Alternative to chainsaw for smaller branches?
- Thread starter d000hg
- Start date
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E
EddieM
Possibly, but they have a lot of reviews and are mainly very positive. Like Burnerman though i have no first hand experience of them. @£90 though I'd give em a go, but that says more about me than the tool.
In the end I decided to buy a corded DeWalt reciprocating saw for just over £100. I was tempted by cordless but the DeWalt was £124 bare and the Ryobi would be slightly more by the time I'd got a bare unit+battery. I've also got a 50m extension reel.
This might be a stupid question but can these saws be used when it's raining anyway? I've no idea if I'd expect them to be waterproof or not given that garden use is not the main use.
This might be a stupid question but can these saws be used when it's raining anyway? I've no idea if I'd expect them to be waterproof or not given that garden use is not the main use.
Long time reader, first post.
I have one of those B&D Alligator powered loppers. It is basically a small chainsaw in a set of jaws. To make it safer, you need to squeeze both of the black grips inside the handles at the same time to make it start.
I have quite a large garden (c. a third of an acre) with quite a lot of trees and when we first moved here I did think about getting a chainsaw but, like the OP, I was rather nervous about using one. A friend mentioned this to me and I bought it.
On the whole it has been very good. I was able to cut thinks quite a bit wider than it says by cutting with it angled up and then down to cut a notch. Doing that on two (or maybe three) sides left a relatively small part to cut by hand.
There are three issues with it:
- There is not a proper oil reservoir, just what I assume is a bit of pipe that leads down to the chain, from under a flap. So you need to stop and add oil quite often.
- The main weight, the motor, is quite near the front so it can pull down somewhat, the third photo here
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Decker-GK1000-Alligator-Powered-Lopper/dp/B000EOOJQI/
shows that somewhat.
- This is not relevant to the OP. I have the cordless version, which as far as I can tell they no longer sell. The batteries are NiCd (or maybe NiMH) not Li-ion and not that powerful. I have four batteries (from this, a long reach hedge trimmer and two from a cordless drill) and I made sure that all were charged before I started using this.
Having got comfortable with using this and because I was doing a lot more work on the garden I eventually bought a chainsaw.
Having said that, a friend & I have been cutting back / down a lot of self-planted trees (mostly laurels but some holly & yew) over the winter. Most of the time (probably more than 90%) we did it by hand. A bit of cutting back of thin stuff (with secateurs or loppers) to make room to work in and then cutting the branch or trunk with a bow saw or a pruning saw. All those branches / trunks were probably up to 5" in diameter. I used the chainsaw on the handful that were thicker (6-8"), a couple of times to tidy up closer to the trunk, and once on a laurel that had split into c. eight trunks each 4-6" thick.
I have one of those B&D Alligator powered loppers. It is basically a small chainsaw in a set of jaws. To make it safer, you need to squeeze both of the black grips inside the handles at the same time to make it start.
I have quite a large garden (c. a third of an acre) with quite a lot of trees and when we first moved here I did think about getting a chainsaw but, like the OP, I was rather nervous about using one. A friend mentioned this to me and I bought it.
On the whole it has been very good. I was able to cut thinks quite a bit wider than it says by cutting with it angled up and then down to cut a notch. Doing that on two (or maybe three) sides left a relatively small part to cut by hand.
There are three issues with it:
- There is not a proper oil reservoir, just what I assume is a bit of pipe that leads down to the chain, from under a flap. So you need to stop and add oil quite often.
- The main weight, the motor, is quite near the front so it can pull down somewhat, the third photo here
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Decker-GK1000-Alligator-Powered-Lopper/dp/B000EOOJQI/
shows that somewhat.
- This is not relevant to the OP. I have the cordless version, which as far as I can tell they no longer sell. The batteries are NiCd (or maybe NiMH) not Li-ion and not that powerful. I have four batteries (from this, a long reach hedge trimmer and two from a cordless drill) and I made sure that all were charged before I started using this.
Having got comfortable with using this and because I was doing a lot more work on the garden I eventually bought a chainsaw.
Having said that, a friend & I have been cutting back / down a lot of self-planted trees (mostly laurels but some holly & yew) over the winter. Most of the time (probably more than 90%) we did it by hand. A bit of cutting back of thin stuff (with secateurs or loppers) to make room to work in and then cutting the branch or trunk with a bow saw or a pruning saw. All those branches / trunks were probably up to 5" in diameter. I used the chainsaw on the handful that were thicker (6-8"), a couple of times to tidy up closer to the trunk, and once on a laurel that had split into c. eight trunks each 4-6" thick.
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No mains power tool should be used when its raining, but its fair to say a little dampness is inevitable from time to time. A plug in circuit breaker is a sound move, of course!
John
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