Muddymike wrote:

"Brian Mitchell" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have a line of leylandii very close to the house (like, seven
feet)
which I need to fell and then reduce. I presume this is a
supposed hedge
that got out of control and the average size is now 20+ feet
high and
10" diameter (chest height).

I'm thinking of getting an electric chainsaw for this, since
the job is
close to the house and I think an electric one might be more
manageable
up a ladder than a petrol-driven one, but I would welcome any
experienced advice on chainsaws in general, electric ones in
particular,
and brands. I'd also quite like to know how *small* a diameter
of branch
it's feasible to cut with one.

I use one I bought from B&Q about 10 years ago. Its on its third
chain and still working well. I have cut down large leylandii
with it and found the best method is to cut off as many branches
as you can reach from the ground first. Then cut the tree at
waist level, before trimming off the remaining branches. Cutting
them down is the easy bit, its clearing up afterwards that's hard
work.

Exactly our experience with our Leylandii, biggest we cut down was
around 50' high and 18" diameter. Don't try and reach *too* high
cutting branches before felling the tree, the 'rule of thumb' safety
rule is that you shouldn't try and cut above shoulder height with a
chainsaw.

If you want to be really sure which way the tree falls (i.e. if it
must avoid falling in some directions) use a rope plus a vehicle of
some sort to guide it in the right direction after cutting the classic
'notch and slot' to create a hinge.

I quite agree that most of the hard work is cutting it up after
felling. By the way I have found that cutting into 'log lengths'
directly off the felled tree is easier than cutting off big branches
and then chopping them up. This isn't possible for every branch of
course because some are inaccessible on the felled tree.

Remember to think about 'stored energy' in the felled tree, don't just
cut branches at random without thinking where they will go if/when
they straighten and also if the trunk/bulk of the tree will move.

--
Chris Green