saw dust cleanup

Bruce Hopf

Thanks for the Job Offer, but I'm pretty Busy here on the Farm, and when Spring comes (if it does is another Question ), I'll be even Busier. I was Raised, and have been around Business all my Life. My Father had his own Plumbing and Heating Business, and was in Business for 28 Years. He always Told me, and Taught me, that there is always somebody out there looking for work.
He taught me, if you do a Job way Beyond the Expectations of your Customer, and if they are more than Happy with your work, That Customer would give you the First Chance at doing another Job for them, and be a return Customer. .
He also Taught me, if you did a Job Below Expectations of your Customer, and left them with you, and the Job that you completed, Take a Good Look at the Customer, that will be the Last time that You do a Job for them.
He also Told me, and Taught me not to look for any good References from them, because the Reference that they will give, won't be good at all. You also have given a Job to the Competition, just like the Competition gave you, because the Customer wasn't happy with their work.
Bruce.

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1- Pro Mac 60, 1- Pro Mac 700, 2- Mac 10-10 Automatic's, 2- Mini Mac 30's, 2- Mac 110's,
2- Mini Mac 35's, 1- Mac 140 with Automatic Chain Sharpener,
1- Pro Mac 10-10, 1- Mac Cat, 2- Eager Beaver
2.0's, 1- Mac 1-10
Stihl chain saws
2- 044's, 2- 034's, 2- 024's, 1- 064, 1- 084,
Strunk chain saws
1- Busy Beaver, 1- SpeeDemon Special
Stand Back, I Have A Very Extreme Case of CAD (Chain Saw Addiction Disorder).

Bruce Hopf

Protecting your Customer's Flower Beds, as far as I'm concerned, is also Part of Saw Dust Clean Up, so no Apologies Necessary. Good Job with the tarps. . All part of going Beyond your Customer's Expectations. Bruce.

__________________
McCulloch chain saws
1- Pro Mac 60, 1- Pro Mac 700, 2- Mac 10-10 Automatic's, 2- Mini Mac 30's, 2- Mac 110's,
2- Mini Mac 35's, 1- Mac 140 with Automatic Chain Sharpener,
1- Pro Mac 10-10, 1- Mac Cat, 2- Eager Beaver
2.0's, 1- Mac 1-10
Stihl chain saws
2- 044's, 2- 034's, 2- 024's, 1- 064, 1- 084,
Strunk chain saws
1- Busy Beaver, 1- SpeeDemon Special
Stand Back, I Have A Very Extreme Case of CAD (Chain Saw Addiction Disorder).

Therrin

I can just see NG going at it with the rake while the rest of us take 1/10th the time to clean things up, and he's saying "but the customer thinks I'm doing a good job" even an hour or so after we would have left.

I've found in the instances where there's planted stuff ALL AROUND the tree that's being dismantled, the customer is usually so happy to get the tree OUT that they understand there may be residual damages to their encircling flowers and such.

Covering up outter lying beds is really cool though, the chopstick Idea is awesome.

If you've ever tried to rake sawdust out of gravel, grass, bark, or other ground cover, then you know the true value of tarps.

newguy18

I can rake about 1/4 of an acre in one hour Ken,but like i said before,i'll be picking up some tarps.

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Tree Machine

I've posted this tarp clip somewhere before. This one isn't a time-lapse, it's real -time video, unedited. 25 seconds

It's just above the meg size limit, so it had to be uploaded to a server. It will stream, you don't need to download it.
Here it is.

aphid

i like the plywood idea. problem is the groundies have got the whole world figured out and dislike change yet alone having to put one more thing on the truck at the end of the day. when i work with someone who is cutting up wood that makes alot of dust is stay one cut behind with a manure shovel, rake,and garbage can.that way the dust doesn't get stomped in the ground or drug all over the place. rough cleaning the area before the log is pulled over is a big help.

Therrin

As far as I'm concerned...when the groundies work for me, they do as I direct them to do. They may not always like it, but there's usually a leading reason behind it all that I'm working from that they may not see, and they'll have to trust me when it comes to that stuff.

Groundies who work hourly often tend to make things last a bit longer then they really need to, whereas I try to spend as little time on-site as possible. It's a constant balancing act trying to keep newbie groundies working hard. After a while they eventually figure out that the less time we spend on-site, true, the fewer hours they put in, but when they make ME happy, I'm more inclined to make THEM happy via bonuses and such.

Daniel Janjic

That's a sweet clip, wish I did that yesterday, I wouldn't have had to go back today to clean up!

I often use the blower-vac without the bag on to blow chips etc into already mulched areas and beds, moves some sawdust too! Just be sure the wind is blowing the right way and no-one has their washing out!

Ericlav27

I like to use one of the cheap combo leaf blower / vac mulchers to suck up the large piles of sawchips ( i will eventually get the sh 86ce) and then just blow the rest down with a stihl br600. All my customers are amazed at how clean it is when I'm done and many times have heard that they can't even tell a tree was taken down.

Tree Machine

Good on you, Ericlav! That's the kind of reaction to strive for- working above and beyond the expectations of your clients. Two things are certain to happen here. 1) They're going to happily cut you a check, satisfied that you did what you said you'd do, and more. 2) If one of their friends says to them, "I need some tree work, do you know anybody?" they're not only going to mention your name, but they'll elaborate on why hey think so much of you.

You're setting the bar high for your own self, but that's OK, as long as any employee is aware of where that bar is. Sometimes employees have their own idea of where the bar is, so this might take some explaining.

But they'll fall in. They have to. As Therrin pointed out, "...when the groundies work for me, they do as I direct them to do. They may not always like it, but there's usually a leading reason behind it all that I'm working from that they may not see, and they'll have to trust me when it comes to that stuff." Otherwise you do them a favor and let them go find another job more in line with their choice in level of excellence and quality. Quality is a choice.

