iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Pole saw

Started by hopm, May 17, 2016, 05:05:31 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

hopm

Any suggestion on a pole saw? Not necessarily interested in extention......more concerned about durability and weight.

Texas-Jim

Stihl ht 56 isnt a bad saw, its light and carries a 4 year warranty. The price is 399 i think.
What we do in life echoes through eternity.

Ada Shaker

I'll be looking for a pole saw myself soon, I'm leaning more towards the echo as I hear it has less flexible, more rigid poĺe than the thinner aluminium ones.  I've heard the stihl combi are quite good if your after a shorter one.
If it hangs to the left, your likely to be a Husqvarna man.
If it hangs to the right, your likely to be a Stihl man.
Anything else is an uncomfortable compromise.
                             AND
Walking with one foot on either side of a barbed wire fence can become extremely uncomfortable at times.

OneWithWood

How high can you realistically go with a pole saw?
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

motohed

I have one that will reach 27 feet , and an extention , that will add another 7 feet . It's not bad to run as long as you keep it near vertical when using it .

CTYank

Have had Tanaka TPS-260PF for ~2.5 yrs now. Many hundreds of hours of runtime on it. Light aluminum pole has proven to be durable, and is much preferred by me to some steel poles, especially if you plan many hours of cutting with it. Has proven capable with 18" b&c, limbing monster red oak blowdown. (OEM bar is 10" 3/8" LP NK.) Guided filing of chains a PLUS.

Its latest test has been with 14" b&c and Granberg "Clip-N-Trim", functioning as a hedge-clipper on a stick, making quick work of mowing down & mulching of multiflora rose/privet/euonymus thickets. This is in situations where heavy equipment can't get in, or where we need to explore the area to locate logs & rock beforehand. So far, it works very well, certainly better & faster than brushcutter (with various blades) or chainsaw with "clipper"-thingie at knocking down 9-10'-high clusters of poo to a foot or two. Then brushcutters can easily finish things off later. (I'm talking light, flexible, maneuverable brushcutters, not overweight power-scythes, such as fs-310. E.g. 21 cc Echo or 27 cc Tanaka.)

Test with 16" bar and Clip-N-Trim on polesaw didn't go so well- noticeably nose-heavy, and an intense workout. That combo is now on a 35 cc conventional chainsaw.

If it sounds like I'm impressed with small Tanaka engines and an antique Echo 21 cc, YES! They work. And they all have solid steel one-piece shaft drives.
'72 blue Homelite 150
Echo 315, SRM-200DA
Poulan 2400, PP5020, PP4218
RedMax GZ4000, "Mac" 35 cc, Dolmar PS-6100
Husqy 576XP-AT
Tanaka 260 PF Polesaw, TBC-270PFD, ECS-3351B
Mix of mauls
Morso 7110

Mooseherder

I bought a Shindaiwa m254 multi tool last fall and got to use it for the first time yesterday with the polesaw on a 5 foot extension aluminum tube made to order by the dealer.  I'll be taking the extension off to limb some branches on ground level pasture trees next and don't need to be working with a tool that is 9' long. It had come with the brush cutter attachment which is okay for brush under an inch.  The saw and tube were extra and can be made to the length of your choice.  I had used the dealer's extension tube and saw on my power head last year because my tube hadn't been made yet.  He let me use it to trim up my mother in laws yard trees.  It worked great for that. We filled a couple pickup loads quickly.  It is the 2/4 cycle unit.  Very quiet but uses 2 cycle mix for lubrication.  I am not impressed with the weight but maybe I'm outta the groove.  I had saved an old J shaped handle off an old weed wacker that had been my favorite.  I think if the handle was further away from the tube instead of directly on the tube it would distribute the weight better.  Gotta find where I put that J Handle now to try it.

Mooseherder

I found the bag of parts that came with it tonight and it had a different handle similar to the J type I was looking for along with strap for help support weight/balance.  Took the extension tube and a coupler off but then found it too short.  I had to walk into branches to cut them off.  I need something else now. :D

ZeroJunk

I bought a Stihl HT131 and put a 12 inch bar on it with the angle fitting to make the bar at about a 30 degree angle. I have cut some huge limbs around my fields. Amazing power. But, it wears me to a frazzle fast. Hard on rotator in shoulders. I suspect if I had it to do over I would get something lighter.

JSNH

I have an echo pole saw and have had it for 15 years. It never fails to start and just runs great. Two years ago I pinched the bar up high on full extension and forced it out. I broke a support bearing in the pole. I looked up the parts on line and the support bearing was in stock and inexpensive. 3 days later I had the part and it came in a nice kit including the rivets needed to install it. I would buy it again.

