Dan Maynard

Beware of the village Facebook backlash though...

Fair enough, thought it might be something like that. I'm not allowed to use a top handle saw one handed or climb on one rope either, same people involved.

Is there a proper reason for doing those together or is it just more fun? Like, are they tangled up and hard to pull apart?

Do you do that several days in a row, or broken up with nearer jobs? In the long term, fatigue would be my fear. Most of my tree work is within 10 miles of home, but working in automation I've had customers in Southampton and Portsmouth, and Aberdeen and Jedburgh. As a young thing I used to do the long drive there and back in a day, but about 10 years ago while doing an install in Leicester I hit the back of a lorry on the way home. Luckily it was coming in to roadworks so only 40mph, but stopped by the M1 you think about how bad it could have been, so I've changed my attitude to driving. Now if it's 2 hours away then I'm in a hotel the night before, its easier to decide this as it's my company and the day rate's higher. The other thing I think to bear in mind is that driving to site is a work activity in the eyes of HSE, as they say on the website driving can be the most dangerous part of the day. You are self employed so easy to fall into the trap of working in a way that no employer could reasonably expect you to.

The answer is yes, if you're the sort of person who sweeps up leaves and pinecones then yes it will drive you mad.

Ah can you not chip old fence then? Sorry there might be a few more bits in there....

Would building back up with weld be a way to keep it going for a bit?

Also, as to your suggestion about shredder - obviously I can't see the job or site but when I look at a big tangled pile of branches made by a customer my heart sinks, it's a lot of work untangling a mess stacked every which way vs cut and chip as you go. I'd suggest get prices for someone to cut and chip, or just chip, before you cut it all down.

I've got the Makita long arm trimmer, single battery. Super lightweight, sharp, great for light trim and goes a long time on a battery. I'm very happy with it because it's so much easier on the shoulders than the petrol kombi alternative, but it's not the sort of thing I'd give to a crew of employees and expect to last any time, definitely not ragging through any conifer hedge tops with it.

See, good 461s are sought after....

Clean 461 still seem to make reasonable money, difficult from here to see if they're just dirty or knackered and dirty I guess 400-450 if in ok condition.

As a teenager I used to patch up packing shed doors at the nursery I worked at, using a lazy tong type riveter for the galv sheet. I reckon as long as you've got plenty of space in front of the rivet they work really well.

I've just been away working in Ireland for 7 days, coming back it seems like everything has really browned off here, even all the grass has gone since I left.

Personally I'd lose the elder completely, grind or dig the stump or it'll sprout back to that in a few years. Then give the holly a year or two to recover and see the best way to reshape it. The holly on its own could be reshaped and then trimmed nicely as a feature tree.

That's just the tie-in, we'll take that out when the rest is done.

Also, gardener A has no incentive to invest in better equipment to save time, so stays slow forever. People doing general weeding and borders seem to do per hour, but I guess it's not really possible to write a quote out for weekly tidy up like that.

I've currently got some Ocean Polyester as I thought I'd try something more expensive, it's staying slippery. The other stuff I use is Teufelberger Sirius accessory cord, little bit slippy at first but soon beds in really nice - or Yale Silverstreak which is slightly softer on the surface and grips nicely. I don't have tachyon climbing rope though, so might not work for you but buy a few metres of each and try is the only way to find out really.

I'd rather run a 70cc saw all day than 90cc though.

@Donnie will sell you a one-careful-owner 585.

Sigma, often used symbol for sum.

Never cheap out on tyres or brakes. Or climbing gear.

Does that help with restarting the cut when there's a little bit of load on the chain?

I generally do the chinstrap up about 3/4 of the way up the tree.

Makes an amount of sense, thin and thick oil is the same stuff with difference length chains. My 2p as I worked for Lucas CAV for a few years is that diesel pumps and injectors are lubricated inside by the diesel itself. Petrol doesn't do the same lubricating job, which is one reason putting petrol in your diesel car can be so bad for it.

I don't know that moles eat slugs, but it's been an absolute bumper year for them and presumably worms, so I guess they've had more food than normal.