YOU set the bar, referrals expect that level in advance, you perform in accordance because that's your way of being. Your standard is higher than your clients, consistently. Providing quality becomes easy because it's all you do. That's how to develop a reputation and a strong referring clientele. This helps greatly in ensuring your future.

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Tree Machine

AHHhhhh, but I digress. This thread isn't about your career and creating an ever-expanding, spontaneous, willing and free marketing alliance. Its about sawdust cleanup.

Even so, there's a stronger link between the two than you might think. we'd just have to assume if you're focussing on the sawdust, that all the other cleanup details have been taken care of.

Getting back to Eric's earlier comment Aside from using tarps, or plywood, if there is one more solid piece of advice that could be given, regarding speeding your way through a cleanup, is to get the most powerful backpack blower you can afford. If you can only afford the second most powerful blower, beg, borrow or steal the remaining dough and get the most powerful one.

If you're convinced that an exceptional cleanup will seal the deal on that client being fully satisfied and a reliable referrer, then the backpack blower is the centerpiece of consistent, thorough cleanups. You just use the tarps to deal with the bigger stuff, and the blower to detail the smaller stuff. With tarps, the bigger stuff goes really quick because you can move piles of stuff en masse. It also keeps sawdust and sticks from ever touching covered areas of lawn, offering less overall area to clean up.

For the outskirts, walks, driveway, porches, street, roof, gutters the power blower is essential.

Here's the Stihl BR 600 at 64.8 cc :


Echo PB 755 at 63.3 cc:



Redmax EBZ8001 at 71.9 cc YOW!

TrevMcRev

Hey has anyone tried this new weapon against sawdust

It mounts on the stihl combi system engine that some may already have for pole pruner & hedge trimmers.

When set up the thing looks like a bazooka and is meant to outperform regular & i think backback blowers too.

Cheap if you already run a combi.

Only about $200 here in Oz so about $20 in the US

fatdog

Tree Mach, that is a good clip. Think tomorrow I'll be picking up a couple of
bigger tarps.

Tree Machine

Looking back, I've tried a lot of different types of tarps, and different sizes.
My preferences have changed over time, always looking for a better setup.

When I say 'setup' I simply mean the combination of tarp sizes, weights (light vs heavy duty) and even color. If say you have three different sizes, if they are all of a different color it eases confusion with your ground staff. I remember once running 4 different sizes, all heavy duty silver. "Grab me the third biggest....."

Your smallest tarps, the 6x8's might as well be the common, light duty blue. These you can get at the dollar store. These are very handy for dragging around to get small piles, pulling alongside a log being bucked up to catch sawdust (just don't suck it up into your saw ), alongside the stump for the big cuts or spilling the final remaining crap from off a bigger tarp to liberate it. Or under your leaky rig to prevent oil drips. The small tarp, full of sawdust or small crap can be lifted, entire contents all at once into the back of the truck----or into the chipper, but this is the part of the load that will often contain foreign material like gravel.



Next size up, 8x10, very handy size, can be used instead of the smaller ones altogether. You can go light duty or heavy duty on these, I recommend heavier duty especially if you plan to skid (drag) loads (which you inevitably will). I wouldn't be without these.

Then your big tarps. You can go moderately big, 18x24 and roll with two of them, or have one big 30x40. Each has advantages and disadvantages with regards to one another, but mostly advantages in the sense of their use.



I like the 18x24s, I almost always use them in pairs, and stow them together, folding the two atop one another as if it were one single tarp. This can be done solo, whereas the 30x40 may be a better overall performer, but cost is higher and you almost definitely need two guys to fold it up. The 18x24 can be used half-folded and become a double weight 9x24, like the one in the picture above. This is sweet for that tight space in between a house and fence. These medium-big ones have become my steady-eddies---- unless the weather is so hot that a lawn might get fried, or if its really windy.

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southsoundtree

I've bought mine at Home Depot. The brown and silver heavy duty tarps are miles ahead of the blue and silver regular duty ones.

I like the 10x12 at the minimum. Bigger is better. Maybe label all the corners on both sides with the size using spray paint/ large sharpie/ magic marker.

Sam Beazley

im in the process of buying a new blower now since my old one has just died and i was wondering out of the Echo Stihl or Tanaka blowers which one would u recommend? im only looking at a hand held blower. thanks

newguy18

Husky man, buy a stihl or husky. period.

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Joshua Rugg

i dont like stihls blowers. i dunno why but our landscaping company has gone through like 4 in he past 3 years. 3 BR550's and one BR600. i have a grey model echo from the 90s and it fires up on the first pull!

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Drouin Tree Service

Shindiawa make good blowers,powerful.

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Apocalypsse

What gets you a better result though? Normal blower or one that vacuums as well?

Sam Beazley

i say a normal blower would

KevinE

The vacuums are painful to use & the debris gets sucked through the plastic impeller, reducing the life of the unit.

KevinE

The new Stihl blowers (BG86) aren't near as good as the old ones were (BG85). On paper they are supposed to put out more air volume, but running them side by side quickly dispels that myth! Also, the carb return spring broke on 3 out of 4 purchased within 6 months of use & you can't buy it as a spare part, you have to buy the whole carb The air filter covers fall off & you can't just pull off the tube to store it in a small toolbox with the engine along side.

I'm trialling a new 4 stroke Makita hand held blower ATM; so far, I'd say it's heavy, but you'd expect that from a 4 stroke. It starts easily & idles well. No need to constantly re-tune like a 2 stroke. It's much, much quieter too. Cost $279, which is quite reasonable. I'll see how it goes!

Kawasaki make a really good small backpack blower, very light & reliable. Much easier to use than any other backpack blower I've used.