Dan Maynard
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Everything posted by Dan Maynard
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I've looked at the lantra course, it'd be good to hear from someone who's done it whether they think it's worthwhile as I would go if it is.
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It's a good set of videos, he obviously put a lot of time and effort into producing them so I don't begrudge paying him tbh. It's not a lot, think 40 dollars or something like that. It'd be great if it was updated with new gear, but principles still stand.
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Deodar thinning, are we getting it wrong?
Dan Maynard replied to Mick Dempsey's topic in Tree health care
I've picked up a job to 20% thin a reasonable size beech, at a small hospital so they've had a survey done. 20% thin specified, 20% thin will be done. Really can't see the point, I reduced it away from the building a couple of years ago (per survey) and don't think it needs touching. Just following orders now.... -
M24 ? Cheaper to buy more nuts without the nylon.
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I had this thought earlier, currently working away staying in a hotel in former stately home and there are some lovely cedars in the grounds that have never been cut. Huge. If you quote for tip reduction then make it clear it's going to need redoing in a few years and every few years thereafter.
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I'm irrationally scared of the electric secateurs, maybe memories of watching my dad take feet off turkeys with loppers as a child left me scarred. Yew is brutal hard wood, I think you have to saw it above 30mm really.
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Super light 18v battery Makita, put those loppers back in the van!
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CS30/31 exactly the place to start. I'm making light of it, dragging conifer is not delicate. Hedges can be brutal, you can spend the whole day going 4 foot up and down a ladder over and over and over again. Tree removals can involve carrying a lot of wood around and wood is wet and heavy. But forestry can involve carrying the saw, fuel, hammer, wedges and lunch a couple of miles across rough stumps before you even start work.
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Or check the Woodsure website for your local supplier... I'm joking. The nearest one they list to us is 35 miles away. Ask your chimney sweep, they'll know everyone in the area.
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It's quite a big ol' lump. I have almost pulled the trigger on one, probably will do when I get the next decent removal to use it on as had a few positive responses asking about it recently. You're used to friction at the top from natural crotch, seems the safebloc has more mass to dissipate heat than rings and the rope doubling through can give more friction for bigger lumps. If you really want to spend then get a GRCS of course.
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Stihl model 026 PRO 16 inch bar replacement needed:
Dan Maynard replied to panorain's topic in Chainsaws
I have rarely seen a bar smoking and it's been because the chain is blunt and the operator is pressing on it to make it cut. Can't really think why a bar being worn could cause smoking unless the groove is too narrow for the chain, or it's so rammed with dust the chain is running tight. There just shouldn't be that much friction to cause heating to that temperature. Some of the things you've linked have been 050 gauge and some 063, maybe buy a cheap set of semi chisel and new bar so they are compatible and see how that works out. Most of those cheap ones are pretty equivalent chinese quality imo and none as good as OEM, but for sandy wood it's going to blunt the chain either way. Especially with sand and full chisel chain, you can need to sharpen after just one cut so semi is definitely the way to go. -
I wouldn't say so, depends on the situation. Woodland trees have a lot more stem than branches, open grown trees may have a lot more branches than stem. If you have the right saw that trunk won't be a problem, it's not going to be an Aldi special.
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The 82RC also have wider fingers so you can get thicker stems in. They stand up well to hard use by tree surgeons.
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Personally I'd do the minimum possible, they grow back funny when cut hard. If it's going to break and you think that's a serious risk then unlikely you can reduce it enough to stop that happening. Once it starts cracking it will probably drop great chunks. Less likely to fall over whole, although that big one in London shows it's not totally impossible.
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I recommend buying two of the sordin ones, if you just buy one it's going to get a hole in but if you have a spare in the cupboard it'll never get used. I have the wire ones rather than nylon but not sure it's that important. The hellberg seems like you lose peripheral vision.
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I find people are appreciative of a load of logs and have a few that offer me money for tipping the odd load of decent stuff. Here in the village I live more like 50% of people keep the wood, and if they don't want it there'll be a neighbour who does. This is a shift from even 5 years ago when I'd be glad to find somewhere to give it away. It's not always rational either, working by the road I've had people in a BMW put logs in the passenger seat and back seat because they were so excited to get free wood and worried someone else would get it. We cut 8m of beech stem 1m in diameter into chunks, it was disappearing as i was cutting so by the end of the day less than a load for me to take home for my own fire.
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I don't know how you'd get into forestry, most is mechanised and what hand cutting there is seems to involve a lot of travel and brutal hard work. It's easier doing domestic climbing, the majority of which is conifer hedges and pruning apple trees to be honest. Do the basic chainsaw tickets somewhere as local as possible and talk to everyone you can about your dream, you just need to bump into the right person at the right time. There is a general shortage of good people so it's difficult but not in impossible. Part time is also possible, you probably need to be self employed. The pay is rubbish especially when you're learning.
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I'd say go and buy a lottery ticket but you'd probably drop it in the road outside the shop.
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We went from ZX81 (funny black and white pattern loading tapes) to BBC, which had a much better loading system so you got numbered blocks loading and could tell if it had stopped part way. Then we saved up and sent off mail order for a floppy disk drive, cheque in post and allow 28 days for delivery. That was brilliant, pirating the games from tape to disk was a procedure and then loading in seconds not minutes.
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I would generally whack the ladder up and do running bowline, the tongs sound dodgy to me.
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I was imagining straw, which would also slowly break up and mean constant flow of bits that need hoovering up.
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Thing I've noticed a few times where people have taken firewood from roadside trees, rather than clear the whole thing up they leave all the brash. Bit like eating the cream off the top of a cake if you ask me. Not saying it's right or wrong, if someone is happy to cut up and take away then that's between you and them, but I would make sure you both have the same expectation about the huge pile of crap and ivy left over.
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Sub-contractor?
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You'll be back to those Leylandii you stood up! Never turns out as dramatic as they say here in the east.
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Cutting and splitting logs is ok if you have space, and if you've got a shelter then could fill days you have to cancel for weather - or mean you don't have to go out in some of the rain you otherwise would. The problem I had is selling and delivering is a pain, people all ring just before Christmas then you have to make appointments when people are in etc. This is all not when you have spare time, it's in busy season for tree work.