CTYank

Quote from: ZeroJunk on May 23, 2016, 10:18:30 PM
I bought a Stihl HT131 and put a 12 inch bar on it with the angle fitting to make the bar at about a 30 degree angle. I have cut some huge limbs around my fields. Amazing power. But, it wears me to a frazzle fast. Hard on rotator in shoulders. I suspect if I had it to do over I would get something lighter.
That's precisely why I've been able to run my Tanaka polesaw for 5+ hours straight, like giving "haircuts" to tops of blowdown deciduous trees. Normally a dangerous proposition. Half-price from Bailey's a plus.

That saw came with 10" bar, A041 mount. Having a variety of such-mount-pattern bars about, I tried it with 14", then 16" and finally 18". Used the 18" to buck some big up-in-the-air leaders of red oak blowdown to lengths that wouldn't cause seismic events on landing. Really kept blood-pressure and heart-rate down.

Did I mention that with 14" bar and Granberg "Clip-N-Trim" bolt-on it can mow down multiflora tangles?

Its little 25 cc engine had no problem with 18" b&c. Properly sharp chain of course.
'72 blue Homelite 150
Echo 315, SRM-200DA
Poulan 2400, PP5020, PP4218
RedMax GZ4000, "Mac" 35 cc, Dolmar PS-6100
Husqy 576XP-AT
Tanaka 260 PF Polesaw, TBC-270PFD, ECS-3351B
Mix of mauls
Morso 7110

Mooseherder

I now have another saw that leaks bar oil when not in use. ::)

Ada Shaker

Quote from: JSNH on May 24, 2016, 07:41:50 AM
I have an echo pole saw and have had it for 15 years. It never fails to start and just runs great. Two years ago I pinched the bar up high on full extension and forced it out. I broke a support bearing in the pole. I looked up the parts on line and the support bearing was in stock and inexpensive. 3 days later I had the part and it came in a nice kit including the rivets needed to install it. I would buy it again.

Good to hear it's been a good reliable saw with parts still avaible years after their release. It does boost buyer confidence. I've had my eye on one with both the saw and hedge trimmer for a while, but we get little change out of two grand here for both the saw and hedge trimmer attachment.
If it hangs to the left, your likely to be a Husqvarna man.
If it hangs to the right, your likely to be a Stihl man.
Anything else is an uncomfortable compromise.
                             AND
Walking with one foot on either side of a barbed wire fence can become extremely uncomfortable at times.

sharkey

We have the older version Echo and its been very good to us.  Its got the older 5ft extension with it which makes a big difference.
Looks like this;
http://www.echo-usa.com/Pro/Products/Power-Pruners/PPT-280 

7sleeper

I have two combi tools (Stihl km85 & Hitachi cg22ead slp) both with chainsaw attachments and extension. They work both wonderful for branches up to half bar length. I haven't cut anything larger sofar.

If you only need it very infrequent, I might consider only aquiring a circular saw blade. It is faster than the regular chainsaw chain. The drawbacks are the possible diametre to cut is smaller and second you have of course the risk of kick back further you have to consider the angle of the blade, so positioning the saw blade is very important.
I have used the circular saw also frequently because going back to the house to refit the chainsaw is for a few cuts just a pain.

7

Ada Shaker

Quote from: 7sleeper on June 12, 2016, 05:03:54 PM
I have two combi tools (Stihl km85 & Hitachi cg22ead slp) both with chainsaw attachments and extension. They work both wonderful for branches up to half bar length. I haven't cut anything larger sofar.

If you only need it very infrequent, I might consider only aquiring a circular saw blade. It is faster than the regular chainsaw chain. The drawbacks are the possible diametre to cut is smaller and second you have of course the risk of kick back further you have to consider the angle of the blade, so positioning the saw blade is very important.
I have used the circular saw also frequently because going back to the house to refit the chainsaw is for a few cuts just a pain.

7

I know what you mean about carefully positioning the saw blade. I recently fitted a 14" blade to my demo saw to cut up some old garden red gum sleepers, real scary stuff  :o like cutting butter though. :)
If it hangs to the left, your likely to be a Husqvarna man.
If it hangs to the right, your likely to be a Stihl man.
Anything else is an uncomfortable compromise.
                             AND
Walking with one foot on either side of a barbed wire fence can become extremely uncomfortable at times.

Thank You Sponsors!