Peter 1955

Usually legs, I reckon ( I have no figures to back this up of course ) or in extreme cases, throats. Unless you're using a top handle ( in which case you're either a trained professional, or have a cavalier attitude to safety ) you can't cut your fingers, because they're on the saw handles. Anything at al which can be operated single handed increases the risk immensely.

So is the Stihl battery one, I just love it to bits. There's still a place for the petrol ones, but I always reach for the battery one first.

It's also an option for branches with the blade I indicated. A couple of folk have been grateful for that suggestion. I've just cleared what felt like half a mile of eight year old mainly volunteer thorn regrowth from a dyke bank with that outfit. I did use it with the blade in the air at times, and not on the floor. Don't know if that breaks safety guidelines. Re damage, that blade, while not indestructible, is very resistant to damage, and basically only needs a round file to give it a quick sharpen. I've never had problems with wire, as it cuts straight through every one I've ever met. Re Kombi tools, you are undoubtedly correct that a dedicated machine will be better, but will also be far costlier, and my pockets are shallow. To press, I've never damaged a drive system on one, except the bevel gears on a hedgecutter.

Alternatively, you can do it the easy way, with this blade on a Kombi tool. Faster than any saw on branches less than 75mm diameter, and doesn't have a chain flying off on fluffy bits.

I think that's basically trust building. Show the customer that you're fair, reliable and value for money, you'll be the first one they call.

Not the best option? All depends what you want to do with it. If you want it to be the saw that can do everything then 18" could be a good cal. Mine has the 14" light bar on, and I think it's perfect for me. If I want 20" I pick up the 400.

I had this quandary a while ago. Makita battery was the preferred option, ( I have lots of batteries ) but they weren't cheap for what you got, and didn't look value for money, to me at least. Toolstation/Screwfix offerings were considered next, either petrol or battery. Nothing leapt out at me, and reviews are mixed. So, once more I bit the bullet, and once more, after I had done so, a better option appeared. I got a Stihl 82 R with the heavy duty gearbox, and it's a beast, cuts through stuff you would think beyond it. I can't fault it, except for the one thing I can't get round- starting a petrol tool at the top of a ladder. Once I'd bought that, and also lots of AP batteries for my newly acquired battery chainsaw, Stihl decided to bring out a battery equivalent, the 140 R. Thanks Stihl. Sounds like neither option would suit you, hope you find something that does, good luck.

I have a freestanding triple ladder, with adjustable levelling bar. It can be used as an A frame, with adjustable extension, but it's heavy, awkward, and doesn't fit close to hedges most times. henchman tripods make it redundant for that, in my humble opinion. For the chap who said it's awkward with the long reach trimmer on these, I now have an ordinary cutter to cut my way in close to, and then use the long reach.

The 10ft is the one I use most, I'd have to say.

8, 10, 12 here, I'm toying with getting a 6ft, and if it's higher than 12, I want a mewp! 😂 Just spotted Jack P suggesting a B&Q one, this has it's uses, it's handy to have, but it's not the answer to everything.

Absolutely, and we are seeing one downside of Brexit with the loss of immigrant labour prepared to harvest crops that natives aren't prepared to. I've worked with Eastern Europeans on some of those jobs, and their work ethic puts us to shame.

Indeed it was, but the problem is that it's a very fine line between realism and warnings of impending problems against being labelled Racist/Xenophobic. This country has long been a melting pot of races and religions, and I believe that in the past, immigrants tried to integrate and become members of the wider community. With the greater numbers coming in, and encountering a less tolerant attitude ( coupled with the Professional Complainers being offended on behalf of various nationalities ) I believe it's leading to more and more enclaves of various Ethnic groups being formed. There is the danger of what we might call " native " ( blimey, we're a mixture French, Scandinavian, what have you, with a German/Greek Royal Family ) residents being overwhelmed. Listen to Enoch Powell's speeches, they were warnings, not calls to arms. Sadly, some of the more ardent and vocal opponents of immigration are not the most shining examples of humanity, shall we say.

