BogBoy84 wrote: » Hi all, I am thinking about getting into the forestry business. Thinnings, clearfell etc. From my research, I think the best and cheapast way to do this would be a digger with a timber harvesting head. Does anybody know if I need a safepass, or driver traning to drive a digger on somebody else's land? Is there a training course I can do for a timber harvester? What are peoples thoughts and opinions on this? Has anybody any experience with this? What machines do people recommend? Thanks in advance!
timfromtang wrote: » Hi BOgBOy, Head for Cavan, BallyHaise is the spot, there's a college, they teach ya, they've a machine simulator to teach advanced driving skills required for harvesting and forwarding. I've a young lad from the course been coming to me at weekends on work exp, I've only good things to say about the place. tim A felling grapple can be fitted to a timber crane on a (valtra reverse drive) tractor also might be worth looking into for thinning hardwoods.
blue5000 wrote: » From what I've seen with a digger there was a lot of damage done to the trees at either side of the rows where 1 row was thinned out. Now it might just have been a bad operator.
tabby aspreme wrote: » OP you should work with some of the harvesting companies to get experience of what is involved in the business, and make some contacts, before trying it yourself
BogBoy84 wrote: » Hi Tabby, I’m not completely new to the whole forestry scene, so I would have contacts of buyers, sellers, where forestry is and so on.I’m just unfamiliar with the machines and what passes I need etc.
giveitholly wrote: » With regards getting a head put on a track machine,how would you manage to put a track back on if you threw one off?
BogBoy84 wrote: » Jayzeus, Everybody has to start somewhere, right? I'm only 19 and I get about 4 months off in the summer due to college so I was hoping to go full time over summer. When I said I was unfamiliar with the machinery, I meant what specific diggers/harvesters/forwarders/harvesting heads people use and recommend for somebody like me just trying to get into the business. I am not unfamiliar with the driving of diggers and tractors.I hate this attitude of "you need more than just a machine and a ticket". I am the only person in my family that is into forestry, nobody local is into it either so there is nobody that could show me the tricks of the trade and how to operate a harvesting machine properly etc. I would consider myself hard working and I am always open ears for peoples advice, opinions and help, but I have to get experience somewhere. Everybody who works at anything once started off not knowing how to do it. In regards to renting machines, a decent 6-8t digger can not be got for less than 10k. Add another 5-10k on for a head, 5k for trailer, 15k for a tractor to haul the digger and trailer. Then someway of getting the timber out of the forest. Can you see why hiring machines to start off seemed appealing to me? I was hoping to start off renting, then move up and start purchasing my own machinery bit by bit.
BogBoy84 wrote: » Is this a common thing for diggers with harvesting heads to throw tracks? I've never seen it happen on sites etc but I haven't seen or worked with a digger with a harvesting head on it, how would that situation normally be resolved?
JayZeus wrote: » That right there will be enough to show anyone who's looking that you're not ready to be taking a machine into a forest.
JayZeus wrote: » Are you looking for sympathy or advice? Real world stuff now, right? You're a 19 year old college student, have no training or experience in forestry operations, want to hire a digger and a harvester head from a neighbour for the summer and expect someone to let you loose on a commercial crop. And you want to do that for your 4 month summer holiday, but not actually full-time year round, right? I applaud your sense of confidence, but you need to slow down there a bit. Everyone has to start somewhere but the forester or owner is the person who gets to decide if you start or not. Nobody is going to let you start with your rented machine and some 'ah here'. If you're serious about this, go to the courses in Ballyhaise and make a career out of it. If you're not prepared to do that, find a different summer job that doesn't involve you operating a harvester setup, because this idea is a non-starter whether you like to hear it or not. You need to learn to walk before you run. If you're studying robotics you're a smart fella. Get a summer job that will support your chosen field of study. If you don't want to do that (even though you should), go and get your CS courses done and see if you can get a summer job working for a forestry contractor or as a groundsman for an arborist/tree surgeon/tree service company. But forget about renting a machine. You're not going to get any harvesting work with it. You'll just be giving your neighbour money to make his payments with while the machine sits idle. That's the long and short of it.
BogBoy84 wrote: Instead of looking down on me as a dumb kid, why don't you offer me some advice about fixing tracks? The only reason I don't know something is because I haven't experienced it or nobody has shown me how to do it.
lab man wrote: » U cant learn to put a track on in an internet forum , simples
BogBoy84 wrote: » I never claimed to be an expert about machinery or that I knew everything, but I said I was willing to learn. Instead of looking down on me as a dumb kid, why don't you offer me some advice about fixing tracks? The only reason I don't know something is because I haven't experienced it or nobody has shown me how to do it. You are right that I have limited experience, but didn't everybody at one stage? It's not a reality check I need and you don't have to explain to me how the world works, I just need experience and advice.
BogBoy84 wrote: » It's not a reality check I need and you don't have to explain to me how the world works, I just need experience and advice.
$kilkenny wrote: » Hey BoyBoy, have you ever sat in a harvester before? Getting the machinery and all is one thing and operating it but constant work is the problem. You don't need a harvester ticket to drive machines on private land but you do if you work for Coillte. It always helps to have it all the same. Do you know how guys price jobs etc in the industry? It's hard to price what you aren't sure of yourself. I know you need to start somewhere but a ton or a m3 of timber are 2 completely different things. If you want, drop me a PM and come down to Kilkenny sometime and I can give you a run through on our own machines and things like that. To be honest it's great that your taking an interest in out industry and we do need alot more guys your age involved, I'm quite young at 24 like. I would be afraid of where you are starting, possibly getting expeirence driving a harvester first would be a good option. Get to know the industry, people, equipment and general tricks of the trade for doing the job before forking out on equipment. I would suggest biting the bullet and purchasing a harvester, a Timberjack 1070D, 2000 to 2005 would be going for 50k or less. It's more expensive but you have a proper machine, just be weary on cost of parts. We sometimes get guys in, train them up and give them jobs driving machines once they are ready both here and in scotland. There is always that option also.
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