I'm a homeowner who is doing his best to eradicate the buckthorn on his property but my methods have been slow and clumsy, so I'm here to ask if there are other, better tools to help me in my fight. Another reason for my post is that over the weekend, 2 of my old, homeowner level saws decided they were not going to run, so I might spend a little time tuning them but I'm getting to the point of working on them more than I run them; might be time for something new.
A decent amount of the buckthorn on my property is small that can be handled by a blade on my trimmer, but a lot of it is big (2-6" in diameter) that requires some type of saw. I was using an old top handle 30cc Homelite or my old 32cc Poulan to prune the trees down to nothing to get rid of them. My 3rd saw is a Poulan Pro 5020; I know there is a lot of hate for the Poulan's around here but that is what I could afford at the time and actually runs pretty well. But it is too big for most of what I have to do. These bigger trees are highly branched with multiple trunks, and many of them are overrun with wild grape vines so I am trying to clean up quite the intertwined mess.
When I had all of my trouble over the weekend, I thought that a new chainsaw in the 25-35cc range was in order. I want something small and light that I can get into the thick brush and make my cuts. I've read several threads regarding the guidance and disagreements over top-handle saws being used on the ground. I'm not ruling out a top-handle out yet, but I'm focused on rear handle saws or other solutions. Then I began to think that maybe a pole saw/pruner is really my answer:
- I can reach above my head safely
- I can stand away from the chunk of canopy or trunk that I'm cutting, so I'm not having everything drop on my head
- I could cut the grape vines up higher to help pieces of the tree fall
- No concerns with kickback (that I'm aware of)
- Other benefits I'm not considering?
A new, small chainsaw would have more overall utility, but I have plenty of buckthorn to justify the cost of a power pole saw (if that is the best choice). If I could only buy one for my purposes, should a pole saw be my focus or a small, more reliable chainsaw? A manual pole saw and a chainsaw are possible, but 2 pieces of power equipment are not within budget. I've used a low-end manual pole saw before and did not care for it. I've never used a power pole saw before or a higher end, manual pole saw.
Ideally this is what I need (forestry cutter on skid steer) but I do have enough of this stuff growing in areas that you would not be able to get a skid steer into (other side of a stream, wet areas) to warrant some manual removal.
Thanks!
A decent amount of the buckthorn on my property is small that can be handled by a blade on my trimmer, but a lot of it is big (2-6" in diameter) that requires some type of saw. I was using an old top handle 30cc Homelite or my old 32cc Poulan to prune the trees down to nothing to get rid of them. My 3rd saw is a Poulan Pro 5020; I know there is a lot of hate for the Poulan's around here but that is what I could afford at the time and actually runs pretty well. But it is too big for most of what I have to do. These bigger trees are highly branched with multiple trunks, and many of them are overrun with wild grape vines so I am trying to clean up quite the intertwined mess.
When I had all of my trouble over the weekend, I thought that a new chainsaw in the 25-35cc range was in order. I want something small and light that I can get into the thick brush and make my cuts. I've read several threads regarding the guidance and disagreements over top-handle saws being used on the ground. I'm not ruling out a top-handle out yet, but I'm focused on rear handle saws or other solutions. Then I began to think that maybe a pole saw/pruner is really my answer:
- I can reach above my head safely
- I can stand away from the chunk of canopy or trunk that I'm cutting, so I'm not having everything drop on my head
- I could cut the grape vines up higher to help pieces of the tree fall
- No concerns with kickback (that I'm aware of)
- Other benefits I'm not considering?
A new, small chainsaw would have more overall utility, but I have plenty of buckthorn to justify the cost of a power pole saw (if that is the best choice). If I could only buy one for my purposes, should a pole saw be my focus or a small, more reliable chainsaw? A manual pole saw and a chainsaw are possible, but 2 pieces of power equipment are not within budget. I've used a low-end manual pole saw before and did not care for it. I've never used a power pole saw before or a higher end, manual pole saw.
Ideally this is what I need (forestry cutter on skid steer) but I do have enough of this stuff growing in areas that you would not be able to get a skid steer into (other side of a stream, wet areas) to warrant some manual removal.
Thanks!
