JonnyRFT

I’m 18.4 stone so it’s doable but being lighter and more nimble will make your life a lot easier. My main problem is that I can only climb trees with limbs that can take my weight. Otherwise I’m on a MEWP.

I totally believe in climate change and I would love for everyone to change the way they live including myself. But unfortunately, I seem to be the kind of person that wants that situation handed to me on a plate. I was very worried at one point (and still am) and became frustrated with most of the world until I realised I was a total hypocrite. Technically I’m selfish with regards to the issue. I waste fuel, consumables, food...everything really. I don’t mean to but I could never take any moral high ground. I live in excess. I’ve tried living to a limit (when I felt strongly about the Earth struggling) but I was unhappy as you end up seeing everyone else living their normal life not changing. And then once I realised that I’m not going to make a difference I slowly reverted back to living they way this country offers me to live. Im excited about all the technicoligal advances with regards to green energy. It’s good to see countries being pioneers in huge solar farms or green cities. But then again, I read that this is a small drop in the ocean. China are outstanding in renuable green energy until you realise they have dumped more concrete in the last decade than the USA ever have in their lifetime. Actually I think they used more crete in 3 years than the USA in the whole of the 20th Century. That’s mental and totally conflicting. We are run by higher powers. We live by their rules. We exist in what’s been built for us. The technology is there but everyone (government bodies) is too scared to take that leap of faith because it all boils down to money. They’re tied up in profitable enterprises that only offer excessive, indulgent products. Lastly, I think even though I believe what I am writing, there’s an element of doubt. I actually don’t know what to believe anymore. I can’t give an informed opinion on most things because I actually don’t know anymore. All I know is that I wore shorts and T-shirt in Feb this year and that ain’t good.

We just hang wet ropes with a continuous slip knot over an exposed RSJ. It’s hard to get them dry in winter though as it’s a cold unit.

Ahhh I got you. It’ll still be subbed out (although I’m not sure to who) until I’ve got everything transferred over but to be honest, as we have to cover the whole of East Anglia, I’ll be keeping at least 1 sub contractor in each county as we can’t cover all the work currently.

The drains?

That’s crazy! This is my first experience of this kind of thing so I think I was just very panicked and worried if it was going to have some kind of knock on effect to the company. Word of mouth is a powerful thing.

Yeah RFT are the facilities company owned by Flagship Group. I run the Arb Department but it’s so new no one really knows it exists. Our customers are who ever lives in a FHG house and all the entire tree stock on land owned by FHG is obviously ours to maintain. As we don’t chase external contracts at the moment we have no need to advertise hence why we just operate in the background. I felt abit cagey thus giving a vague explanation as I thought at the time of writing, it could’ve been any “guest” on here. Just paranoia. After finding out about this guy, I’m discovering that I will jealously defend RFT and would hate any smear against its name and my reputation within the company. Hopefully it’s a one off, I was just worried it’s happening a lot without me knowing.

So I found out today that there’s a guy telling our customers that he works for my department. He cutting down trees due to “insurance purposes” that are part of our tree stock and then charging a £150 fee to our customers that shouldn’t be paying anything, ever! I’ve notified the police and my Comunications Dept but I really want to investigate this myself and find him. What can I do to try and find him? Has this happened to anyone else? Whats strange is that the company doesn’t advertise and we stay hidden as part of the background workings of the parent company. Could it be someone I actually know?

Ahh ok. Might be worth hiring a local grab lorry and just keeping piling up the waste for them to collect until it’s finished. Have a good rough terrain grab tele/tractor on site to move everything to a specific location where the lorry can pick up from.

I did a similar job last week. I scraped out the whole site, hired a skip then flailed at the end. Worked out well.

Mine serves me very well. Not a full Arb conversion as it needs to take loader attachments too but when I get uprated springs then it’ll be perfect. The extra cab takes all the tools albeit stacked to the roof. Tows like a train providing you don’t try and cruise in 6th gear.

Super calm in Norwich. I’m outside having a fire and didn’t even know theres supposed to be a storm...

I use this most days but with the battery back pack. Edit: actually I think this one looks a little different from what I have

I forgot to take a picture on today’s job as I was having too much fun playing around in the Avant but had to take this pic when I got back to my yard. I love this thing. With some weights on the back I really didn’t sweat lifting off this Oak from the trailer.

I think I said the word “nope” about 20 times watching this. Some serious cahones!

It may be worth upgrading the oil pump as mine never oiled well from new. I had it mended by our supplier of which mentioned they had done a few prior to my saw. Now it’s just a dream boat! Not sure how common the oiling problem is though.

Perhaps discuss with the client if they’re prepared to pay for a monitoring service. Inspect on regular intervals as practicable as possible providing the cost doesn’t outweigh substantial work needed on it. This has been an option for me a few times where the tree wants to be kept. Understandably, I work in a slightly different environment and I don’t know if the same service can be applied to commercial/domestic situations.

Woah, that’s pretty severe!

Norwich is looking mighty fine with clear blue sky’s and it’s warm already!

I’m guessing that Beech just makes more sense over an Oak hedge. Beech trees will always hold on their dead leaves in the lower parts of the canopy which is why they don’t fall off on hedgerows also.

I think that picture was from arbhub.com

That makes sense. But I’m just going to throw this into the mix... Going by Duncan Slater’s documentation; if the highest cause of failure to forks with included bark is due to storm damage, then surely a natural brace could lower the probability of failure in the first place. Obviously cable bracing is really the best option especially when managing trees from a financial stand point. Then again, this type of bracing will need some form of management going forward. So speaking hyperthetically, if trees have the capability to correct themselves in such an intelligent way, then human intervention aiding this phenomenon could be a worthy attribute to the trees health. It’s essentially managing itself with just a slight push in the right direction. By relieving stress the nutrients of the tree can be sent elsewhere as I’m sure it must take such an effort to manage a heavy co dominant limb. This is the first time I’ve seen this level of natural bracing where it seems clear what the tree is trying to do. So although it may be common, not all trees will support themselves in this manner. I mainly work on urban trees, I understand that trees with plenty of open space grow faster thus the structural integrity of the wood is far less superior that of a desidiuos tree growing in a forest or woodland. I really want to try it out on at least one tree. My problem is that I can read as much as I want but, putting these theories into practice is something I have never done. I wish I had the time to do so. I am fascinated though... Edit: I just read through what I wrote and I don’t mean it to come across that I’m certain of how trees manage themselves, I’m still learning. Read it like I’m always asking a question haha.

That was a good read, thank you. Letting my mind wonder...could it be replicated? Splicing younger limbs together, bonding and hopefully fusing together. I guess the tolerance levels would be much lower than cable bracing and in the commercial world it would be pointless but the hippy in me thinks otherwise...

I was on assessments yesterday and came across this Sycamore. She’s a pretty mature specimen and seemed to have braced itself to a low birficating leading limb. Is this tree smart or could it be a rubbing wound from and old broken limb?

I had the 161t before the recall and it was delightful. It’s funny how less fatigued you feel when you work in almost silence (until the chippers fire up) I used a colleagues Husky that I absolutely fell in love with. It seemed better balanced and the eco mode really allows you to work for longer. Both incredible saws. It’ll always boil down to personal preference. Try get yourself a demo.