Public Pole Sawing

I've used a 24ft polesaw (4 6ft sections) and it is the most awkward thing I've ever used in tree care. Not only is it damn near impossible to get a clean and proper cut because the saw blade is dancing all over the place, but the amount of flex in the poles makes taking even 2-3" limbs a lesson in patience. Something like this:

polesaw11.webp

would take so long that it would put a permanent kink in your neck and looks like an invitation for injury once the limb peels off.

Also note the quality workmanship on the pine? limb behind the garage :numberone:
 
Boomslang said:
I've used a 24ft polesaw (4 6ft sections) and it is the most awkward thing I've ever used in tree care. Not only is it damn near impossible to get a clean and proper cut because the saw blade is dancing all over the place, but the amount of flex in the poles makes taking even 2-3" limbs a lesson in patience.
Click to expand...
I also have cut with 24' of extension and found the technique shown in the following video to be quite useful.
 
You're welcome. When I stopped cutting like I was using a bow saw, and let the poles settle between pull-strokes, it became a lot less frustrating ... and less tiring, too (important to an ol' man like me).
 
I have considered a saw head for one of my four foot marvin poles. Simply because if your out on a limb and you want to reach just a bit further without going out on a thinner portion of the limb or the limb is on a co-dominant trunk and I'm tied off on the other trunk. But trying to use one longer that seems haphazard and clumsy and not getting a clean cut. I do have a pole prune that extends to 16 feet for trimming small limbs less than a inch in diameter that you really can't climb out to. It is really handy if doing some pruning on an a small ornamental where you can't climb anyway. No need for a bucket truck or ladders and such.
 
I worked on a silver maple a few weeks ago that had been repeatedly molested by the homeowners pole saw for well over two decades. He would proudly tell me how he used to work on this tree but it is getting to big and how he is getting to old, yada yada yada. I really thought about taking pics of all the old dog ear cuts, cuts where he got about half way through a cut and then ran out of steam, dozens of peels and ten times as many stubs. The whole time I was up there working on his tree I was thinking about how some home owners just shouldnt be allowed to use pole saws. Then I got to thinkin about it a little more and came to a conclusion that most "tree services" shouldnt either.

For the most part the only use I have for a pole saw is to pull hangers and cutting dead pine branches from the ground when I am on a fire mitigation job. There was a time about 15 years ago where I would flounder around in a tree with a pole saw but I soon learned that it took less energy to simply learn how to actually climb and work the tips with a hand saw or a pruner with a rotating head so that I make correct cuts.

Just my two cents worth.
 
A pole saw can be a very valuable tool, but it's easily misused. I have found in plenty of occasions that I can make a better cut from a different spot with a pole saw, than I can with my handsaw. It's all about working your angles.
 
Gary did a great job of showing ergonomic techniques!

Don't forget using it to pull branches toward you for a handsaw cut! 2 tie-ins on this move.

It is indeed all about working your angles. Close enough is good, on young wood.
 
I haven't had a pole saw with a blade on it ion the truck for about a year now... since the last Hyauchi bit the dust.. been meaning to get one, just haven't needed it..
I'll set ropes from the bucket with a pole (no blade) or use the power pruner...
 
Treetopflyer said:
Hmmmmmm ?.. I agree with everything else in your post.
Click to expand...
If you're out on a limbwalk and the cuts you need to make are directly on the underside of the branch you are walking on, you can likely make better cuts from a different branch with a pole saw. Like I said, it's all about working your angles.
 
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