On 12/28/2011 11:06 PM, FredAt wrote:
Hello All,

I need to cut four small hazelnut trees growing on an embankment near my
house. From what I can judge they are around 2-3m in height and the
thickest branches are around 30-40mm in diameter.

I have never done this kind of thing before and had even contemplated
the risky idea of climbing on to the embankment to cut them! Then I saw
a pole saw in my local hardware store by accident and that set me on the
right track.

However, I still remain a novice here. The choice of pole saws appears
bewildering. There are manual ones with blades that look absolutely
deadly, corded and corded electric versions as well as petrol driven
ones (which I would not want to use). The cheapest manual saws are
quite cheap (the right side of £50) and the cheapest electric ones are
not that much more expensive.

What are the dos and donts that I need to be aware of here? Do manual
saws really work or is it worth spending a bit more to avoid the grunt
work and danger and get an electric one instead? If so, what are the
features to look for?

As you can see - a novice. Any help would be much appreciated.




It is not clear whether your intent is to cut down the trees in question
entirely or simply to prune them. Either way, if these trees are the sole
reason for buying the saw then I'd skip the purchase entirely and pay
someone to whack them. Surely there is someone in your vicinity with the
requisite skills (minimal) and the desire for a quick fifty quid (great)
willing to put in the hour's work.

Of course if your saw need is driven by other trimming jobs and these are
not numerous and the trees are not large then a high-quality manual pole
saw will probably suffice. I've been using a Fiskars extendible saw/pruner
for more than ten years now with good results. The one I have is like this

http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Yar...t.-Tree-Pruner

but it appears that it may not be sold in the UK (safety regulations?) or
maybe I'm simply misreading their website. The blade is wicked sharp and
the lopper works well up to its capacity. In any case something similar
from another maker would probably serve as well.