I need to trim off some broken limbs 8-10 inches in diameter that broke off from the wind last week. I can handle the lower ones with my reciprocating saw. What's the best way to attack the ones 8-10 feet off the ground? I want to stay away from pole saws and chain saws.
I'm thinking about fastening my recip saw to a piece of 2x2 aluminum angle aluminum. I'm a metal fab guy, and by I mean bolted and supported properly with metal brackets, not fastened with duct tape.
But I would rather have something specifically made for occasional homeowner use on limbs.
Anyway, any other ideas besides these that you have used for occasional homeowner trimming?
- manual pole saw (i.e., a regular saw on the end of a long pole)
- a small (typ electric) motorized saw on the end of a long pole
- a remotely driven (motor at the user end of the pole) chain saw
All suffer from the "remoteness" aspect -- you're trying to position and control a cutting element many feet distant from your "actuators" (arms).
All also suffer from a typical naivite of operation that typically leads to "torn" limbs or "collateral damage" (from the saw's continued, but undesired, action after the limb has been severed).
The "motorized saw on pole" is often unwieldy -- too much mass on too long of a lever arm. I suspect your sawzall-on-a-pole would suffer a similar fate. Your arms get REALLY tired, REALLY fast when working above your head/shoulders.
For small limbs, I like a manual pole saw as I can be much more precise in the amount of "damage" I do to the living tree in the process.
For large limbs, an OVERLY LONG motorized trimmer (so I can hold the bulk of the weight down at waist level instead of overhead).
For really high limbs, I hire a monkey to do the work for me. (there are other, safer, ways I can save money than climbing a large tree just to lop off a branch!)
I had a whole tree like that a couple summers ago. It was still attached at the ground, but 25 feet of trunk went over my back yard, about 8 to 9 feet high.
Well sure. I only owned a small electric chain saw because one was for sale at a yard sale, but I've used it a lot. They're now designed so both hands have to be where they are safe, and if you put safe holding first, and safe climing the ladder a step or two second, I don't think you'll have more trouble than I did.
I spent quite some time deciding where to cut first, so when cut one half of the trunk wouldn't spring up out of my reach, and the other half wouldn't fall down on my bushes.
I have an aluminum 6' step ladder and only had to go up two steps if I also held the saw above my head. 4 steps, I could have held the saw straight out, but the first choice seemed better. If I had someone to hold the ladder, maybe it woudl have been the second choice. .
The saw I happened to buy is one size larger than the one that comes with a pole attachment. In fact the handles are the same and I could attach this one to a pole, but I don't own the pole and it would really be too heavy as Don writes below. I did borrow it once from the friend of a friend, so that's how I know.
Not only that, but I woudlnt' be surprised if the blade stops in the wood and the rest of the saw goes back and forth instead.
Since a chain saw goes only in one direction, pulling the saw away from you, you just have to hold it back and it cuts.
I was not clear. I said I had my arms over my head, but they were also in front of me. Maybe philo woudln't like that either. with a ten-foot ladder, I definitely would have climbed higher and held the saw straight out.
The OP doesn't need a pole saw if they are only 8 to 10 feet high, unless he has no ladder at all.
I took down a 40' fichus tree in pieces because there was no room to just drop it. I got a big articulated man lift and cut from the top down. It was really pretty easy and I never felt like I was in any danger.
I took down a 30+ foot cherry tree, all except the bottom 4 feet or so of trunk drom the top dwn with my wimpy electric pole saw and an 8 foot step ladder, and without setting foot in the tree.
Probably no comparison, but years ago we moved into our current house and it had a row of 4 foot holly bushes that we hated in front of the porch. All I had was a pair of rose clippers, and I took down the entire row of holly bushes one branch at a time with those rose clippers. It took me several days to do it all, though.
My wife took out about 100 square feet of Brazilian Peppers with her electric chain saw. It took a chipper guy a half a day to chip it all up after we dragged it around front.
I have an aluminum logger's gaff about 20 feet long. I duct taped a trimming saw onto the end and used it to trim some high branches. That was three years ago and my shoulder still hurts. The joints apparently didn't like the angle of the force.
I got an electric trimming chainsaw on the end of a pole. It's extremely unwieldy because the motor is on the end of the pole. You need to cut the branch from the top side. But you can't do that with a typical pole saw. When you cut from the side, the chain binds up as the branch bends.
I'd recommend one with the motor on the close end of the pole and a shaft that runs the saw on the far end.
You can buy a chain with a rope on each end. You throw it over the branch and pull on the ends to saw the limb. I figgered it wouldn't work, but I found one at a garage sale and tried it. I was right. It's impossible to make the chain saw. All you do is pull on the limb and it flexes down. You can have mine for free if you climb the tree and get it unstuck from the tree.
If you can climb up the tree...and have all the safety gear to do so, you can cut limbs from above. My problem was that all the ones that needed trimming would have to be cut from below. I wouldn't risk that.
Then there are the limbs that would crash on the house if you cut at the trunk. You'd need to climb out on the limb and cut it into multiple chunks. I decided it was better to risk a limb falling on the house than me falling on the ground.
I did one stupid thing. I leaned my longest extension ladder against a limb and proceeded to cut off the far end. When the branch fell, the limb flexed up and off the end of the ladder. I was extremely lucky that there was another limb close enough to catch the ladder. I'd thought about the problem beforehand, but seriously underestimated how far the limb would flex.
I guess, in your case, it depends on how far from the trunk you need to cut and how big is the piece that falls off.
10 feet isn't very high. You can do that with a stepladder and a rope thrown over a higher limb to stabilize you. Or lash your ladder to the tree on the side opposite the cut.
BEST alternative is to call a tree service. I accosted one doing some work in the neighborhood. He said, that tree in that location ain't gonna be a problem. But He'd trim it for $400 if I wanted, plus another fee to haul away the wood. I'm not gonna climb a 60' tree. I'm not gonna spend $400 to trim a tree that the expert says ain't gonna be a problem. Fingers crossed...
I'd never heard of an articulated man lift before, but I see that's what they call them. I have a 35' pine that is dying. If I can't save it ?? I will have to cut it down too. The land is sloped a little and I'm guessing you were able to borrow yours because with rental and delivery, $4-500 ?? , it might be no more to pay a tree service to do the whole job.
How did you do this?
This sounds good if I could do it. How did you cut the trunk with a pole saw. At an angle? And it fell where you wanted it to?
If I could get my tree to fall anywhere within a 60^ angle, at most it would break a fence rail and a few pickets. I got a much smaller tree to fall within 2 inches of where I planned.
I've learned a lot about cutting trees since I started heating with wood . I attach a rope or chain as high as I can get , tie the other end to a cable hoist or block and tackle that's attached to the bottom of another tree . Put tension on the tree towards where you want it to fall and put a notch
1/3 to 1/2 way thru on that side . Cut straight across from the notch , tightening your pull as you get deeper into the cut . I've had a couple that didn't fall exactly where I wanted them , but most land within a foot or so of the target area . My biggest problem has been the trees hanging up on other trees on the way down . I've got a couple that need to come down where I'm going to build our bedroom , shoulda taken them before I built the living room ...
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