OT: seeking advice on manual pole saw options

[cityboy]

I have a lot of palm trees on my property and need to get a new extension pole saw.

Would like to get some opinions here on whether I should go with the 6' fiberglass sections, or with one of the aluminum telescoping models.

The fiberglass sections are cheaper, I can get 18' reach for about $135 at Bailey's, vs. $179 for a 21' Barnel aluminum. But the $45 isn't really an issue if the Bernal would work better.

I've heard a few complaints about once the aluminum sections get tweaked a bit they don't retract smoothly anymore. Would that be any concern to a homeowner that's not using it every day anyway? Also, no powerlines in the way, so no concern with electrical conductivity.

thanks for any advice you guys might have.

 

[Chud]

It's spendy, but the 21' Silky Hyauchi is the best.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Why a pole saw? This is what you need!

I have found the fiberglass saws to be a bit sturdier but also a tad heavier. As with any saw, keeping the blade sharp is paramount.

 

[oscar4883]

I have the 21 foot Barnell and it has been great. I drilled another set of holes in the handle so that I could avoid using it while it is only latched by the plastic catches. IMO most of the guys bending these alum. telescoping pole saws are rough on equipment. Plain old fiberglass extensions are affordable and take a beating for sure. Either one should serve you well. Keep in mind that using a pole saw at 18 or 21 foot is a true torture test. Around 15ft. or so I a going to climb, or use a ladder while being hooked fast with a safety lanyard. Whichever is safer/easier.

 

[cityboy]

I have the 21 foot Barnell and it has been great. I drilled another set of holes in the handle so that I could avoid using it while it is only latched by the plastic catches. IMO most of the guys bending these alum. telescoping pole saws are rough on equipment. Plain old fiberglass extensions are affordable and take a beating for sure. Either one should serve you well. Keep in mind that using a pole saw at 18 or 21 foot is a true torture test. Around 15ft. or so I a going to climb, or use a ladder while being hooked fast with a safety lanyard. Whichever is safer/easier.

Yeah, I've got a 12' one now and its getting just a tad short as the trees grow taller. 15-16' is probably all I really need, but since the 6' poles are the most common I figure I'll go for 3 of those and whenever I need more than 12' I'll be sure I have more than enough reach with 18'. The 21' Barnel is more reach than I'll ever need, but I can use it extended to something shorter most of the time. Regarding that, is it infinitely adjustable, or am I stuck with a few detents that limit which lengths it can be set to?? If my 3 choices with it are 7', 14' and 21' only, I'd like to know that before I buy.

So one question I was curious about is are the fiberglass poles any more rigid than the Barnel, or are they similar?? I know what you mean about using an 18' pole saw, so whichever one flexes less is probably the one I want to go with since I don't care about weight so much.

 

[oscar4883]

My telescoping saw is an ARS actually. Basically the same thing as the Barnell I think. It is infinitely adjustable but you end up putting a lot of stress on the plastic catches IMO. That is why I added an extra set of holes for the detent buttons. I use it just on the plastic catches but usually for lighter limbs. As far as the flexing issue, at that height they will both have a good amount of flex. My guess if he alum. might flex a little more. If I get a chance tomorrow I will do a side by side comparison. The fiberglass poles are very good if you go that route. They take a beating for sure.

 

[krafty427]

i use the 21ft silky hayauchi myself and like the reach and mid range of it. it is a bit heavy but you cant beat the grip area on it. the price is up there and i would flip the bill to also get the hook accs.for it.

 

[imagineero]

I used to have a 16' heavy duty extendable paint pole that I made up an adapter to take the head off a silky hayauchi. I used it every day as a full time tree worker. It had only one extendable section, so when collapsed it was 8' long which may be a bit long but I found it great. The extension was easy to use and surprisingly stiff and light. The silky head is incredible and well worth the money. After a year of heavy use I was taking out a heavy long limb with it and got the head caught up in the branch trying to push it round. I snapped the pole.

I looked at the Hayauchi which is excellent and highly expensive in australia. They are very heavy though, and not any stiffer than the cheap light heavy duty paint pole I had. I ended up going with 8' sections of the yellow fibreglass poles, because I already had a big shot head with one pole. I got 3 poles, and a hook attachment and a bull lopper. The poles are about $100 each over here. They are heavy, and I found it near impossible to use 3 together. 2 is quite usable. the 6 foot and 4 foot poles are not as stiff. The fibreglass poles take a lot of abuse. They are great for working round powerlines.

I've had my poles about 8 months now. I think next time I'll buy another paint pole. The bull lopper has seen very little use. The hook has been fantastic. I often have 16' with a hook, and another guy on a 16' with the saw. One guy can cut while the other pulls or pushes the branch around. This is a brilliant, safe and quick method of small time domestic power line clearance. Our domestic powerlines are coated in aus. Anything over 16', I climb. Palms especially.

Shaun

 

[cityboy]

I used to have a 16' heavy duty extendable paint pole that I made up an adapter to take the head off a silky hayauchi. I used it every day as a full time tree worker. It had only one extendable section, so when collapsed it was 8' long which may be a bit long but I found it great. The extension was easy to use and surprisingly stiff and light. Shaun

Funny you should mention that, I had the same option available to me. I have a 16' pole in two sections that I use for sweeping the pool. At the full 16' extension its a bit flimsy, but at 14.5-15' its as stiff as the fiberglass poles. I tried attaching it to a Jameson head, it slid in a little but it was just a bit too large in diameter. I was able to force it on, but only 1/2" to 1". I would have had to hog out the head a little bit to get them to mate smoothly, but it probably would have worked, and would have been easy enough to do. Instead I just said screw it and bought a 6' Jameson with the head attached, and another 8' extension. I don't think I'll need more than 14' anyway, so this way I know it will work and is designed for the job. After hearing your story I bet the other arrangement would have worked OK too, it sounds like exactly what you had.

 

[scottr]

Hey Cityboy, I bought a Corona pole saw blade from Bailey's and used two 5' aluminum antenna poles to make a light strong pole saw. The tail on the blade was the same width as the outside diameter of the aluminum antenna pole. Just had to cut a slot in the pole and file it a little to the correct width then drill the two holes for the bolts .