Hedging job today

[oldwoodcutter]

Reducing some hedges are the stuff of nightmares, the closer you can get up and in to them the better, the ms200t being the weapon of choice,but generally the sweat is rolling off my back just at the quoting stage.
Gypsy sticks are not normally the answer for 2 reasons, holding it out horizontally at arms length pulls your guts out after the first 20 minutes , and once cut you still have to get up close and personal to drag the cut stuff off .
Stick to knocking trees over, half the effort for 3 times the price.

[woody paul]

On 03/10/2019 at 15:59, Jack.P said:

Been tackling a large 40m native overground field hedge today( mostly hawthorn etc  ) .apparently client couldn’t  fit a tractor in so I have been there doing it by hand  .it had to be reduced by about two thirds in size (mostly the top and back) .struggled a bit with it so far but it’s about halfway  done now .

i am intrested to hear how others would go about topping it as I found all the hedge cutters were not enough and I tried several saws with different chains and none of them seemed correct tool for small diameter wood .at first I tried a 15’’ chain on the 261 but found after a while the chain comes loose and off the bar .a smaller chain worked a bit better but took longer with a smaller bar .loppers worked ok  but then that would take a long time doing it that way .i am thinking now try the pole saw? I only charging 300 for the job 

If field hedge then get someone in to flail it. 

[Jack.P]

Hi apparently flail couldn’t fit in there .

I won’t be doing another hedge like this .laurel,conni and beech reductions much easier in my experience but this one turned out to be a bit of a swine .

a 20’’ top handle might have a good idea .

[Jack.P]

Been back on this today .had a go with the new pole saw which had the finer chain same as the ms150 it worked ok for ten minutes then same problem again chain jumped off .couldnt seem to get the get chain tensioner working after that which not good start with a new tool .its mostly hawthorn and dogwood and too big for hedge cutters .cut the back and front but just need to finish the topping job now

[gary112]

Seems like you having trouble with the chains jumping off any saw Jack

[Jack.P]

Yes they don’t like this hedge .but they cut fine into normal wood without this problem 

maybe I am better off spending much longer going at it with loppers ? There is still about 15m of the tops to cut

 

[Mick Dempsey]

If you’re cutting a hedge like that, you’ll pop your chain often regularly, when a stem is cut through it’ll often drop onto the guide bar then dislodge the chain off the bar.

 

Obvious really.

[peatff]

On 03/10/2019 at 15:59, Jack.P said:

Been tackling a large 40m native overground field hedge today

As opposed to an underground one ? ?

[Mick Dempsey]

And while I’m at it, your chain won’t tighten because you’ve burred the runners (the things that run in the groove of the guide bar)

 

You have a choice, run it loose for a bit to rub off the burrs (whilst the bar is upright) or grind the burrs off by hand (pita)

 

 

[Jack.P]

I did wonder about the bar and chain but tried it on a different machine and working fine

What would be correct tools for this if tractor can’t fit in and hedger trimmers no good