Hand pruning vs pole saw for deadwood, 40 feet up in Asheville

I spent last Tuesday taking deadwood out of a big white oak in Asheville. Tried the pole saw first cause it seemed faster, but I kept fighting the angle and missing the smaller stuff. Switched to actually climbing with a hand saw for the crown work, and it was night and day. Getting up close let me see the collar cuts clearly and the whole job took about half the time, even with the extra climbing. Anyone else find hand tools beat power tools on tight canopy jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles_roberts228d ago

Read an arborist forum post last week where a guy broke his wrist when a pole saw kickback caught him wrong on a ladder. Said he wished hed just climbed. Around here the canopy is so tangled with vines and other trees that power tools just bounce off everything. Getting hands on the branch tells you way more about the cut than looking up at it from below. Plus you can feel if the wood is punky or solid before you commit to a cut. Saved myself from dropping a rotten limb on my head more than once that way.

schmidt.blake8d ago

Man, that ladder story gives me the chills. Feeling the wood first is smart.