Jack.P

I spoken to the geezer in charge again this afternoon.explained I dont want to spend that long just stacking there wood for free but more intrested in actual hands on learning aswell as stacking if I'm too offer my weeks labour for nothing.he doesn't sound that intrested by the sounds of things and reluctant to let me start cutting the wood explaining I won't cut to spec therefore will actually loose them money which is a bit unfair to say considering hasn't seen me working or given me a chance yet.it sounded like I would be stacking for most the week I wonder if I'm just wasting my time with these people

Just bought a new Stihl helmet the expert one but having now assembled it I get the feeling it will have soon have the same problem as the old one where the ear defenders do not fully push in enough to work properly.The new one dosent seem to be able to move the ear defenders in / out with the helmet still on which also isn't that useful.I will have to keep it though as I will be needing it next week but disappointed though in the quality of it .but what helmet is the one everyone is using everyday and can recommend ? (not a climbing type)

Yeah I was hoping I would go straight into felling as it's only cutting to spec which I'm unsure about as it goes into 4 different products I'm not familiar with .I will mention though i want set hourly rate for stacking someone else's wood if I'm learning nothing.if it looks like a joke on day 1 then I won't be hanging around more than a few hours

Hi guys .I've been thinking about a change of scene at work and considering getting into forestry . Anyway I've been offerd a weeks trial next week with just expenses paid i.e. Petrol etc but that's fair enough I guess as I'm a newbie with limited forestry experience -But i have done groundy work and my own tree jobs so not a total beginner and I have my own saws ppe etc and cs30/31 but planning on doing cs32 / first aid within the next 6 months. Anyway I was a bit put off when he said for the first three days I'd just be manually stacking timber .not much to learn from that apart from don't do it again when your back is feeling it and potentially isn't going to give me much of an idea of what is involved in the work so possibly waste of time if I'm just offered donkey work for no financial gain. The work if I decided to go for it is chestnut fencing for the next few months on piece rate .but they will have other work on different sites afterwards.How long will it take to get the hang of this and could it be a viable option ? Week 2 If I stayed on I would expect pay at least equating to minimum wage . maybe I'm better off just waiting for current work load to pick back up.

The whole Christmas thing has become a bit of a over commercialised con in a way but I guess it all depends how you look at it ..all the unnecessary waste generated isn't good though .....I am playing it safe this time with food hampers Still need to buy lots more but due to a lack of intrest I'll probably wait till Monday lol

I wasn't involved with the job on the weekend so can't be held liable for there shoddy job (no contract) .Client was aware I was planning to be back this week to finish off .it is typical as it could have been done a lot better .i am convinced trees will now die

Heard from the client on Monday evening that they had decided to plant the trees and back filled the trench themselves over the weekend even though if was far from ready for planting .i wish they had asked me first but nevermind I guess it's there problem now and I'm just going along with it .I went back there yesterday to top up the topsoil and it's already turned into a swamp land .the new loam soil seems to be floating and impossible to compress down .i will be very surprised if the trees survive .its stupid really as they spent £1200 on these trees literally money down the drain .

Whacking the ground hard until shovel snaps is always good therapy for this Christmas nonsense

hi yes it's all clay everywhere.currently the area dug out is roughly 2ft x 2ft x 10m. I think your on about conventional soakaway which I'm sort of doing anyway but the trees to be planted are in 50l pots so the whole thing has got to be deeper for drainage layer.

Yeah I've used a one ton before digging fish ponds .would have struggled to use it though on this job and hiring fee would of probably been wasted

I've used a few different makes and really like the portek ones with hickory handles and a bargain really at 40 quid with a hand axe aswell.a while ago did a good 7hr day of splitting no trouble with a good pair of gloves that was big beach rings

Hi so didn't get round to taking any pics yet .been back on this job this week .i have now dug the area down deeper but I still need to go at least half a foot deeper but having trouble now as the soil has got like concrete now and my elbow has enough of it .it seems to be compacted clay with 10-40mm stone and builders sand dumped in and underneath that seems to be a bed of flint .ive tried various shovels and forks and kango but it takes a lot of effort only to move a small amount .not sure how I can get it any lower now ?

