Dan Maynard

I didn't see any when I just had 38. I think in domestic arb aerial rescue is undervalued and in many cases a bit theoretical.

No, it's not a nimble quick saw like the 346. If the 346 is like a sports car the 112 is more like driving a landrover, slow, heavy but pulls and pulls.

Even so, having used a 346 and owning a 112 the old Dolmars are very solidly built - quite a bit heavier for the same cc.

Especially Kent, for biomass.

I did 38 over 5 days, 39 is only 2 (both 1 day assessment added on). The 39 was no climbing instruction, just cuts, work positioning and a bit of spiking. It helped me that I'd done it separately as then I had done enough climbing practice that I could confidently get up the tree and concentrate on the saw.

Use a bounce back loan? I'm sure you thought of that, not sure I'd want to do it either?

My opinion 30/31 are a set, then you are useful and should start getting out to work even if the rate isn't what you want. Do them anyway, if you are working around farms and smallholdings it will stand you in good stead. Having 38 won't make you any more useful/money really and it's not a lot more to do 39. Once you have 38/39 you can be second climber and then maybe get a little more money.

No I was just thinking if you could pop the top off in a oner it would be quick and easy, much less to chip than taking the whole thing down. If you have to dismantle the top with chucking it out sideways it's a pain compared to stripping from the bottom up. Either way if keeping half the tree saves a bit of money it's a win all round.

That's a good idea actually, I like that. Would it be cheaper though? I think it depends if there is room to fell the top?

Or a bandsaw mill, stand a load of rings up on end and set the cut height to 250 from the bed. Expensive for firewood?

Remove the pop instead then, probably fall apart sooner anyway.

I have a Brian James Cargo Connect Compact and very nearly bought a tipper at the time. One sales point I really liked is the beams sit adjacent when it comes down whereas on an Ifor the beams sit on top which means the deck is a lot higher. I like low deck for easy loading. I've also seen Nugent advertised and there's a new dealer near me but shut at the moment. Would be really interested to know how they compare.

Possibly the reason people haven't jumped in answering the question as posed is it all depends... Quality of timber could range from biomass to sawlogs, site might have access for a harvester to blast through or it might be boggy or steep and need hand felling and winching. You probably need to get a few different people in who know the game to look at the site and give an opinion, between the factors above it could barely pay for the extraction or could make a profit.

Presumably you have started with the microguide?

AMR is French made, said to be good quality too.

I think the days of the 365 new are numbered at least in the UK, FR Jones have moved over to 565 now. Don't know if the same trick works on those? Stihl then you're a solid 462 for that size, or else find a secondhand 461 if you want old school.

Posch SpaltAxt 6, 230v. You can split pretty big rings, just need to start at the side and take logs off rather than plunging straight into the centre. I'm a big fan of the little side racks too, when you split a bigger bit can pop the lumps in there to work through instead of on the floor so that saves a lot of bending. The other ones I looked at were AMR and Thor, it was a bit of a coin toss in the end.

Aw crap, you're right! Better stop raking then. (autocorrect edit)

David Beckham doesn't come on in the first half, score a couple of goals, and then go for a lie down in the van at half time while everyone else finishes the game off, either.

I have Posch, mine isn't tractor but as a brand is made in Austria and definitely not Chinesium. Jas P Wilson seem to be UK dealer but maybe you can get it direct from Austria?

My theory is that heavy duty is not the same as high tonnage. I have a Posch 6T splitter, it's well built and suited to continuous use. You do need a 16A socket though. The fundamental issue of splitters is that power = force X speed, if you have a single phase motor you're limited to about 3kW (or 4hp) so going for higher tonnage has to mean lower ram speed. Better is a engine, best is a tractor. So I think 6T with two stage pump for fast return stroke is the best you can do with small electric. It's not great on really knotty wood although you can break most things down, but on reasonable logs it is relentless. The return stroke on mine is about 30cm/s so it's back up ready for the next log before I am. Overall I'm happy with electric and accept the compromise it represents. I think you can split one log faster with an axe but after a few hours you have slowed down, the splitter just keeps going whether it's a small log or big old lump. Also I went for vertical splitter with a table so once I've picked the log up to start there is no bending down at all, which I found another huge difference on all day usage vs hand splitting. A lot of the cheaper machines seem to be really low down so you're bending to use it.

Textbook answer is that wound paint is no longer recommended, it seals in decay rather than keeping it out. Post some pics though, may be that the cut or stub could do with a prune to clean it up.

Scary is a bad sign. You started asking what you could have done differently, definitely not taller ladders although getting higher so the top is smaller can be an idea. I don't know what you do most of the time, but if you are not doing a lot of climbing the investment in gear, training and skills is hard to get a payback on so you would basically send all the money you earn to FRJones and the training centre for a while. It really sounds like you need to get to know a few of the local subby climbers. If you had a couple of these pines in a day for a guy on £150 then you are both happy. Or pay enough to make it worthwhile to stop in after work for a couple of hours. The job would much quicker and easier for you, you keep most of the £300, and everyone is safe. Did I mention insurance? Where are you based?

Spread them out as much as possible, open the garage windows. Keep the doors open all day that you can. They need wind and sun, so get as close to that as you can.

I wondered if it's a bit of mower damage too.