None of the above ... stupidity . I do a lot of what a lot of people would consider "high risk" activities . Cutting down 50' oak trees , roofing a
6/12 pitch roof alone , disagreeing with my wife (she can shoot ...) and I can say that it's all in the prep . Take care in the setup and check everything twice and you can do it safely .
While I enjoy a lot of DIY, as I get older for some projects I find it is easier and safer to write a check.
Right. "A man's got to know his limitations." - Dirty Harry Callahan
If you're in a situation where you ask yourself, do I need a stepladder, or can I get by without it? Do yourself a favor and get the stepladder.
One year after Christmas I was taking down decorations and asked myself that very question. I told myself, you don't need no stinking stepladder. I climbed on the couch, and while balancing on the arm and back, suddenly found myself falling backwards on top of the coffee table. As I was falling the thought crossed my mind, is this how I'm going to die? It wasn't very bad, I limped around for a few days and got over it. Now I get the stepladder out for even minor projects.
If I was going to buy another one, I would get an electric. I had one about 50 years ago for about ten years, then "upgraded" to a gas powered, gave away the electric one, and haven't been happy since, except for not needing a long, long, long, long extension cord.
Do you go up near the top and cut pieces off a few feet at a time, or do you cut the whole thing down at once?
How about standing on a desk chair to change a light bulb on the ceiling. A reclining, rotating desk chair on wheels. I keep doing it, but maybe I'll stop.
Or standing on the bed to change another light bulb. That's easier but not that easy.
It depends on the tree and what it's next to but usually I do the whole tree . I'm neither as agile or brave as I once was ...
When there is power and gravity involved anyone can get hurt. Getting old just compounds the problem. OTOH with age comes wisdom and you should become more careful.
That basically describes me too.
Hi,
First, much thanks for all the really good advice.
Frankly, never thought of an "electric," but will undoubtedly be the way to go.
Question. If I get the Battery operated kind, and the battery runs down during usage, can I run an extension cord to it, then, and use it as the battery is being charged (in the saw) ?
Or, must the battery and its charger, be used external to the saw, and the saw is useless until the battery is recharged ?
Thanks, bob
Sue the sofa manufacturer. They should have put warning labels on the arm rests.
That usually depends on the location of the tree. In the middle of the forest, just cut and drop. The tree in front of my hose could either go into the house or the wires on the street. That came down in sections.
Usually the battery slides out and goes into a charger. Stihl says 50 minutes of cutting on a charge. You can buy spare batteries too.
Bob-
I purchased a DeWalt kit that included a reciprocating saw. It uses the newer 20 Volt "Max" batteries that do not self-discharge, and came with two. The charger it came with is the rapid charging model. One battery can be on charge while using the other.
I use the reciprocating saw with a pruning blade for small stuff. The chain saw can cut larger branches and is faster, but bar oil is messy.
Fred
If I have a battery operated tool, I always make sure it comes with 2 batteries. Don't be surprised if extra battery costs $50. Think I mentioned that I had a string trimmer and hedge clipper set that came with 2 batteries and charger but when both batteries failed it would have cost $100 to replace them which is all I paid for the whole set. I hated to throw out two good tools because of this.
Can't recall any tool you could use and recharge during use except maybe laptop computer.
So both of you say the same thing. How do you each climb a tall tree to cut it down in sections? I have a 40 foot pine in my front yard that seems to have died, and it could hit my house or my n'bor's if it fell wrong. If not that might hit his fence (and will very likely hit my fence, but that's not a problem becuase I replace parts of that all the time.)
I dunno, but I thought you could never get the kind of power out a battery tool that you get from 110vac. I have a small yard, I admit it, but use an electric lawnmower now and weedwacker and hedgetrimmer and chainsaw, and I leave the 100' extension cord lying in the grass when I'm not using it, in the rain and in the snow. I try to move it every 4 or 5 days or it might leave a line in the grass, and sometimes the grass grows enough that I can barely find the cord. I've tripped the breaker at most once in 15 years, but that could have been for another reason. For several years I even had 10 feet of a flimsy extension cord between the wall and the good extension cord and the Black and Decker lawn mower didn't seem to go any slower, though it did wear out in about 5 years (It was owned before), don't remember how.
Did you see my post about finding it easier to write checks at times? That is how I took my tree down. $300
There is climbing equipment that young agile folks can use. He threw a weight tied to a string over a branch. Then he pulled a rope with it. Then he tied himself to the rig and "walked" up the tree with spikes strapped to his legs. That was a skinny guy in his 30s. Older fat guys use a bucket truck.
Sometimes they get smart if they live long enough. I remember when I was about 10 a man talked me into strapping on some tree climbing spikes and going up a tree that was about 3 feet or more across at the bottom. No rope or any other thing, Just walked up the tree as he was telling me how to do it. Not bad going up, but I did not like comming down. I was probably 50 feet up in the tree when I started down. Last time I tried climbing a tree with spikes on.
Now while I am in good helth at 66 I don't go up extension ladders even though I have one that is about a 22 footer. Not afraid of heights, but from the time I was about 22 and went up the first one, I could not help but think it would come out from under me. Just to show that I am not afraid of heights if I believe in what I am standing on, I did put up a
60 foot ham radio tower by doing all the tower work myself about 10 years ago. I have been up it a few times after that.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.