GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

David Hare-Scott[_2_] · 29-12-2011, 10:54 PM posted to rec.gardens

FredAt wrote:
John McGaw;945925 Wrote:
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

'12 ft. Tree Pruner / Yard and Garden / Products | Fiskars'
(http://tinyurl.com/cjltfyn)

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.

Thank you for the tip. I live in Luxembourg so the chances of getting
someone to do the job for me for 50 quid are next to negligible.
Multiply that by 5 and maybe... . That apart the trees are doing a
great job of stablizing the embankment so I want to leave them and
just prune them down. I had the job done 3 years ago when I had the
house built so I guess I need to repeat it on a 3 year cycle which is
why I thought of buying my own.

I have found Fiskars pole saws in my local DIY stores. Is it really
feasible to hold and manipulate a pole that is 2+m long?

yes

D