ground saw wise and run quite a few courses,, trainer is an ex forestry cutter from way back.

In the past u done Ur basic small trees and cross cut and they expected u to wait 2 years to do the more advanced courses. Which was a good thing as u gained some experience before jumping on to big timber. Now there is no time limit but u would have to do Ur basic trees 1st, Climbing tickets are completely separate from Ur ground tickets if u don't want to climb Windblow might be a worthwhile course for u also, windblow despite looking easy can be the most dangerous work u do. For milling work I imagineu would be dealing with large hardwoods a lot,just be careful breaking them down. Can be dodgy/hardwork without mechanical help or winches

I was in Clarks quite a while back and I'm sure they said they're was a new improved version coming out. Must admit I've never asked about them since, been a wee while since I"be been in. Must admit I really like the wedges they sell, take a hell off an abuse, althou don't stack well

On shed roofs the 'trusses'/steel are usually 5m centres, but would depend on wot size of purlins u decide on. It also might depend wot size of purlins u can actually buy, i have heard in short supply/high demand, U would be easier using hangers and screwing the purlins in too too keep hieght down. I take it u dont have much snow? Looks quite a shallow roof pitch from the photos, but obviously be fine in the past since stone work is at a similar angle ( unless u've raised the wall heads)

There is a massive difference between paying peanuts and folk having to wear a mask!!! £350 a day is definately NOT peanuts. I would actually be embarrassed to ask for 600 a day just for my time, that is simply greed in my book. Thats why prices are going throu the roof so dramatically cos folk are just takin the mick with prices. £600 profit for a man if not mmany/tools overheads involved is too much, i hope when the bubble bursts customers remember the rip off merchants and keep using the good local lads that have kept prices the same throughout. Not much chance of that thou.

No there no stone or builders rubble in banking just the sub soil at the minute, hopefully get it top soiled next few days. So u don't reckon its worth it? Just worried at this time of year up here wont really get a 2nd chance if any areas are missed or dont take, and dont really wat a 45 degree batter 2m from back of house with bare soil over winter

I mind doing a pipeline fence down that sort of area years/decades ago and it had loads of post and rail in horsey areas, boss ended up going with un pointed posts and they seemed to twist less, think they battered stone out the way if they could rather than twist. That was using sumas so plenty of grunt to batter in flat bottom posts. But like u say once they get a twist on ur never going to turn them straight by hand. I'm sure the new suma's have a ram to turn posts, how many it turns and how many it snaps would i have no idea, mibbe help keeping them straight in the 1st place which is half the battle. Must admit in the past i always liked cundy posts and thought they had a slightly harder skin than the same sized machine rounded, but the sawmill we always used was a proper old fashioned mill where timber was cut and stored to dry under tarps for treating. He stopped doing cundys as couldnt do them cheap enough the way he was doing them, his square sawn timber is still 1st class thou. Nowadays the cundys are bloody massive seen smaller turning posts can hardly mel them nowadays. As for the OP i meant to say i wouldnt bother with ur auger unless for strainers. Lot of work packing posts to get them tight, just not worth it for intermediate posts Also a tirfor for pulling wires would be a pain, if u always have other fencing jobs to do buy a set of wire pullers (either drivall or hayes are the best in my opinion) and if ur using stock net u can make urself a clamp easily if u can weld, but i know 1 squad still use an ancient crappy timber clamp to pull the net, no idea why as their boss owns a fencing shop so could easy have a brand new clamp. Just steeple 2 bits of Re bar on 1 side of clamp and a single bit in the middle of the other piece and 3 or 4 bolts with handles welded on so u dont need spanners. If u make a clamp and can get access to the strainers with ur tractor many pro fencers will pull net with there tractor and clamp

Anyone got any experience of hydroseeding grass for a steep banking? Im renovating an old building and have dug the banking away behind it, removed a few thousand Ts now but got it back to a 45 slope about 500m sq. Builders are just putting finally touches to it this week. Be about 10 long the slope He has mentioned hydroseeding, just to guarantee a good catch/take esp at this time of year as just getting to the end of grass seeding where i am ( SW scotland about 250ish m ) Is it worth the extra money?? Or just hand sow it?? Cheers

Quite a few local contractors use square locally through choice, with a chapper it doesnt make that much difference as u can turn them urself but a pita to try and mel and hold the turning bar, usually becomes a 2 person job melling. A lot of local farmers/estates seem to ask for them too. Must admit i now prefer them for hand ball jobs as virtually imposible to get a 31/2" cundy post nowadays all far bigger almost impossible to mel in.

I dont know ur area but if there is any independant chainsaw/climbing type training providers or even local college. I know a lad who does training and always on the look out for ground/trees althou no all areas are suitable for various reasons. They will be covered insurance wise for training and novices. But as mentioned esp if he ash have a touch of die back migh not abe a good tree to be climbing full stop never mind for a trainee/novice

I'd say lpg eddies way would be the easiest and would save any wear on bridge. But scaffold borads would do the same as long as longer the the bridge and u doubled them up, be easier to get a hold off anyway

That 3rd party monitoring folk? No have thought about it and spoke to them a few times and always meant to get a price but it's just more money every month to pay. By time u uy a tacker plus there fee, would only be worth it if that allowed u to cut solo. We had an inreach for my dad for years but stopped it when Garmin took over, just got too expensive, even when putting it throu the books. To be honest I have a PLB but don't take it out as often as I should, but how much stuff do u take with u all the time, already got 1st aid kit +tourniquet in pocket, Ur phone possible a radio too.