What Size Chainsaws Are IDEAL for Trimming Hedges??

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The problem with sickle bar hedge trimmers is the maximum size twig they will cut is pretty small, so if you are doing any deep trimming they don't work. There are special blades for trimmers that will do the job and chainsaws will as well but they are not for the faint of heart and you have to keep the chain tight or it will come off regularly.
At that point loppers or a hand saws should be used if cutting back past the foliage …unless it’s a rejuvenation prune. Then it’s time for a chains saw, other than that it will look like a hack did it.
 
Gotta have at least 6 cubic inches, for sure, Muff modded and some port work is what the pros do to their saws for Hedges, slotting the cam gear can get another whole HP of torque on the blades, and you can pull a 60". Sharpening them? Ya gotta hand file those bad boys with a 1.25 round file, its the only way. The guys that race Hot Trimmers will even square grind with 1.5 triangluar pattern filing, but they dull alot faster, but they are running jet fuel and alcohol at 16:1.......

What kind of hedge?
My wife laughs at 6 inches...
 
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At that point loppers or a hand saws should be used if cutting back past the foliage …unless it’s a rejuvenation prune. Then it’s time for a chains saw, other than that it will look like a hack did it.
Would you really want to trim a 1/4 mile of hedge with hand saws and loppers? How "hacky" the job looks depends on the skill of the hacker and some guys are REAL good with a chainsaw.
 
The problem with sickle bar hedge trimmers is the maximum size twig they will cut is pretty small...
An INCH diameter? (That's what my Poulan will cut, and I've done it many times, though it's less than ideal, since it needs to "gnaw" on it for a while ... I believe you want to keep the throttle way down when you do this, because there's some kind of clutch that allows the cutter shear to "stall" -- i.e., not make a complete reciprocation -- without stalling the engine...)

The main problem with sickle bar cutters, in my opinion, is that they tend to make users trim improperly. If you keep trimming and trimming to the same general shape and size, the stems keep splitting and splitting until you have a "balloon" of green on the outside that completely shades the interior of the bush/shrub/hedge, so it all dies inside from lack of light and ventilation and then it gets all ate up with aphids and the fungus that grows on the aphid honeydew...it all turns black...at that point the bush will be in pretty bad shape. You really need to go in and take off entire limbs from time to time to "thin out" the bush so that sunlight and fresh air can penetrate into the interior. (That's where a chainsaw can be handy, but ya gotta be careful -- twigs hitting the top of the tip of the bar can cause kickback, and as mentioned before, can cause the chain to come off, especially if the saw is turned on its side...)
 
This is a strange thread! Yes you can use a chainsaw to aggressively cut back an overgrown hedge and I do this regularly. Importantly this works when you are cutting a few feet of wood off not just leaves and sticks. As people say, there is an elevated risk that the chain could come off and you might be reaching or cutting in an odd way. So personally I'd want a small saw and chain (maybe 35 cc and 15 inch bar) and full PPE and thorn proof gloves. Check the chain tension regularly.
 
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