Pole saw question

[manfred]

Hello guys!
I have a couple of trees I'd like down. I do cut trees and fairly often, I live on 100 acres of woods. These two ,however just could clip the house if things went wrong and this makes me sweat. Somewhere else , I'd just cut the darn things down. Know what I mean?
I had a tree man come out and lay one down for me last year. $400 and I can't gripe about the price. Now if I bought a pole saw (about $400) and cut these where they limbed out , I could then drop them without worry. (and have a nice little saw when I'm done.)
Question is, approx. 25 ft up and limb is 7 inch or so diameter. Can a pole saw do that?
Thanks in advance

 

[treeseer]

Yeah I just got a silky huayuchi and cut bigger branches that high up than that. It's not esy but it's possible.

The question is, will you sweat when the next tree back gets big enough to hit the house if it fails? And the next? It may be best to look at tree risk with more than removal as the solution for it.

 

[manfred]

I've got many thousands of trees. You are right about the next tree getting larger and then sweating that one. I left all these trees around the house when I built but they have grown and are worrying me and I cut the ones that I can handle.

 

[manfred]

Treeseer, this Silky Huayuchi you refered to, is it a gas powered saw or a hand held? I've never heard of this saw. I was thinking a gasoline powered saw such as a stihl pole saw but I could see the advantage of a manual saw if one is available.

 

[kevinj]

That Silky is a very nice saw. It is not gas powered though. I believe it can extend to 21 ft. I have an electric one now, but someday would like to get a Silky. I could be wrong, but it seems that Stihl could be top heavy. Maybe not. And it won't reach as high either. Silky runs about $ 250.00. Let us know what you decide. They are sponsors here. Find them on the home page.

 

[Pollock777]

pole saw

I have 3 stihl pole saws extended I think there close to 12ft. plus you holding it gives you 6 or7 more.And they are gas powered $469 or $529 I don't remember it's been 2or3 -yrs. works great will cut the full 12" of the bar and then some I have cut some big lower limbs going from side to side. I hope this helps Pollock:biggrinbounce2:

 

[treeseer]

Treeseer, this Silky Huayuchi you refered to, is it a gas powered saw ?

Human-powered, much lighter than gas. kind of fun to use.

"I left all these trees around the house when I built but they have grown and are worrying me and I cut the ones that I can handle."

One view of tree risk assessment:

 

[Frank Boyer]

Hello guys!
I have a couple of trees I'd like down. I do cut trees and fairly often, I live on 100 acres of woods. These two ,however just could clip the house if things went wrong and this makes me sweat. Somewhere else , I'd just cut the darn things down. Know what I mean?
I had a tree man come out and lay one down for me last year. $400 and I can't gripe about the price. Now if I bought a pole saw (about $400) and cut these where they limbed out , I could then drop them without worry. (and have a nice little saw when I'm done.)
Question is, approx. 25 ft up and limb is 7 inch or so diameter. Can a pole saw do that?
Thanks in advance

I have the Stihl HT 101 with the 30 degree angle attachment. When you reach straight up the saw binds before the cut is done. Remember the the branch is coming down so plan to be out of the way. You can get 13 feet or so with the Stihl from the ground. It will cut a 10" branch with out a problem.

 

[Kate Butler]

pole saws

I've owned a Stihl (powered) polesaw for close to 10 years and LOVE IT! I also own a Silky Hayauchi and use it more than the Stihl for single cuts simply because it's WAY easier to setup and maneuver. Running a powered polesaw for hours at a time is really hard on the body - but a lot easier than doing the same number of cuts with a hand-powered saw.

It's a matter of 'the right tool for the job' - both are wonderful timesavers.

Unless you're planning on using a very tall ladder, the Stihl won't reach where you need it. I did a job once (and NEVER again) where I had to stand at the top of a 16' (custom built) tripod ladder to chunk out a large dead apple leader with the Stihl polesaw. It was too dead to climb and too close to powerlines to drop in one piece. Very scare-y.

 

[manfred]

Silky site

I tried the dealer locater thing. There are 2 dealers in my state and neither handle the kind of saw I need according to the website. I may call one of them and ask if they can special order.
On another note, the site had a bunch of ???? stuff some jerk kids had hacked ,I suppose. I was a little hesitant to log on there!

