Pole saws... worth it?

[Richard]

I've been thinking on getting a pole saw. Turns out, my wifes cousin next door has one (NOT a Stihl if that matters). I was talking to him about getting one and his words as best I recall were:

"I've got one and it doesn't work"



To which I responded, does it not work (dead engine) or does it not work (cuts poorly)

He said it cut poorly and kept getting stuck so he's basically abaondoned it in the depths of his garage.

I'm going to get access to it in a couple weeks to play with it. I'm venturing to guess the blade is probably dull and I wonder if he's got the fuel/air mixture screws set. He's been known to use something akin to a butter knife to cut his trees up (his chains are soooooooo dull). He even cut once and you could see enough sag in the chain you could probably place your thumb between the bottom of the bar and the sagging chain.

To his defense, he's not very mechanically inclined. Not that I'm Mr. Engineer (not by a long shot) however, I am more hands on than he is.

So all of that long winded to simply ask.... is a properly working pole saw really worth it?

I would think a hard hat would be in order as well.


Ultimately, this is a moot point as they sold the timber on the farm and the very pine trees I'm wanting to hack back from the fence line will soon be totally gone.

Guess I just saved myself the expense of a pole saw!


Perhaps this will get me the 'most useless post of the day' award

 

[phiferpharm]

I use my pole saw perhaps 3 to 1 over my regular chain saw. I always keep two or three chains sharpened for it just due to heavy usage. If you have one with expandable shafts, it is even better.

 

[clemsonfor]

I deal with loggers every day. About half of them use them to trim trucks the other half use chain saws onehanded as high as they can reach with a 20" bar. Pole saws make you crige less and are easier to use. That said the huge commercial ones made by stihl will jump sideways in your hand from the torque. And i have watched them trim 6" logs with them in just about twice the time a smaller chainsaw would take.

I have used my brother in laws new husky smaller model and it cut extremly well, i trimmed about 5 pecan branches off my boat shed while on a latter extended the saw above my head to cut. It was easy and took just seconds to trim each branch of 2-3 "s in diameter.

I know poulan makes them as well as other lower quality brands so there is prolly a range of quality and performace that goes along with engine size. Poulan is a desent cutting saw for the size engine it has and if you keep it sharp. My problem with them is getting them started and keeping them running.

 

[om21braz]

A very handy tool. I also use it more than regular chainsaws - now that I have one.

 

[Chuck52]

I guess I don't trim as many trees as some, but when I recently bought a new, good quality manual pole saw, I was happy to find it did the job quite a bit better than the el-cheapo I had before. A good quality manual with one of the double cut blades, which look like my Silky saw blade, cuts darn fast and starts every time. It's a bit lighter than a chainsaw, too.

Chuck

 

[ustmd]

I have one and use it more than the regular chainsaw.

Aside from keeping me off of the ladder, I worry less about cutting off an appendage with a pole saw vs a chain saw.

 

[EE_Bota]

I have an electric one, with a pole that extends. It is handy not only for things it will reach, but when I remove the pole from the saw, the saw is good to trim things. I am glad to have it in my bag of tricks.

Seeing as how you might not need one now, perhaps you might find this handy. I have one of these and I like it:
Black & Decker Tools | Alligator Lopper LP1000

I use the above device to shorten overly long sticks of wood so that they will fit my new woodstove. It is called an alligator lopper. Note that the upper jaw is spring loaded, so it pushes away when cutting larger pieces.

 

[MossRoad]

Here's a cut and paste of a post I made a couple years ago here regarding proper cutting technique and pinching the blade, which is easy to do with a pole saw....



We have a Poulan Pro that we bought as a combo pack. It had the pole saw and weed eater attachments bundled together. It works fine. It is heavy. As others have mentioned, with any pole saw, it is easy to pinch a blade. I use the three cut method for trimming all branches with my pole saw and chain saw, too, for that matter.

Here's a picture that explains it. Not only does it eliminate most pinches, it keeps the branches from pulling down bark and skinning up the tree. Check it out. Try it a few times. It works great.

In a nut shell, you cut through 1/3 of the branch from the underside of the branch about a foot out from the trunk. Then you cut outwards of the first cut about 2" all the way through. It snaps the branch at the first cut and there is no bark or strip of wood that pulls down the underside of the branch. That's usually what hangs a branch. Finally, you make a final cut near the trunk, but not into the collar. That 1 foot piece drops right off. Leaving the collar in tack lets the tree heal much faster and cleaner.

 

[milkman]

Glad you posted that Moss, tools work a lot better when you know how to use them properly.

 

[robs660]

My Stihl gets a workout a few times a year. You do have to think out your cuts more then you would with a chainsaw but the work you can do and the time it takes to do it is worth it. I use it a lot to trim the bottom of large pine trees so that the vines can't grow up them and I can get the mower under them. It was well worth the money and the blades seem to stay sharp for a good amount of time.
I generally follow the same 3 cut method and try to keep the saw as parallel to the ground as possible. If I have to have the blade vertical, I will cut from both sides of the branch as well to reduce the risk of binding.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've been thinking on getting a pole saw. Turns out, my wifes cousin next door has one (NOT a Stihl if that matters). I was talking to him about getting one and his words as best I recall were:

"I've got one and it doesn't work"



To which I responded, does it not work (dead engine) or does it not work (cuts poorly)

He said it cut poorly and kept getting stuck so he's basically abaondoned it in the depths of his garage.

