Helmstein
ArboristSite Operative
K9 SLAYING IT AS USUAL
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Rabid K9
ArboristSite Guru
I’ll read that as sarcasm…. we know little else down here.
Day 2 in Shanty Town. Good when the machine is rumbling along.
Wrapped it up, straight into another solid day tomorrow, weather looks like we’ll be pretty much swimming in precipitation.
Rabid K9
ArboristSite Guru
And a couple showing doesn’t always go to plan….
Actually a bit of a 'learning' exercise for the young Italian. Set him a target to hit, running it down side of shack. Moderate back lean, felling into wind, asymmetrical canopy. Bit smaller tree (Sydney blue gum) than earlier Tassie blue gums we were felling. Watched it unfold, judged wouldn't do too much damage. Gave him plenty of stick for his attempt to push it over as it became apparent the wind had got hold of it.
45 degrees off intended lay, side swiped three smaller trees we had been retaining. Lower felling height, higher hinge to give it a bit more hold, hard wedge on left side & strong triangular hinge would have pulled it around nicely.
We got it cleaned up quickly & no harm done, apart from his pride.
Actually a bit of a 'learning' exercise for the young Italian. Set him a target to hit, running it down side of shack. Moderate back lean, felling into wind, asymmetrical canopy. Bit smaller tree (Sydney blue gum) than earlier Tassie blue gums we were felling. Watched it unfold, judged wouldn't do too much damage. Gave him plenty of stick for his attempt to push it over as it became apparent the wind had got hold of it.
45 degrees off intended lay, side swiped three smaller trees we had been retaining. Lower felling height, higher hinge to give it a bit more hold, hard wedge on left side & strong triangular hinge would have pulled it around nicely.
We got it cleaned up quickly & no harm done, apart from his pride.
Oopsie daisy! Helpful for us to learn from as well. Thanks for sharing.
We had an unfortunate mishap a few weeks ago felling a dual stemmed tree. Hinge broke on one side, slid to the left and kissed the roof, then skimmed against a 2023 Subaru on its way off the roof. We fixed it immediately and filed a liability claim but it is a sure awkward conversation with the homeowner.
I think Italians make the best tree climbers. Quick, agile, perfectionist and they got the hate. Think about it! How could they not accel at such a thing as this!! Lol.
Rabid K9
ArboristSite Guru
My partner is Italian & she certainly has no issues expressing her ‘opinions’.
Our ‘wildlife’ sometimes presents some challenges to our semi-domesticated Italians….
Plenty of hingework today, clearing out a site for a new farm building. Spotted gum - so plenty of valuable structural wood, fuelwood & mulch, an allround useful species.
Somewhat moist as well.
Rabid K9
ArboristSite Guru
More hinges.
Rabid K9
ArboristSite Guru
Grateful for good insurance. A very small claim thankfully.
I am always very impressed with your photography. Keep them coming!
Pulled up an uprooted arb yesterday. Here's to hoping it lives!
I have actually been climbing and pruning a few days this week. Been quite a while. Interesting. Started off really slow kind of in shock, but by the end of yesterday I was limbering up and actually feeling pretty good up there (for being overweight and 50). Like riding a bike though. I think I’ll keep going with it as the need arises. Feels good to be up there in a tee shirt and warm again.
Rabid K9
ArboristSite Guru
Thankyou.
How did you you secure the uprooted once it was ‘reset’?
Mud season is upon us, as is firewood season. The two go hand in hand actually. Looking forward to the new processor to speed up that side of the firewood sideline.
Processor sounds like fun. Be looking forward to the pics!
Firewood always seems so relaxing to me, like playing hookey from more profitable work.
Firewood always seems so relaxing to me, like playing hookey from more profitable work.
What a cool set up. You must do a lot of volume to be able to use a processor. Do you shut down tree work operations to some extent to focus on firewood in the winter?
We cabled the trees to a stump behind. I'd say it's about a 5 year fix. Hopefully by then the roots will be somewhat reestablished.
Always enjoy seeing everyone's pics and discussing how we do things and our business set ups.
Took a nice Saturday off with the kids today. Still have a pile of storm damage type jobs for next week.
Rabid K9
ArboristSite Guru
Winter is generally a very busy time with tree work, particularly with shorter days & dedicated tree work is more profitable (usually), but have tried to develop the wood byproduct market to make it even more so, which makes perfect sense to me, having most of the required equipment & access to large volumes of good fuelwood species.
In some ways, it's like getting paid for the job twice.
So try & fit in the firewood, mulch, timber etc so they flow on from normal day to day operations, which helps to add a bit of turnover onto each day. There is a certain component of 'nightshift' & weekend work with the firewood, but is has become a handy addition to overall business. In warmer months, try to get ahead on the firewood stockpiles, but some big orders this year have exhausted some of those stockpiles. The splitting & stockpiling is the real bottleneck / extra labour side of the process, so now aiming to streamline this part.
The firewood 'processor' will be pretty basic - a lifter, splitter & conveyor stacker, but is Australian made piece of equipment (starter set up will be around $25K), well made & hopefully should pay itself off pretty quickly. At this stage, not buying the feeder hopper (another $16K), but have plans to utilise a heavy duty roller rack (from my mining exploration days) system to feed the splitter more efficiently. Am hoping with the wood already rounded & stockpiled, one operator can consistently put out 5-8 cubic metres (750kg per cube = 5 tonnes approx) an hour. At a baseline price of $240.00 per tonne....
So right now, with first few 'cold' days, people are squealing for their wood & the unit can't get here quick enough (aside from the laying down of $25K).
Am currently 'test driving' wood from these trees (spotted & rose gum), which we harvested last year, in my own fireplace.
I’m gonna have a steel frame built on top on the storage container so I can store the chip top for the log truck up there. Same dimensions . Should be pretty slick. 
Helmstein
ArboristSite Operative
I like the idea of a canopy that sits atop two storge containers. Might be a relatively cheap option for you if you need some space out of the elements. Quick Google search found this.
Attachments
A little more than I need, but interesting.
I was actually thinking of someday maybe a lean-to type structure off the side. Maybe a metal or fiberglass corrugated roof. Just something to keep a lift or whatever under during the better months. The sun is brutal all day over there and the lifts fade pretty quickly, not to mention the rain. 20' isn't enough to cover the entire lift, but most of it.
Been running around taking care of business all day. Amazing how when it’s good it’s good. I can’t swing a dead cat without scoring a tree job lately. Lol
Those mini horseys are cool. Not as cool as the mini donkeys, but still damn cool. If I was rich and had property and people to take care of them I’d have some. Lol.
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