Reduction methods!

[Marc]

For a light reduction,as said the wolf adjustable head pole pruner is good,I have an old centre pin fishing reel on the holding end of mine to keep the slack out of the cord,and a good silky,& felco pruners.

I always have a good look round the tree with a cup of tea before I go to work,& take a good look at the structure looking for hazards on the way up.

Relax & try to enjoy your climb & work,it makes a difference to the quality of the reduction.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0007VKDIQ/ref=asc_df_B0007VKDIQ6347090?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B0007VKDIQ

 

This works well,

[geoff]

Wolf-Garten ZSM Multi-Change Cord Tidy: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

 

This works well,

 

Thanks,that looks good,was going to 'upgrade' to one of those retractable dog leads,but this is great.

[ADB328]

Are there any good books or guidance on carrying out reductions that anyone can recommend?

[Jack Price]

everyone else has already hit the nail on the head, work from the top down in sections, a good groundsman is essential, also i find clearing abit of space in the crown helps so you can throw things down without it all being caught up and remember it always looks better from the ground than from the tree!!

[David Goss]

I use these to save lots of climbing around....

Universal Telescopic Garden Cutter / Cutting Tools / Products | Fiskars UK

and...

ZUBAT 330 11-Feet : Silky Saws

I find they can be very useful and saves you a lot of repositioning which in turn saves you time.

Everything else has already been said by others. If you need a chainsaw then you are cutting too big, silky all the way:thumbup1:

this is my weapon of choice...

SUGOI 360 Extra Large Teeth : Silky Saws

 

Main thing to do is take your time and good advice from the ground is a must:001_smile:

[RopeKnight]

They rarely look good from all sides. so don't worry if something looks a bit out of place.

And if you misjudge a cut, whatever it'll grow.

[Marc]

I use these to save lots of climbing around....

Universal Telescopic Garden Cutter / Cutting Tools / Products | Fiskars UK

and...

ZUBAT 330 11-Feet : Silky Saws

I find they can be very useful and saves you a lot of repositioning which in turn saves you time.

Everything else has already been said by others. If you need a chainsaw then you are cutting too big, silky all the way:thumbup1:

this is my weapon of choice...

SUGOI 360 Extra Large Teeth : Silky Saws

 

Main thing to do is take your time and good advice from the ground is a must:001_smile:

 

The Sugoi is a beast I often find it to aggressive in a lot of situations, still a great pruning saw. My prefered and most used silky is the trusty Zubat 330.

 

those Fiskars pole pruners are a good tool and take a beating, although mine finally broke, not got round to replacing them yet.

 

And yes I also think if your using a chainsaw your going to big (unless its your tonking) besides climbing around with just a Silky is so much nicer.

[steve7962]

Many good point made in the thread,my top tip that I say when I help someone else to reduce are......

 

1.Try to give the tree a nice rounded top

2.Work from the top down

3.Leave as many growth points along a branch ,you never know if the customer will want more of !

4.Try to have a nice descending growthpoint,not to small in comparison to the pruning cut

5.Don't prune any part of the tree so it looks like a pollard knuckle,if they wanted a pollard they would have said!

 

Don't forget,not all trees reduce as nicely ,a maple I find never reduces as well as say birch,so don't worry if its not perfection,just do your best

[Dr.Green]

.......

Edited February 9, 2012 by Dr.Green
mistake

[mark_goldfinch]

loads of great points and helpers as i too get stuck with big reductions, Id love to be able to take out the 'more luck than judgement' with some of my reduction