I'm going to get access to it in a couple weeks to play with it. I'm venturing to guess the blade is probably dull and I wonder if he's got the fuel/air mixture screws set. He's been known to use something akin to a butter knife to cut his trees up (his chains are soooooooo dull). He even cut once and you could see enough sag in the chain you could probably place your thumb between the bottom of the bar and the sagging chain.

To his defense, he's not very mechanically inclined. Not that I'm Mr. Engineer (not by a long shot) however, I am more hands on than he is.

So all of that long winded to simply ask.... is a properly working pole saw really worth it?

I would think a hard hat would be in order as well.


Ultimately, this is a moot point as they sold the timber on the farm and the very pine trees I'm wanting to hack back from the fence line will soon be totally gone.

Guess I just saved myself the expense of a pole saw!


Perhaps this will get me the 'most useless post of the day' award

I read this & thought
A) The saw is dull.

and

B) Your wife's cousin needs to learn proper technique.


Doug addressed the first, and Moss did an
excellent job addressing the last.

Does this win me the "Most useless reply of the week" award?


P.S. If I were you, not only would I invest in a hardhat the fit well enough to look up and down without falling off, but also eye and hearing protection.

 

[bstrom]

Try renting one and see if it works for you.

 

[QRTRHRS]

My property had beel logged and had a lot of limbs that needed to be trimmed when I purchased it. Previously, a hand pole saw met my needs but mine was pretty worn so I sold it prior to moving. Thinking it was time to go power, I started pricing. Being a Stihl kind of guy but thinking once I got things cleaned up the unit would just sit, I decided to go cheap and bought a Poulan at Lowe's.

I don't know if mine was a fluke or what but the head would not stay tight on the pole. When I laid it on a limb, the head would simply spin around and lay flat. So, I did a little "engineering" on it. After that, it did get the job done better than a hand saw. The engine never did run all that great. I was ready to take it back to the store from the get go but as I exepected, it gets used maybe once or twice a year.

If I had the need, I would spend the 600 give or take for a better brand. If not, the hand pole saw will work just fine.

 

[trook]

Initially, I had a tough time justifying the cost of the Stihl pole saw. However, once you use one and keep the chain sharp, you quickly realize that it is worth the money. I had to trim roughly 1 mile worth of limbs on the edge of trails so that I could bush hog the trails without constantly having limbs slap me in the face.

I did lots of research before buying the Stihl, and the unanimous decision with people who know said to buy a QUALITY pole saw (Stihl, husky) or you will cuss yourself every time you use it.

I don't use the pole saw very often, but when I need one, I have found that the Stihl pole saw is simply irreplaceable for my needs.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

If you have a string trimmer that accepts attachments, you can get one for it. :thumbsup:

 

[leveled]

very easy to use if you know how to cut trees, and does a great job.

 

[Oldstuff]

Like a couple of others have replied- I now use my pole saw more than the 16 inch Stihl hand powered saw. I bought the pole saw (Husky) for pruning at elevated deer stands and it works well for that. Then after I bought it I started using it instead of my hand powered saw for cutting firewood and decided that since I cut firewood by myself the pole saw was the safest way to cut wood.

 

[gwjd]

if you have trails roads or open areas that need to be keep higher than ropes ...

they are great
seam to be more sensitive to blade sharpness for some reason


also good for cutting wind fall from a few feet away ...... way safer

 

[Pilot]

Like Moss I posted when the subject came up before. Here's what I said then, with a few mods:

I bought a "Power Pruner" about 15 years ago. I think they were the first ones on the market and maybe Echo bought them out, they look like it with a few mods.

It's a great saw. I use it wherever it's reach is an advantage. So when I cut a tree down, I usually use the PP for limbing. I use it to cut small trees and brush so I don't have to bend over or reach thru the limbs. I also use it to cut up the tops of the felled trees where the diameter is too small to bother cutting into firewood.

Best brand? I can't help you there, but just keep in mind all the ways you can use it and you might justify spending more money for a better one.

Lastly, they don't work too well for really high limbs because you stand below those highest limbs and the cut is vertical, so half way thru the limb falls and pinches the bar. Then the bar & chain won't go any further into the limb and you are stuck. Also for really high limbs, you are holding the thing high and your arms tire easily, running out of blood. So light weight is a plus. And your forward arm is a couple feet above the bottom end. So if the saw extends to, say, 10 feet, figure the highest practical height for cutting is about 13 or 14 feet.

One thing to add: I don't use or see a need for Moss' 3 cut technique for my Douglas-firs. Might be useful for other species. If I am cutting large a limb, I just cut it off a couple feet or more out from the trunk, then cut it again close in--that prevents it from stripping the bark on the trunk. If the limb is large enough to use for firewood, I start outboard, then cut inward in firewood length increments. Unless it is real high, it's easier to cut when it is on the tree than on the ground.

 

[CurlyDave]

I have the Stihl Kombi with a pole saw attachment.

Works really well.

The only thing I can add is don't be afraid to pony up the cash for a good harness to help hold the saw. The one that came with mine is OK, but when I had some branches to trim where I had to climb a ladder to reach them, I bought a harness that had sort of a leather basket to hold the weight of the motor. Huge difference.

The harness holds the weight and my arms are only for controlling the saw. Night and day easier to get a good cut right where I wanted.