I will get pics tomorrow on the job .it looks to me like it's collecting some rain run off from next door ./ surrounding area . I had pumped out around 300l before I had a better look and we've got had showers here in the last week or som.apart from mains drains can't see a way to channel it somewhere.looks like the clay is very deep and I've been told it's the same soil in neighbouring gardens .doing a soil test which will show soil profile should have the results tommorow

Hi guys .thanks for input so far on this tricky subject I have been back at the job today to work on the drainage but it didn't go to plan .my idea of drilling the ground isn't going far enough into the ground to do anything as the clay is so thick and dense .(the trench is already 1.5 feet deep though from when I dug bamboo out ).anyway I've had a better look at what's going on today and most of the clay seems to have a run offwhich is going right next to neighbors garage (within a foot ) Its far too close to put in a big soakaway so the only option might be to now linking it into main drainage. I have almost run out of ideas and worried I could of actually made it worse today .if we have heavy rain tonight it might flood over the trench .its very annoying now as I needed the job finished this week

Hi I've bought a manual auger 150mm x 1m which I can use to full depth then once done I'm going to extend it with a bit of welding or jubilee clips so could even go to 2m depending on stones etc .might also pick up few bags of agricultural gypsum and dump it in there at clay level not sure it will do much though but possibly worth a try .

Would be in Gosport .(council contracts ) probably would have to meet at job location.can't remember what days it was but could find out .I can message them now if your intrested ? they might already have made work plans but I can ask anyway

There is someone just down the road I've worked with before .they needed me 3 days next week for groundie work but I couldn't commit .do you have plans for next week as I could ask them if they still need a hand ? Typical rate would be 8.00-4 for £80

Not really as trees arriving next week .it has been hard work with the client trying to work out what to get . Initially they were set on the idea of olives or holm oak both not suitable with lower chance of survival so I had to say it's waste of efforts .I tried to suggest hornbeam but they weren't very keen .as others have mentioned it all depends how deep the clay layer is .if I'm digging the holes and I've reached the max 1.5 m depth and still no good then I'm not sure what the next plan will be .the site is along a boundry fence line

The reason why I dug the 2 ft trench was because I'm going to backfill with well draining topsoil .this could be the builders fault as before the houses were built 5 yrs ago the whole area was mature woodland so should of had a lot of organic matter going into the soil .the area is 10m long x 2ftdepth x 1.5 ft wide .yesterday I ordered half ton of horticultural grit .half ton of extra sandy loam mix and 1 ton loam topsoil .my thoughts were with the holes Idea to backfill them with grit and they might get through the clay layer aswell although this is bit of a experimental thing and could just make it worse

Hi again . I would appreciate any advice about planting mature Portuguese laurel trees 4m in height . The area where they will planted has really heavy thick clay soil with very limited drainage (new build houses).So far I have taken out 2 tons of the rubbish clay and left a trench which after a few days of rain turned into a river . anyway there isn't really space for conventional soakaway which was my first idea .I am thinking now about drilling about 10 15cm diameter holes at a depth of 1.5 m in the trench then filled with fine grit to aid drainage then a layer of grit at the bottom of the trench with a sandy loam soil mix then with topsoil on top .has anyone had similar problems on a job ? I'm still not convinced it will work or the tree roots will spread outside of the trench in surrounding heavy clay .laurels are hardy though so we've got a chance but any thoughts would be great

Just to clarify the original link I sent you with climbing saw is the same seller .screenshot mentions trailer you were intrested in also same person

What's the verdict then ,is it genuine or bit fishy ? The bloke does roofing driveways jet washing etc might be of gypsy origin

Yep this the same seller in question. they could maybe be bought cheap if there there not working but alot of the newer tools would likely still be under stihl warranty .havent a clue where they got the stuff from but a lot appears to be hardly used / new

Yep he's a dealer. One feedback particularly intresting that states Wessex trailer serial number grinded off and wheels fell off ...my mate had a Wessex trailer stolen in this area few years ago that sounds the same one possibly .whoever took it towed it away with no tow hitch as they grinded that too and left the old one behind .anyway happy to pm links to anyone