 

[Magnum783]

Go to Sherril or Wesspur or I think even Baileys they carry the saw and are more than happy to ship. Sherril is a sponser here and so baileys try those out rather than some little dealer who will have to order.
Jared

 

[911crash]

keep in mind when you cut with a power pruner the limb may not fall directly down if it hits tip first it might springboard.

 

[treeseer]

keep in mind when you cut with a power pruner the limb may not fall directly down if it hits tip first it might springboard.

good point, good reason to take in little pieces.

 

[Ekka]

Thanks Guy, that one was a keeper.

25' with gas powered? Not on ya Nelly!

And don't go thinking you can stand on a ladder with that gas powered saw either!

Hey, how about one of those saws on the stringy rope thing with 2 wooden handles. Do they work?

If it were me I'd just climb up there and whack it.

 

[treeseer]

Hey, how about one of those saws on the stringy rope thing with 2 wooden handles. Do they work?

I've used em, if you take small pieces you make smaller rips. But any saw you can't undercut with, you can't avoid ripping out part of the collar.

Eric thanks for the sig change, and dance for rain! I'd love to send you all the slush we're getting today. Ground was wet already; chipper truck made a real mess of a lawn yesterday, wet from previous rain.

 

[minderaser66]

i dont think you'll reach with a gas pole saw! but if you do buy one be careful, cutting over your head with those things is a little dangerous, they bind up when the branch starts to go. not to mention that you usually have to stand right under the branch to reach it.

 

[Kate Butler]

indeed!

i dont think you'll reach with a gas pole saw! but if you do buy one be careful, cutting over your head with those things is a little dangerous, they bind up when the branch starts to go. not to mention that you usually have to stand right under the branch to reach it.

There's a lot to be said for taking things out in smaller pieces with gas-powered pole saws. Sometimes the undercutting is awkward and must be approached from the exact opposite of the side you wish to cut from. If you 'chunk it out' it doesn't matter as much about the undercut - as long as the bar doesn't bind and you can keep the final cut from stripping its' bark.

Some types of palm fronds are real stinkers about binding when you're halfway through the cut. I often cut a small wedge for the first half - freeing the tension and then finish the cut. Works equally well on other sorts of horizontal wood.

 

[Frank Boyer]

There's a lot to be said for taking things out in smaller pieces with gas-powered pole saws. Sometimes the undercutting is awkward and must be approached from the exact opposite of the side you wish to cut from. If you 'chunk it out' it doesn't matter as much about the undercut - as long as the bar doesn't bind and you can keep the final cut from stripping its' bark.

Some types of palm fronds are real stinkers about binding when you're halfway through the cut. I often cut a small wedge for the first half - freeing the tension and then finish the cut. Works equally well on other sorts of horizontal wood.

The 30 degree angle head for the Stihl HT 101 makes a big difference on chain bind. It also allows for some undercutting. The closer to straight up and down the pole saw is, the closer you are to getting hit in the head with the branch that you are cutting! (Don't ask how I know.)

 

[(WLL)]

can u reach from the roof? just call a tree servise and make it easy and safe 4 u

 

[Tree Machine]

I had a tree man come out and lay one down for me last year. $400 and I can't gripe about the price. Now if I bought a pole saw (about $400) and cut these where they limbed out , I could then drop them without worry. (and have a nice little saw when I'm done.)

WLL, this is the reason he isn't doing what you suggest. He's already been there and done that.

First, not to be a stink about terminology, but things are called what they are called, and related, though different, tools different from one another are called something else. Here's a brief:

Pole saw- manually operated, saw blade mounted to a pole, whether internally extendable or extendable by adding pole sections.

Pole pruner- Bypass pruner head attached to a pole. Uses a length of rope (or better, webbing) to set the cutting head into motion.

Gas-powered pole saw- This term we understand and can differentiate from a 'pole saw' but is referred to, in our industry, as a 'power pruner' and also commonly referred to as a 'chainsaw on a stick'. It uses a chain, not a blade.

I'm assuming the thread poster is asking about a power pruner as he mentions a $400 price tag. Pole saws, even the very best, like the one treeseer uses, is well under $300. Power pruners are more around $600. There are some cheapies out there, like Remington, and are electric powered. My sister has one and uses it to remove palm fronds. I have used hers and comparing it to my gas-powered Echo, hers was lighter in weight, but lighter in power by a long shot- not important when all you're cutting is palm fronds, but I would kill it in a matter of hours doing the sorts of things treeguys do.