New Toy: Stihl KM 130 R, Any Hints and Tips for Pole Sawing?

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Jarh73

ArboristSite Member
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Location
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Haven't posted for a while, been busy with our new home, I needed a new whipper snipper/line trimmer and with our bush block a pole pruner might come in mighty handy!

So I bought a Stihl KM 130 R, possibly overkill but the price was right as they had a one day 15% sale.

I have read a bit about using a pole saw and it seems they are quite easy to get pinched when cutting, which makes perfect sense.

At this stage I will only be working from ground level but will hire a cherry picker to get the higher branches at some stage soon.

So I'm just after hints and tips from people with pole saw experience.

Cheers

Justin
 
Good eyewhere is handy as lots of chips fall straight for you face, its like eyes/face become a chip magnet. That km130 should be nice, l have a Solo polesaw and think the torque of the 4 mix engine will help make cuts when resting the chain on a branch. Polesaws rock and you will find yourself using it a lot! Very handy tool
especially when you can use it as a brushcutter, hedge trimmer,blower ect. Good fuel/mix and correctly tuned will do the trick.
 
My 130 is the nicest machine of any kind i have ever used. Got it a few years ago. Got the polesaw stuck once in a small tree, and was left with the powerhead& and extension in my hand. Had to cut the tree at the base just enough that i could slowly pull the tree down with a rope. Twas a cluster****. I plan to get it stuck again because i'm strongly opposed to learning.
 
Thanks for the replies!

Rang council regarding tree clearing permits for my proposed second driveway and turns out no permits for anything within 4 meters of the boundary. Exactly enough room for the driveway!

Cheers

Justin
 
Don't stand under the cut. Even wearing a proper helmet won't help much.
 
Forestry helmet with visor down and safety glasses. Undercut then cut through from the top. It takes a lot longer to clean up the mess than to make it.
 
When trimming overhead, try to get near the same elevation as your cut. Anything you can do to get the guide bar level to make the cuts horizontal will dramatically help. People get one of these, stand under the branch then cut sides of limb and wonder why it pinches. The laws of gravity don't change just because you've got and extension. Let us know how the trimming goes and post some pics.
 
The best tip i was given a few years back is when removing limbs cut small sections at a time it gives way better control than trying to cut it in one go.

When trimming overhead, try to get near the same elevation as your cut. Anything you can do to get the guide bar level to make the cuts horizontal will dramatically help. People get one of these, stand under the branch then cut sides of limb and wonder why it pinches. The laws of gravity don't change just because you've got and extension. Let us know how the trimming goes and post some pics.


Both of the above are good advice.

I cut the limb off in 1/3rds.

The closer you get to vertical increases the probability of pinching the bar which can bend the drive shaft and the limb falling on you.
 
Very important to under cut before cutting the limb off. Otherwise, the bark will peel back to the stem and the limb will hang up.


I second this, very important. I have the regular HT130 pole saw
 
I'm in no rush but I noticed that in the Stihl catalogue they have an angled gearbox that seems ideal for ground level cutting.

But it's not listed on the Australian website.

I suppose the angled gearbox is subject to how much cutting I actually do.

What are others thoughts on the angled gearbox?

Cheers

Justin
 
The amount of pull these saws have is amazing. I'd skip the angled gear head.

STIHL KM 130 R with HT-KM TORQUE MONSTER!:
 
The amount of pull these saws have is amazing. I'd skip the angled gear head.

STIHL KM 130 R with HT-KM TORQUE MONSTER!:

Ummmmm Hell Yeah!!!

I'm seriously surprised at how hard it pulled into that log.

The Stihl dealer did say it has heaps of grunt and I wouldn't be dissapointed.

Thanks for posting.

Cheers

Justin
 
I'm in no rush but I noticed that in the Stihl catalogue they have an angled gearbox that seems ideal for ground level cutting.

But it's not listed on the Australian website.

I suppose the angled gearbox is subject to how much cutting I actually do.

What are others thoughts on the angled gearbox?

Cheers

Justin



I have not used one with an angled gear box, but from the experience I do have think they would work better.

FWIW, on really high branches, I use my 6' & 10' Stoke's orchard ladder set off to the side to get the saw more horizontal.
 
Efco has the only polesaw on the market with a rotating gear box.

What i have learned is that it is often easier to cut larger branches 5-10inches away from the trunk the first time and then "nicely" trim the stump.

7
 
Efco has the only polesaw on the market with a rotating gear box.

What i have learned is that it is often easier to cut larger branches 5-10inches away from the trunk the first time and then "nicely" trim the stump.

7


A 5-10" branch has way to much leverage and weight and the possibility of a pinch really goes up. When the bar is pinched it can come down and bend the drive shaft on the pole saw. This was a $500 lesson my neighbor learned. I still cut big branches in 1/3rds to avoid this. You are correct though, cutting a short distance from the trunk and make a nice cut being careful not to get into the branch collar.
 
I have the same set up, plus the extension. I use it pretty extensively trimming field edges at our farm. All good advice above. I really recommend a helmet with a face shield since wood chips belong on the ground and not in your face.
 

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