I'm considering being trained for occasional general chainsaw use.
I'm in the St Neots area, recommendations/suggestions for training courses
please

"Nick Upson" wrote in message
...
I'm considering being trained for occasional general chainsaw use.
I'm in the St Neots area, recommendations/suggestions for training courses
please


Very good idea. Find your local agricultural college and ask there. For
other suggestions, I am sure Simon Avery will be along soon and he will know
of any other options.


--
Regards

Howard Neil

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 12:24:25 +0100, "Howard Neil" hneil@REMOVE TO
REPLY.co.uk wrote:


"Nick Upson" wrote in message
I'm considering being trained for occasional general chainsaw use.

Very good idea. Find your local agricultural college and ask there. For
other suggestions, I am sure Simon Avery will be along soon and he will know
of any other options.

Don't know of anywhere in your area, but make sure that the training
is to LANTRA standards. I did mine a month or so back via the South
West Forest where the cost was subsidised for qualifying applicants. I
found my local agricultural college to be way beyond my budget. You
could try contacting your local wildlife trust to see if they know of
any subsidised routes.

Good luck
Graham
--
Any views expressed are not necessarily those of my employer

"Nick Upson" wrote in message
...
I'm considering being trained for occasional general chainsaw use.

Sorry Nick but that reads as if you have very sharp teeth :~))

I'm in the St Neots area, recommendations/suggestions for training
courses
please


I'm not sure where St. Neots is, but here are a couple of possibly
useful sites:
http://www.worldofpower.co.uk/downloads/afag805.pdf
http://www.nptc.org.uk/links.asp
http://www.ptptraining.co.uk/

Jenny

"Nick Upson" wrote in message ...
I'm considering being trained for occasional general chainsaw use.
I'm in the St Neots area, recommendations/suggestions for training courses
please

Local Land Based College is the place, expensive if you can't get somebody else to pay but cheap in relation to the
inconvenience caused by chainsaw injuries. Just do it. The course doesn't just do health and safety stuff - you
will learn how to use the saw effectively *and* safely as well as basic sharpening and maintenance. The 1 week
course which includes felling trees with dia up to guide bar length is fairly tough for anyone with no experience
at all so better to prepare beforehand. I teach newbies the basics and then send them out to work with our
foresters for a few days if I can, this also gives them the chance to watch skilled people working on bigger trees
and see the degree of control they can achieve.

Rod

Rod wrote:

"Nick Upson" wrote in message ...
I'm considering being trained for occasional general chainsaw use.
I'm in the St Neots area, recommendations/suggestions for training courses
please

Local Land Based College is the place, expensive if you can't get somebody else to pay but cheap in relation to the
inconvenience caused by chainsaw injuries. Just do it. The course doesn't just do health and safety stuff - you
will learn how to use the saw effectively *and* safely as well as basic sharpening and maintenance. The 1 week
course which includes felling trees with dia up to guide bar length is fairly tough for anyone with no experience
at all so better to prepare beforehand. I teach newbies the basics and then send them out to work with our
foresters for a few days if I can, this also gives them the chance to watch skilled people working on bigger trees
and see the degree of control they can achieve.

The trouble is that what an 'amateur' really wants is the bit you're
doing *before* sending people on the training course.

--
Chris Green )

It what way is it tough on newbies? I'm intending to only do occasional
chainsaw work, not full time every day.

I would really like weekend or evening courses

In article , Rod wrote:
Local Land Based College is the place, expensive if you can't get somebody else to pay but cheap in relation to the
inconvenience caused by chainsaw injuries. Just do it. The course doesn't just do health and safety stuff - you
will learn how to use the saw effectively *and* safely as well as basic sharpening and maintenance. The 1 week
course which includes felling trees with dia up to guide bar length is fairly tough for anyone with no experience
at all so better to prepare beforehand. I teach newbies the basics and then send them out to work with our
foresters for a few days if I can, this also gives them the chance to watch skilled people working on bigger trees
and see the degree of control they can achieve.

On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 10:53:19 +0100, Nick Upson
wrote:

It what way is it tough on newbies? I'm intending to only do occasional
chainsaw work, not full time every day.

The first time I started or used a chainsaw was on the course. The
felling module did need a lot of concentration, but I passed with
hardly any practise (4 trees) between the course and the exam. What
does help enormously is a basic understanding of how engines work and
a familiarity with power tools. Also having a 'good eye' helps with
getting the cuts right.

One other word of caution - its bl***y hard work physically. Make sure
you pace yourself if you're not used to manual labour of this sort.

Good luck
Graham
--
Any views expressed are not necessarily those of my employer

"Graham Anstey" wrote in message ...
On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 10:53:19 +0100, Nick Upson
wrote:

It what way is it tough on newbies? I'm intending to only do occasional
chainsaw work, not full time every day.

The first time I started or used a chainsaw was on the course. The
felling module did need a lot of concentration, but I passed with
hardly any practise (4 trees) between the course and the exam. What
does help enormously is a basic understanding of how engines work and
a familiarity with power tools. Also having a 'good eye' helps with
getting the cuts right.

One other word of caution - its bl***y hard work physically. Make sure
you pace yourself if you're not used to manual labour of this sort.

This is exactly what I meant. I saw folks on the courses who'd never done any manual work, never started an engine
and hardly ever used tools of any kind. They found it tough, in fact usually didn't pass all the modules or even in
some cases didn't finish the course. It is quite a lot to get through in a week if you're starting from scratch. So
well done!
I think if you ask, some colleges may do a sort of 'pre-professional course' which might fit the bill for some
urglers.

Rod