Cutting a hedge top with a chainsaw

[Steve Bullman]

No your not, you'd be raging lol!!

 

I'd actually be impressed. But it wouldn't happen so its a mute point

[Mull]

That would be a 'moot point' rather than a 'mute point' !

Although I could be proved wrong😬.

[Logit]

A friend needed a couple of feet taken off his leylandi hedge, 046 with a 36 inch bar did the trick.

[MattyF]

I have done quite a few with just a saw but always an ms200 12"... The trick is to bring the sides in tight with hedge cutters first so you can keep a tight level and cut off the sticking up bits ...I don't know about 36" bars though.i would love to see picks of the results. I would imagine they would pinch and it would be difficult to hold at a level.

This is a chainsaw cut hedge using trimmers to keep the sides tight.. Took about just under an hour to do this run with just a saw for the top.. It was going to be tamed with a flail so finish was not as important as the usual more prestigious hedge as of course Steve and sky hucks is the preferred method!

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[TGB]

Ok, I can see the usefulness if a small chainsaw with short bar, if finish is not important, as in being finished with a flail. But if the hedge has stems near the final finish height, thick enough to warrant a chain. Then why not leave them to grow-on and pleech around them? Or if this makes the job impossible, cut low down and work into the hedge. On the other hand, if you're just trimming down to size, there are such gadgets as hedge trimmers and for the thick stuff, perhaps a Silky.

[AlexB]

I'm not a garden work man, but I've got a privet which has been neglected for years before we moved in. Ive cut it with electric trimmers for a year but found it very boring. A 357 with an 18" bar and it was 2ft shorter in 10 mins (about 20m long) once the new shoots come up the green shoots will trim beautifully. Short term sacrifice really!

[Logit]

I have done quite a few with just a saw but always an ms200 12"... The trick is to bring the sides in tight with hedge cutters first so you can keep a tight level and cut off the sticking up bits ...I don't know about 36" bars though.i would love to see picks of the results. I would imagine they would pinch and it would be difficult to hold at a level.

This is a chainsaw cut hedge using trimmers to keep the sides tight.. Took about just under an hour to do this run with just a saw for the top.. It was going to be tamed with a flail so finish was not as important as the usual more prestigious hedge as of course Steve and sky hucks is the preferred method!

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Hi MattyF, yes it was not that easy and I have only ever done it once with a big bar. It was quite hard holding the saw + big bar but the end result was ok (no pics sorry). Any overgrown Leylandi with a chunk taken off the top looks pretty rough to start with, but does recover over time. A friend of mine had a hedge reduced and a pair of chaps came along with a big bar with a person at each end (not sure if they used 2 power heads or just a handle at one end) and they just walked along and the cutting was done in a few mins. For sure, having a person at each end to carry the weight and stabilise the bar would make a big difference, hedge chainsaw milling

Nice job there in your photos.

[Ty Korrigan]

That looks like a good job, now price it for loppers...hhh!

Not many can afford that type of careful work these days sadly.

I've only ever done 2 Laurel hedges with loppers, silky and secateurs.

They cost 3-4 times more than with cutters.

But the results where stunning, like it had never been touched, no ragged ends, no cuts leaves and a lovely natural finish.

Ty

[Rich2484]

I've seen people use a 088 for cutting them. Big bar straight through. And yes I do agree with the fact it makes a mess.

 

I've done a couple and a silky and hedge cutter is the way to go. Nice tidy bits with the silky.

[burrell_]

this was done with a 441 and a 25inch bar

don't look rough IMO