Dan Maynard

I just took the honest approach and answered no to most of those questions, I don't have all those records and procedures. Was able to provide details of last loler so gave that. Only thing they queried was that I said I didn't do written risk assessments, they said not every hedge and trim but can we change that answer to yes. Not a bad idea to do some RA with subbies anyway so I thought fair enough, that's where it stands.

eggsackerley

It's quite a curious picture really, four climbing ropes which are all orange - even matching the T shirts, four matching zigzags. Certainly seem to have all the gear....

I've a 6 foot shed which came from the local sawmill at least 25 years ago. The frame is inch and a half square, if you look at the cheap sheds they have over the years shaved cost so the frame has got thinner and thinner. I've refelted it at least a couple of times and reboarded the roof once, so felt is not super durable. Side cladding just starting to go, probably won't move it again.

Folding, it spends some time straight but a fair bit of time not. I reckon the straight ones are only really good for large perfectly flat hedges, so maybe the ideal is one of each. The folding part is a point of weakness to be honest, which I have seen online review say as well. I'm using my own so just try to be careful and so far been ok. I don't do a huge amount of hedge cutting either.

£880 per m3

Ah come on, you don't have tall trees cause it's too wet and windy for them to stay up. But whatever the reason, East Anglia where I live isn't the land of tall trees either.

I'm thinking it's a bus route, it'll be busy. I feel as if we are supposed to use Mewps because they're safer, but I also feel that as more and more people use mewps the operation standards will drop and they will get less safe.

I've got the long Makita, it's great for trimming because it's super light, but I don't think it's tough enough to stand up to an average tree surgeon employee to be honest. Not good at mashing down conifer hedge tops thicker than your thumb, I would use my Stihl petrol kombi for that.

https://m.petzl.com/INT/en/Professional/Access-on-single-rope-with-ASCENSION-and-CROLL-and-ZIGZAG-in-double-mode I didn't know what a Croll was. Not sure I see it being really useful unless you do massive ascents, maybe it keeps you upright easier but I tend to think the trick is using minimum gear else you're faffing around all the time getting things stuck.

Muck truck designed and made in the UK https://www.mucktruck.com/

If you're going Stihl the 211 is a waste of money, I'd say the only one to look at is the 50cc. equivalent to the 550, which is the 261. Costs more, may last better, some people hate them, actually very similar power and cutting speed.

That was another mark against the high tip I hired, couldn't even reach over the high sides on my trailer. Would be able to reach a skip, which I guess is what they are designed for.

With carabiners I find you need something after the hot water, so I usually put a squirt of WD40 in and blow out excess, because thats what I have. It works ok, they don't stick up again. My son uses GT85 on his bikes, and from what he's said that should be better as designed to dry out and leave PTFE layer behind. Never actually tried it, would be interested if anyone has. On the other hand I've just bought a 20l canister of light penetrating oil from Rye Oils, which will be enough for my carabiners for the next 100 years or so.

3in1 then, doesn't work on mice but good for everything else.

I'm not a user, so I can ask the daft question - have you read the manual? Does it mention lubricants? Dose of WD40? Blob of petroleum jelly?

I think you need to consider insurance - have you included business use? After that, you don't want to be involved in anything that could be construed as hire and reward. I'd personally be looking for a day rate that reflects use of the truck, plus whatever other saws or tools you use. That's kind of how subbie climbing works, we don't charge just wage as it has to cover all gear etc. Paperwork for mileage would drive me nuts, but I hate paperwork and am crap at getting it done.

Yep, muck truck with 300mm high ply side extension. I take it on jobs all the time, for me as not full time the cost of a loader was just too high, this saves a huge amount of effort moving stuff around especially when you get a garden that slopes back up towards the road or a long way. I did originally want the hydraulic tip one but I don't miss it, this one is simpler cheaper and lighter so I'm happy. Also I did hire a JCB tracked high lift dumper, that convinced me that having something would be good but it was too heavy, slow and expensive. An ibc of logs is about 3 loads, so gets used for filling up the log shed at home too. This pile of brash was one and a half trucks full, saves a whole lot of dragging. I will say part of the reason the truck works for me is I run with a Bryan James tipper trailer which is much lower to drive up into than a transit. I've got the slab carrier too, not out all the time but for rings like this it's three times the load of a barrow and no effort pushing.

Ah cool, I've come across Paul online before. One thing he pointed out about using two anchors is once set up you just keep cutting, no need to lanyard in then release as you move around.

This sounds like an interesting idea, I've been thinking about hand ascender but don't want more gear.

They are good, yes. The only downside is some new devices and ideas since he made them, but a lot of the thinking and examples are great. Google 'The Schultz effect ', also search arbtalk for discussion about it.

I like my Rope Runner pro, can switch between drt and mrt just by tying the end to the tree or hook in to the biner. I quite often climb up drt then tie off and come down srt to work the tree

No, they need the right type of wire. There are aftermarket ones. Do you really need to winch along 100ft of wire though? That will take a really long time, and it's a menace to pull through the device. Better to get 30ft of wire and shackle onto something else to reach the job.

Well I'd rather have a 260 than a Lidl special.

Envar composting round us, they have a depot south east London so I guess depends how far down you are.