5thelement

Hard to say from the photos, but the planks at the back on the first image look likely to be Cherry if it’s a hardwood, maybe Spruce if it’s a softwood.

Refresher training is still ‘Advisory’ in the eyes of the HSE. If you work for any organisation who have signed up to FISA, Forestry England/Woodland Trust/ Tilhill/ Euroforest etc refresher training is compulsory, every 3-5 years. Since the corrupt organisation that is FISA has ceased doing refresher training, NPTC have created their own. You basically redo your original assessment to demonstrate that you are still ‘competent’, but the assessor can also conduct training and demonstrate new kit/techniques that will increase your knowledge.

In twenty years you will look back all nostalgic at these simpler times.

Dirkha Dirkha Jihad Jihad.

Imagine if the USA actually won the tournament, they would officially be ( in their own eyes at least) the best in the world at absolutely everything.

This is sadly the truth, one more won’t hurt.

Morning Ben. 45 is not too late to start in Arb, especially if it is something you have wanted to do since your 20’s and are determined, I have trained lots of people a lot older than you. Stumpgrinding is a tedious job on a permanent basis, the machines take a beating so you would need to have a good knowledge on the tools to keep maintenance costs down. A decent machine will be a large investment too. Many Arb guys have their own machines or use Stumpbusters, so hard to maintain continuous work. Basis NPTC ticket for Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross cutting, two days training and one day assessment would cover you for using the saw on the ground and preparing for the chipper, this could get your foot in the door with local Arb guys,which will give you a taste of the job, allow you to earn some money why you develop an idea of where you want to go with it. If I was determined to go for it I would buy a used transit tipper and a Timberwolf 150, if you can’t make money and get into the job with that, your never going anywhere. You could cut up small trees/clearance/ hedges and gardens, get a climber in as required until you develop a customer base and see which direction the business is taking you. Very little money to invest with a mortgage and family will be the hardest obstacle starting off, good luck.

Creeping around for bats! That would involve climbing then. He would also need a bat license and probably an Ecology degree, this would take years, so not really a good idea for someone wanting to get into Arb now.

Ive had several pairs of Technical Extremes, they fit me like a pair of jeans, best fit of any trousers that I have had. On the off chance, I bought a pair of Husqvarna Technical Robust as they where going cheap, they don’t fit as well as they don’t have the Velcro adjustment on the waist, but unbelievable in their durability, the protective outer is made with Kryptonite.

Like you Matty, most people in this industry have no desire to deliberately destroy wildlife habitat, the Ecologists main role in our situation is to prevent us breaking the law. Sometimes it costs us time and money and can be frustrating, I have had some ridiculous situations over the years, which is my main point, you have experience in these matters so I respect your opinion. I have an Ecologist story that I would not dream of repeating on an open forum, I will PM it to you if you like?

The OP came on looking for advice about his career choices in Arb, as you have zero experience in Arb, Forestry or the Ecology sector, I question the value of your opinion, problem with that?

That’s a tree safety issue where the risk to human life overrides ecology issues, you don’t need me to explain that one to you Matty. I have worked alongside Ecologist who really know their stuff and get the bigger picture, I’ve also worked with wet behind the ears imbeciles who haven’t got a clue, same with most trades.

So what’s your experience in Arb, Forestry and working alongside Ecologists which make your opinions valid?

Unfortunately his comments are made with zero experience in Arb, Forestry or Ecology, so worth what exactly?

Arbortec do trousers in ladies sizes, but I have worked with a few ladies who preferred the mens option, depends on body shape I suppose, quite pricey too. Cheap option would be chaps, Francital and Solidor are French brands that do cheap trousers, eBay usually has them listed as well as Husqvarna functional and Oregon. Chainsaw wellies are awful to wear, hot in Summer, cold in Winter and usually two sizes bigger than the number states. Oregon and Lovarro do cheap boots with decent tread and ankle support.

There are dealers all over the country with these in stock, there are loads about now. Haynes Agricultural in Framfield had 5 in stock when I enquired last month, it is battery and chargers that they are struggling with, not two stroke.

These are one day courses to teach you how how to maintain and operate basic machinery efficiently, brush cutters/ chippers etc. I only know one person who is licensed to inspect for Bats, it took him years to gain this credential.

LANTRA qualifications can be prerequisites for NPTC if they have been assessed as well as trained by LANTRA, these certificates would carry a QAN number.

If you book a LANTRA training course with assessment this is exactly the same as doing the LANTRA training then being assessed by an NPTC assessor, both result in a certificate of competence, the certificates would just come from different awarding bodies. Both these awarding bodies are externally verified by OFQUAL and recognised by HSE. In house training on level 2/3 chainsaw courses are not regulated or verified so could not be worth the paper they are printed on in the eyes of HSE.

No thanks. I never liked the CS32 format run as an ITA either, so I didn’t instruct them.

Yeah, but hardly anyone books LANTRA assessments in reality, no one has asked me to do one in the last 8 years.

I’ve not heard of any yet, but people would be reluctant to admit they cut through a rope on an Internet forum surely? I have heard of many incidences where climbers where injured falling from height when another rope would have prevented it though. Hence we are now in this position.

I pretty much train all my courses using the LANTRA workbooks/guidance then the candidates are assessed by an NPTC assessor. The training is the training, they could complete the week and still be crap. The NPTC assessment is ‘independent’ of the training and is a certificate of competence, not a certificate of training.

Willow or Poplar.

Neither.