handymidi

Hi, I have been tyring to Chip up some tree and bush cutting with my small Forest Master Chipper. It worked fine the other day, but now everything seems to be going to sawdust and clogging up the discharge chute. I keep having to take the chute off and blow out all the sawdust to get it to work again. But it doesn't take much until it is blocked again. Some places have said its because my wood has dried out. The cuttings are about 4 days old and I thought they would have still be ok. Would wetting them help to soften the wood and aid them in going through without leaving lots of sawdust? Or should I just dispose of them and use the Chipper on fresh items on my next job. Thanks

Hi, I have had quite a bit of work come in recently where I have required the assistance of some climbers. So I put a couple of adverts out there to help on my jobs. I was surprised to realise that people are now leaving University to become Climbers!! It appears that the mean salary for lopping a few Trees is around £65ph and as much as £180ph in some cases. And that is for unqualified Climbers too, that come with no more than a rope and a rusty ladder. This has forced to me to re-evaluate my own circumstance and look to start climbing trees. What on earth.

Hi, What do you think the weight of 1 IBC of lose felled wood would be? I am trying to gauge what roughly 1 ton would equate to. Thanks

Hi I managed to get to the bottom of this and get it working again. I managed to turn the drum around by a fraction until I could see the blade and the anvil. It would not budge any further than that. Then I could see that there was debris in between. I managed to get an edging trowel between the gap and I cleared what I could. Then I had to resort to using a hammer and metal file as a chisel. It was like chipping away at Concrete but it finally budged. Once it budged the drum moved and you could spin it around like a baby. I couldn't believe that fine matter could build up and cause the motor problems like this. But you live and learn. Now I know that it is possible and what do to if the motors ticks over and the drum doesn't spin again. Thanks

The problem is that this is a replacement unit because the same thing happened to the previous one and the firm have been good to me. It could be something that I am doing wrong and that is why I want to find out. I don't want to unfairly play any blame game here. I may have to get a mechanic to look at it.

It's brand new and I only just built it out of the box the other day. I am thinking it must be a foreign object jamming the drum. I have cleaned it out on both sides but it's not turning on start up.

Hi there, this has happened to me twice now on a job and I don't know what to do. I start the machine and the belt and the drum doesn't turn. The machine starts to overheat and the smoke starts coming out of it. I have opened it up, and attempted to clear out any stuck material but it is still doing it. Everything appears to be clean, and the machine is brand new with little than 4 hours use. I have seen a video on YouTube where an owner had the same issue. He put a spanner on the the drive nut and used a large metal pole to turn the drum over. I looked at my drive nut and was unable to move it with a spanner. It seems that the drum is stuck fast. I might try his method, and use a large metal pole to help turn it in an anti clockwise manner and see if it moves the drum. I don't know what else to do, is this a common thing with Chippers because it is costing me time on jobs. I have customers waiting with debris in this gardens that we need to get chipped and removed. Thanks

Hi yes, I could do it like that for labour and on the machinery too. I just tend to say per hour because most people don't always want to hire you for a day. That way it makes it sound a bit more pleasing to them at times.

Yes but I am not using my Chipper all year round so I can't charge next to nothing.

Thanks I know what you mean but there are so many factors like you mentioned that have to be taken into account and each job is different. I am trying to work out a set formula to approach every job with that will work until I can get a better idea. What I need to do is factor in things that I have not been doing like Travelling cost Fuel / Oil Machines Vehicle First thing is to up my hourly rate £25ph and then look at factoring other costs to the quote.

Hi I have been a few jobs for clients but I don't think that I am pricing them correctly and underselling myself. I go to most jobs with my own tools Van Chainsaw Pruning Tools Chipper Machine Bush Cutters Hand Tools I can cut and clear most areas with those. I tend to charge £15ph for my cutting time but I am unsure about the other costs I need to factor and add. I am thinking on a day basis Cutting Labour £25PH Labourer Cost £100-£140 Chipper Cost Per Day £120 Fuel For Machines Per Day £20 Waste Removal £100 Chipped, or Waste Removal (Waste Transfer Station) Whatever their price is. Travel 75p per mile. Do you think that is an ok kind of formula? I really dont know how to work out the waste charge because it will not cost me anything to dispose of the chipped waste, but there is the cost to someone having to chip it in the machine and the machine cost too. Also to dump the waste at the dump would be a minimum £40 plus what ever the weight is. I would not know that until I am at the dump so it is not like I can give the customer a price for that until I know what is it. Please help Thanks