Today's Job...
- Thread starter MCW
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I think Brad's warming up to the 7900's more and more, it's only a matter of time before he gets one for himself.
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
I think Brad's warming up to the 7900's more and more, it's only a matter of time before he gets one for himself.
Yeah he'll get one. I bet he's actually ordered two, using me as the "fall guy" in case he gets sprung
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
I agree 100%.I'll tell you this. The only guys that down the 7900, are the guys that haven't ran one.
If was to pick any faults they would be;
1) Filtration a bit average but manageable - hopefully fixed with HD setup.
2) Chain tensioner "looks" a bit weak but haven't broken it so...
3) Spikes look pretty and generally work well but have a tendency to lose grip on really hard, dead wood.
Thats about it. Very smooth and powerful saws. It's amazing how many Australian guys under 50 years of age that use saws have never even heard of Dolmar as a brand.
tdi-rick
Addicted to ArboristSite
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Good point, I think Dolmar had much more of a presence here pre Makita's ownership.
My mate that introduced me to the brand and has run them for over twenty five years is 60 now. (but still carries on as if he's 21 and single, but that's another story)
I brought this point up at both of the chainsaw courses I did recently and when I said that Makita saws are German made and the same as my Dolmar they were all amazed.
They're used to relatively dodgey Chinese type tools from Makita.
Not one of them would have even associated Makita with German quality.
If I was running Makita marketing in Australia things would definately change.
SawTroll
Information Collector
:rockn:
SawTroll
Information Collector
:agree2:I wouldn't doubt that one bit.lol
I'll tell you this. The only guys that down the 7900, are the guys that haven't ran one.
...and Ben Walker.....
Yeah he was worried about being seen ordering one with the new HD setup after saying quite openly how ugly it was.
I can picture him continously telling everyone "Its not for me, honest. It isn't. Honest"
What are you guys talking about? I don't know anything about no stinkin' ugly 7900 with a HD filter setup
:hmm3grin2orange: I guess I could always put a bag over its head when using it, lol!
stinkbait
Addicted to ArboristSite
Those are some great photos. I love dropping trees. That's the easy part.
tdi-rick
Addicted to ArboristSite
:jawdrop: err, no, foreigners from OS, often backpackers too.
john henry vs. the steam spike drive comes to mind.
and nice to see the man and skill do the job the big harvestors couldn't.
tks for pics. kcj
and nice to see the man and skill do the job the big harvestors couldn't.
tks for pics. kcj
JJuday
Addicted to ArboristSite
Hmmmm. I see......I often see the same backpackers in this country. How about we agree to call them all MethHeads! Is Meth as big a problem in OZ as it is in the U.S.?
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Generally our backpackers from overseas are pretty good. They're not wanting to stay long term and are more often than not just young couples on a working holiday. Every now and then you do get one that is just a downright criminal - it shows up pretty quick in small towns like ours (7000 odd people) and the police are onto them pretty smartly.
I don't think drugs are as big of a problem in Australia as it may be in the US and the hard stuff like Meth seems to be a larger problem in our cities. There is a fair bit of Marijuana getting around in the country though and would be one of the biggest mental health concerns in our area. My cousin and sister-in-law both work in different country regions with the Mental Health System and both say that marijuana is the biggest issue in regard to Schizophrenia and depression.
AUSSIE1
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I find that interesting Kev.
Could you give us your slant on why this couldn't be done by harvester?
I think he said they were too big for the harverstors so he got the job.
So it is one of the rare times when the man with skill can do what the machine can't. Like a climbing artists vs. the bucket truck trimmers. Production per dollar, buckets all the way. Watching a climb job is seeing art and skill, but drives the accountants batty.
I'm not downplaying technology or mechanization. The john henry story/poem was someone doomed to fail against mechanization, but gave his bet shot.
After the toll on the body from doing this with saw, yeah there is great reason for harvestors.
I just find it nice to see a man using his experience and skill to beat the big boys and big toys, especially on a big corporate plantation. There is something 'david and goliath' about that and I like to see the little guys succeed.
So it is one of the rare times when the man with skill can do what the machine can't. Like a climbing artists vs. the bucket truck trimmers. Production per dollar, buckets all the way. Watching a climb job is seeing art and skill, but drives the accountants batty.
I'm not downplaying technology or mechanization. The john henry story/poem was someone doomed to fail against mechanization, but gave his bet shot.
After the toll on the body from doing this with saw, yeah there is great reason for harvestors.
I just find it nice to see a man using his experience and skill to beat the big boys and big toys, especially on a big corporate plantation. There is something 'david and goliath' about that and I like to see the little guys succeed.
AUSSIE1
Al.
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Yeah I agree, Matt has done a great job.
Like he says, he's made a good dollar and he's thinking long term (good thinking).
By harvester, the job would be done very quickly.
By the photo's, there doesn't seem to be alot oversize for a 22" harvester.
Even if there was say 10%, the machine would be way out front.
If I was the owner of the property, I would not hesitate to contract Matt.
Trying to get the gist of what the Logging contractor was thinking makes me think he was pricing accordingly to justify the job.
30 trees an hour for supposedly experienced operators?
I guess he has greater overheads than Matt.
You don't see many larger companies take on small jobs like this unless it's worth their while.
Congtrats to Matt for a great job.
Like he says, he's made a good dollar and he's thinking long term (good thinking).
By harvester, the job would be done very quickly.
By the photo's, there doesn't seem to be alot oversize for a 22" harvester.
Even if there was say 10%, the machine would be way out front.
If I was the owner of the property, I would not hesitate to contract Matt.
Trying to get the gist of what the Logging contractor was thinking makes me think he was pricing accordingly to justify the job.
30 trees an hour for supposedly experienced operators?
I guess he has greater overheads than Matt.
You don't see many larger companies take on small jobs like this unless it's worth their while.
Congtrats to Matt for a great job.
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MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Thanks for talking me up mate
It basically all came down to cost. The harvester was AUD$240 an hour plus AUD$1400 to get it there. The harvester came with the saw guys, the saw guys came with the harvester. It was all of them or nothing so therefore a total of AUD$360 an hour for an estimated 140 trees an hour. In between many of the trees that I'm dropping there are PVC irrigation valves which the property manager was worried about (I had a tree roll when it landed and snap a 2" bleed valve off buggar it!).
I also used to work there in the mid '90s so know the guys too which also helped.
I'll get some photos of some of the bigger trees this weekend and may even drop a couple as well if not too windy.
Aussie old son, do buttress type roots upset harvesters? The Casuarinas on the property aren't technically "buttress" type but do have some interesting trunk shapes. Not sure how well the heads clamp on when the trees are out of round?
I'm with you still on this one though, there's something not right about the way this guy quoted - myself versus his chainsaw guys fair enough, but 80 trees an hour in relatively easy conditions never made sense to me for a harvester. I have a funny feeling that the guy and his team may be short of work and downplayed the speed at which they could drop trees to drag it out and make more money. Big call on my part but...
Made me look good though
There is probably another 10,000 trees to go on this property alone, maybe more?
