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The only way to chip...


PeterW

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Had a long day today taking out a series of trees that had seen better days - and decided to hire in a chipper..!

 

I've used them a fair bit in the past, but have usually used Timberwolf but the hire company dropped off a TP160 tracked chipper, and words failed me ...!

 

Its swallowed everything I've pushed into it and being tracked it had made life a breeze - if you need to ever hire something like this I can't recommend them enough. 

 

This is it swallowing an 8m Leyllandi in one go.

 

image.jpeg

 

 

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I think we should note for the protection of casual visitors that Peter W is a trained Tree Surgeon, and that these machines can have your leg or arm off very quickly if you feed stuff in badly eg if you get your hand wedged in a branch by mistake, or even if your shirt cuff or glove, gets hooked.

 

They are relentless and can run at one or two feet per second, so you have a few seconds to get free from a moving snag while being dragged off your feet before it is bye bye. That is, 5 seconds for a 10ft branch, or 3 seconds for a person.

 

Requires training to the same degree as a 1m chainsaw imo.

 

This is one of those areas - like moving big but small-looking chunks of rock around or cutting branches off trees which are heavier than they look, where it is possible to get into a situation that could cause far more serious injuries than the casual operator might expect. A mid-sized branch falling badly can break your pelvis, this can make parts of you into a pizza topping.

 

Ferdinand

 

 

 

Edited by Ferdinand
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Theres a chap at my local pub who only has a stump for one arm. An experience tree surgeon of 20+ years and one day he just got unlucky with a chipper! 

 

Not for me thanks, I'll leave that sort of work to the experts! 

Edited by Barney12
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8 hours ago, PeterW said:

Always amazes me you can still walk into the local B&Q and buy a chainsaw and not have to get any safety equipment at all ..!

 

...or even Lidl :o

Edited by richi
extra emoshe
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I did ask for one for Christmas as it would be very useful in my gardening business but the other half said he wouldnt let me have a chainsaw in a million years!  Probably right but shame. :( 

 

In a previous life, I used to be 'old bill' and I applied once to be a firearms officer - the Inspector fell about laughing and wouldnt even submit the forms  Think they are trying to tell me something??

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15 hours ago, TheMitchells said:

I did ask for one for Christmas as it would be very useful in my gardening business but the other half said he wouldnt let me have a chainsaw in a million years!  Probably right but shame. :( 

 

In a previous life, I used to be 'old bill' and I applied once to be a firearms officer - the Inspector fell about laughing and wouldnt even submit the forms  Think they are trying to tell me something??

 

In my dreams I hope you shot the Inspector ... slapstick style. 

Edited by Ferdinand
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Nice thought!   In fact, he retired and we became friends when I taught his wife to dive. I stil visit them now they have moved to Pembrokeshie.  TBH, he was right to refuse - I would never have been able to shoot anyone.

And I also agree that its probably best that I dont have a chainsaw. I would end up cutting my leg off or something as drastic.  my friend has bought a small electric one that I may try.  Its not going to be so powerful but thats a good thing.  And I always wear the OH's biking jeans which are kevlar lined.  He sold the bike so I may as well use them.

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I bought a Titan electric chainsaw from screwfix and its done a lot if work for me. Cut down and logged near 40 trees no bother at all, trees where about 10inch diameter. Don't underestimate the torque they have just because they aren't spitting smoke out. Good thing though is once you release the trigger its an immediate stop. 

Was on offer for £40 last year and it's more than made its money by now.

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1 hour ago, TheMitchells said:

Nice thought!   In fact, he retired and we became friends when I taught his wife to dive. I stil visit them now they have moved to Pembrokeshie.  TBH, he was right to refuse - I would never have been able to shoot anyone.

And I also agree that its probably best that I dont have a chainsaw. I would end up cutting my leg off or something as drastic.  my friend has bought a small electric one that I may try.  Its not going to be so powerful but thats a good thing.  And I always wear the OH's biking jeans which are kevlar lined.  He sold the bike so I may as well use them.

 

Just be aware that the Kevlar in bike jeans makes them abrasive resistant not cut resistant. 

 

Chainsaw protection comes in two different methods - the first is a cut resistant layer, the second is a mat of fibre that gets pulled into the chain and jams the drive pulley and chain. The reason for this is that a chain is doing 11-14m/s and friction alone will not stop a chain. You can get decent chainsaw chaps for about £30 which are perfect for occasional use. 

 

Chainsaw gloves are a must - they have the same padding on the back of the hand and protect from being drawn into the chain. 

 

Helmet, visor and eat defenders are definitely needed for petrol saws - some electric you can get away with no ear defenders but I find mine keep my helmet on too..!!

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1 hour ago, TheMitchells said:

Nice thought!   In fact, he retired and we became friends when I taught his wife to dive. I stil visit them now they have moved to Pembrokeshie.  TBH, he was right to refuse - I would never have been able to shoot anyone.

And I also agree that its probably best that I dont have a chainsaw. I would end up cutting my leg off or something as drastic.  my friend has bought a small electric one that I may try.  Its not going to be so powerful but thats a good thing.  And I always wear the OH's biking jeans which are kevlar lined.  He sold the bike so I may as well use them.

 

I am naturally quite risk averse in particular  fields - I don't, for example, do heights without a lot of precautions. 99% of the time it would all be fine, but it only takes once and that's it.

 

Ferdinand

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On 8/12/2016 at 21:12, PeterW said:

About £110 a day, £500 for a week. It was unbelievable how it just chewed up the Leyllandi and other stuff. 

 

Last thing though was a 6" holly trunk and it didn't even blink !

 

£110 for a day doesn't seem at all bad when you consider the by product - wood chippings, have a value as garden mulch.

 

15 hours ago, TheMitchells said:

I did ask for one for Christmas as it would be very useful in my gardening business but the other half said he wouldnt let me have a chainsaw in a million years!  Probably right but shame. :( 

 

In a previous life, I used to be 'old bill' and I applied once to be a firearms officer - the Inspector fell about laughing and wouldnt even submit the forms  Think they are trying to tell me something??

 

You maybe should have tried a different tack and gone with the classic - "I've nearly beaten a man to death, so I'm sure I could shoot one..."

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8 minutes ago, Stones said:

 

£110 for a day doesn't seem at all bad when you consider the by product - wood chippings, have a value as garden mulch.

 

 

There is a pretty big bank under the remaining trees where nothing seems to grow - they have gone into that area and will get raked about as a mulch which will make life easier when it comes to weeding and so on !

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1 minute ago, PeterW said:

 

There is a pretty big bank under the remaining trees where nothing seems to grow - they have gone into that area and will get raked about as a mulch which will make life easier when it comes to weeding and so on !

 

You need a *lot* of trees to deliver a significant quantity of wood chippings.

 

When I took down 25 20 year old beeches, once the main bit of each 6-8" trunk had gone for firewood, I got enough chippings to cover an area about 4mx4m only.

 

Ferdinand

 

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