Hedgelaying pics

[Guest Gimlet]

On 14/05/2021 at 10:55, Doug Tait said:

I've been impressed by the hedgelaying stuff on here, and it's been interesting to hear about as there is little evidence of it locally. The Borders has an abundance of flailed or overgrown hedges, or just rough fences.

 

This week I've been with a local company who have a young lad from Kent working as a groundie. He is very keen to learn hedgelaying, and said he's being taken on as an apprentice by Scotland's only commercial hedgelayer who is based in the Borders doing blacksmith work, but travels the country plying his 'laying' trade.

 

It's a shame there's not more of it done up here, to me a layed hedge looks so pleasing to the eye and must be the best solution for a boundary as well as nature. Look forward to seeing more on arbtalk.

I saw a piece about hedge laying once on the Antiques Roadtrip when they were up in the Scottish Borders. Philip Serrill had a bash at it with a local Scottish hedge layer. It was interesting to note that the style used appeared to be identical to South of England. 

Whatever style is used, the problem, I suspect, as it is in so many parts of the country, will be convincing landowners to let their hedges grow out so they're tall enough to be laid and to wean them off their habit of flailing hedges within an inch of their lives into brutally geometric square shapes all the time.  

Edited June 2, 2021 by Gimlet

[Doug Tait]

1 hour ago, Gimlet said:

I saw a piece about hedge laying once on the Antiques Roadtrip when they were up in the Scottish Borders. Philip Serrill had a bash at it with a local Scottish hedge layer. It was interesting to note that the style used appeared to be identical to South of England. 

Whatever style is used, the problem, I suspect, as it is in so many parts of the country, will be convincing landowners to let their hedges grow out so they're tall enough to be laid and to wean them off their habit of flailing hedges within an inch of their lives into brutally geometric square shapes all the time.  

I'll be doing my best in future to persuade any hedge owners to consider it.

 

Have you made any progress towards a move up this way yet Jim?

[Guest Gimlet]

5 hours ago, Doug Tait said:

I'll be doing my best in future to persuade any hedge owners to consider it.

 

Have you made any progress towards a move up this way yet Jim?

I was getting there. Had a sale lined up. Viewed a few properties in the Dalston area of Cumbria, and a couple in Dumfries, and then our buyer pulled out at the last minute and left me in the lurch so back to square one.  

Resolve is undiminished though. I will be heading there at some point in the near future.  

[Doug Tait]

Wondering if anyone can offer some advice please.

Was talking to my colleague today who I've mentioned before is going to do an apprenticeship with a hedgelayer in the Borders.

 

He's looking to buy his first saw for use when he starts laying but isn't sure what he needs.

 

The feeling is Husky or Stihl because there's a local dealer and he likes the idea of having the dealer support at hand for spares and repair.

He'd consider getting a battery saw if they are suitable for the work.

 

Otherwise, any thoughts or suggestions regarding the type and size of saw, bar length or anything else useful would be very helpful.

[AHPP]

Wondering if anyone can offer some advice please.
Was talking to my colleague today who I've mentioned before is going to do an apprenticeship with a hedgelayer in the Borders.
 
He's looking to buy his first saw for use when he starts laying but isn't sure what he needs.
 
The feeling is Husky or Stihl because there's a local dealer and he likes the idea of having the dealer support at hand for spares and repair.
He'd consider getting a battery saw if they are suitable for the work.
 
Otherwise, any thoughts or suggestions regarding the type and size of saw, bar length or anything else useful would be very helpful.

Although I don’t know a vast amount about hedgelaying, I’d be amazed if battery wasn’t the answer there as it is for loads of other tree work. If he wants petrol though, I have Stihls 170, 250 and 039 for sale and I’m not a million miles away from you.

[Doug Tait]

5 minutes ago, AHPP said:

Although I don’t know a vast amount about hedgelaying, I’d be amazed if battery wasn’t the answer there as it is for loads of other tree work. If he wants petrol though, I have Stihls 170, 250 and 039 for sale and I’m not a million miles away from you.

Battery was my first thought when he asked. Used Stihl battery stuff a fair bit with a company I worked with and I liked them, think they'd be ideal but having never layed a hedge I may be wrong. Will tell him what you have and see if he's interested, thanks.

[gary112]

1 hour ago, Doug Tait said:

Wondering if anyone can offer some advice please.

Was talking to my colleague today who I've mentioned before is going to do an apprenticeship with a hedgelayer in the Borders.

 

He's looking to buy his first saw for use when he starts laying but isn't sure what he needs.

 

The feeling is Husky or Stihl because there's a local dealer and he likes the idea of having the dealer support at hand for spares and repair.

He'd consider getting a battery saw if they are suitable for the work.

 

Otherwise, any thoughts or suggestions regarding the type and size of saw, bar length or anything else useful would be very helpful.

I,ve never tried battery saws for hedging Doug,but i had a little Makita(15") off Shavey(Andrew) for last season and it is great for it,before that i,ve used Husky 435s which were good or 550xp

[Guest Gimlet]

Stihl or Husky battery saws are both good but not cheap options. And you need at least two batteries, a fast charger and an inverter to charge them from your vehicle. But they are very useful if you can't drive right up to the hedge you're working on and have to carry gear on foot for any distance. Much lighter and no fuel to carry. Also good for any hedge with large heals to cut off because you're reaching for the saw every few minutes with those and it's all too easy to leave a petrol saw sitting on the ground ticking over for hours on end which doesn't do them any good. I've burned out many plugs that way. 

 

If you go cordless Makita are very good value for money and well made but they don't have the run time or the power of the Huskys and Stihls.  

 

Ideally you'd have a couple of petrol saws -  a small 13" general purpose or top handle, and a bigger 18" for big stuff, crown lifting etc, and a cordless as well. Depends how much work you're doing. If you're just starting out, I'd get a good pro quality 13" petrol to begin with. 

I prefer Husky for bigger saws, but I think Stihl offer a better choice of small ones.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Gimlet

[Doug Tait]

28 minutes ago, gary112 said:

I,ve never tried battery saws for hedging Doug,but i had a little Makita(15") off Shavey(Andrew) for last season and it is great for it,before that i,ve used Husky 435s which were good or 550xp

He's probably used a 550 as there's one in the work truck. Will tell him about your Makita but I think having a dealer locally is what he'd prefer

[Doug Tait]

30 minutes ago, Gimlet said:

Stihl or Husky battery saws are both good but not cheap options. And you need at least two batteries, a fast charger and an inverter to charge them from your vehicle. But they are very useful if you can't drive right up to the hedge you're working on and have to carry gear on foot for any distance. Much lighter and no fuel to carry. Also good for any hedge with large heals to cut off because you're reaching for the saw every few minutes with those and it's all too easy to leave a petrol saw sitting on the ground ticking over for hours on end which doesn't do them any good. I've burned out many plugs that way. 

 

If you go cordless Makita are very good value for money and well made but they don't have the run time or the power of the Huskys and Stihls.  

 

Ideally you'd have a couple of petrol saws -  a small 13" general purpose or top handle, and a bigger 18" for big stuff, crown lifting etc, and a cordless as well. Depends how much work you're doing. If you're just starting out, I'd get a good pro quality 13" petrol to begin with. 

I prefer Husky for bigger saws, but I think Stihl offer a better choice of small ones.

That's all very helpful for him thanks. He's been asking around and getting no help apart from stihl v Husky opinions so he'll be grateful for this