Powered pole saw with side-cutting blade

[Winchman]

Does anyone make a powered pole saw that cuts at 90 degrees from the pole? Seems like it would be useful to be able to cut a limb with the pole alongside it. It would require a handle that would let you apply a little torque to the pole as you make the cut.

I've often found situations where it would be helpful to remove the outer portion of a limb before cutting it near the trunk.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

Does anyone make a powered pole saw that cuts at 90 degrees from the pole? Seems like it would be useful to be able to cut a limb with the pole alongside it. It would require a handle that would let you apply a little torque to the pole as you make the cut.

I've often found situations where it would be helpful to remove the outer portion of a limb before cutting it near the trunk.

A sawzall on a stick?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

A sawzall on a stick?

I thought of that exact same thing Brando I’ve got the components but no reason to build it.

I’d start with my obsolete 18 V Dewalt reciprocating saw

I’d cut the case of the saw and move the switch and battery to the base of a pole

My guess is that everyone has seen a real showing how to use a 4 inch angle grinder as a circular power to make up some rube Goldberg confabulation

My version of a battery powered reciprocating stick saw might not be real pretty but I know I could make something that would get the job done. And it wouldn’t cost anything out of pocket.

 

[Winchman]

I thought about a Sawzall, but I didn't like the possibility of it moving back and forth. The chainsaw would be pulling itself against the spike bar tending to hold it in the desired cutting position. You'd only need to apply torque to the pole to complete the cut. Or so it seems.

Here's my 40V 8" Kobalt. The near side of the cover on the left is held on with six screws which could be replaced with longer ones to hold a plate to attach to the end of the pole. That seems doable and it would be reversible.

 

[Reach]

I have never heard of such a thing, nor have I ever really wished for one, but a power pruner with an offset would be nice. The bar gets a little too vertical for my liking when you start reaching high. The offset on your battery power pruner would be nice on a gas engine model.

 

[southsoundtree]

Stihl has a specialty gearbox, I believe.

 

[flushcut]

Cough, cough, ‘climbing gear’ cough, cough, sniffle.

 

[Reach]

Stihl has a specialty gearbox, I believe.

I was not aware of that, I will have to look into it. Thank you!

 

[Brando CalPankian]

Cough, cough, ‘climbing gear’ cough, cough, sniffle.

Basal prune

 

[Winchman]

Here's the only thing I could find, and I don't think it will do what I'm looking for.

 

[Bart_]

If you want to really commit to the project, you can machine your own housing and transplant the 90 degree gearset straight out of the standard straight pole pruner head, just re-mesh the gear to piace the blade crosswise. Thinking it out, the input spur and shaft is already correctly oriented without the second gear, but direct coupling to it gives you the bearing supported chain drive hub. You could see how much you could get apart and maybe direct couple without having the weight of the gears present.

Downside is it would be far-end heavy and drop through the finished cut. Undercut/bind-or-not/tear? I propose a C bracket that rests on top of the inboard portion of the branch for catch/support.

I wished for this when I started climbing and was told just climb better

 

[Winchman]

After taking the Kobalt pole saw head apart, I didn't see a way to modify it to make it easily convertible from straight out cutting to side cutting. I'd need to completely disassemble the saw head to remove and reinstall the pole each time it was switched from one to the other. It's not made to be able to take it apart and reassemble it easily, and it probably will not stand up to doing it repeatedly. That's not surprising at all. I imagine all the low-price saws are the same way.

 

[Matias]

If you want to really commit to the project, you can machine your own housing and transplant the 90 degree gearset straight out of the standard straight pole pruner head, just re-mesh the gear to piace the blade crosswise. Thinking it out, the input spur and shaft is already correctly oriented without the second gear, but direct coupling to it gives you the bearing supported chain drive hub. You could see how much you could get apart and maybe direct couple without having the weight of the gears present.

Downside is it would be far-end heavy and drop through the finished cut. Undercut/bind-or-not/tear? I propose a C bracket that rests on top of the inboard portion of the branch for catch/support.

I wished for this when I started climbing and was told just climb better

I would normally say the same, but I understand the desire for tools that make the work easier

 

[Bart_]

If Winchman pulls this off he may be onto something as I've never seen an example of it before. Maybe it'll work well. I'm of the spirit give it a try.

I envision split clamp onto the pole ala Stihl, block extends sideways enough to hold Stihl bar, cover and a custom stub shaft with square drive shaft receiver on one end and Stihl chain drive sprocket on the other end, one sealed bearing stubshaft-to-block. Maybe two fabs, shaft and block.


Doh! Forgot about the oiler and oil tank! Maybe one has to butcher a Stihl unit for 90 deg shaft entry and pole attachment.

 

[Winchman]

This is something that would be easy for a manufacturer to make if they started from scratch with that idea in mind. The fact that nobody is making one leads me to believe it's not such a great idea. I can think of several reasons it might not work so well. There would be no way to make a bottom cut and getting it out of a pinch would be really difficult.

I'm going to set this idea aside.

 

[Bart_]

Another gotcha besides the undercut pinch is chain force reaction. I've had aggressive chains chatter in the cut on both short (strimmer fs85) and telescoping HT series pole saws where the normal force is bending the pole and the chain force is axial on the pole. Imagine if both forces were bending the pole with the chain force now pulling/bending the pole sideways. But - maybe solved by always seating the dogs/spikes during a cut. Undercut - well, still a risk. But if you're removing anyway just only top cut and let it tear. Then cut the tear. Short piecing off after that won't have any pinching problems.

I envisioned use and recall using a pole saw aloft and the hardest part is holding up the weight. The side extending support hook/"C" would hold the unit up and be a lever fulcrum - power head goes up, blade goes down into the cut. Undercut - powerhead goes down, blade comes up to cut.

If you got your hands in an old strimmer with chainsaw tip it would just be the one butcher mod and hang a support arm off mid pole and it could be tried.

Have you been re-inspired?

 

[theatertech87]

There used to be this stihl adapter that fit all the stihl 1 inch round shaft pruners (hedge trimmers, power pruners, string trimmers, etc) though I never saw one in the wild...

I would assume, though I can't find anything, that there would be something available for some of the hta battery stuff since you don't need a fancy gear box just an angled adapter that wires can pass through

Cannon also made a special power pruner bar that was designed to give you an offset angle on your chain, but again never seen one in the wild

 

[Winchman]

I saw the picture of the Stihl gear box, but it looks like it tilts the saw down but still pointing forward in line with the pole. That would help when cutting almost above you. The cut would be more horizontal instead of sloped.