Well I finished the job designated as " Tomorrow's ", the severe garden trimming. I reckoned I deserved a drink, and headed off to a local off licence which has a lot of cans you don't see on the shelves at your average supermarket. He also has a couple of keg lines, and while perusing the shelves, I was enjoying a pint. While chatting to a couple of other customers, I landed a fencing job! Blimey, it's not even safe to go to the offie now!

So if I read it correctly, customers should only employ Professional Arborists, who are highly principled folk with the highest ethical standards, rather than using mere Tree Surgeons, who are nothing but bounders, with few scruples and a debatable moral code? Fortunately, they don't seem to have a problem with enthusiastic amateurs like me. 😂😂

I know absolutely nothing about Husky. 400 is always my first suggestion. Don't know about the 400.1 Second suggestion is 261. I'm curious to know what the 400 died of.

Not quite as impressive a picture as some of you post, but my back thinks it’s very impressive! That’s a ten tonne farm trailer three quarters full of chippings. The house now has loads more natural light, doesn’t seem hemmed in, and hopefully will sell better.

Still no piccies, sorry. I promise I will do one day. A house in woodland which is for sale, and client wants it to look more saleable. Cue him hiring a chipper, and me turning up with a van full of pruning gear, and ladders on top. Even with one of his staff feeding the chipper, and one of my mates helping me, there's still a gentle day's work left for tomorrow. There was a lot of walking, and a lot of thin brash to clear, and lots of ivy. We had a Greenmech Quadchip 160, which seemed very happy with branches up to four inch or so, but not so much with anything bigger, or the leafy stuff we gathered up, unless we could run a nice branch through at the same time.

Henchman Professional tripod ladder. Best I've ever used.

Neither are 023 and 038, which I loved to bits. I never had a 391, but my son did for a short time, and then he swapped it for a Husky. He still borrows my 400 for bigger jobs though. 😁

Every chainsaw mistake I have made has been the same one. Not upgrading far enough. When my beloved, and well used 023 needed replacing, I went for a 251. A more horrible, gutless machine I have never picked up. After many years of use, either it's bedded in, or I've got used to it, but the upgrade from that one, my 261 is a delight. And a cause of sorrow. Sorrow? Upgrade from an 038, also beloved. I was rapidly steered away from the like-for-like 391, thank you all. That left 400 ( old model ) 462, and 500i. The 500i was immediately discounted, because it's far more saw than I could ever justify, isn't it? The 400 was a 20% power increase, and far lighter, no brainer, eh? I should have got either of the big ones, no question at all. Man who never made a mistake, never made anything.

And Today's Job begat Tomorrow's job. And Tomorrow's Job begat Next Week's Job. Still no piccies, sorry. Wouldn't have looked like much anyway, cos most of it was hiding in the ditch. I met someone at a funeral who I hadn't seen for years. Must have jogged his memory, as he rang me with a fallen oak tree to clear. Piece of cake thinks I when I arrive, as we've got a teleporter, and I've got my big strap back. The blighter's just bought a log burner, and wants it all logging! The good news is that the customer had estimated the job as a whole day, and with help from a teleporter, and a young lad clearing brash/logs, my part of the jobs was done in half a day. The bad news? The begatting. I'm trying to make headway on the work in front of me, and this job has already spawned some hedge clearance, tree trimming at a house for sale, and a pound to a penny, more cutting and splitting of today's wood. It was ever thus.

If it's really light pruning, Makita 18v could be an option, it's certainly weight saving. Personally, I find my 36V Makita light enough for me. Can't fault the logic. Might prefer convenience over physical effort myself, but I'm just lazy.

And you may well have been right. 😉 I'm coping. It may have helped that I came to it from a Makita battery saw, which instilled a Pavlovian reaction every time I picked it up, ie press the button to wake it up. My son is unimpressed with the system too. There was a cunning plan behind the MSA300 purchase, and if a couple of ducks had been in the right row a while back I'd have had a short hedgetrimmer on the AP system now, instead of petrol. The next step in the cunning plan was the KMA200 Kombi, and the switching on that is excellent. The machine itself is marvellous, love it to bits.

Six months. I was advised on here not to buy it, and I can fully understand why. However, I got two spare batteries free under the BOGOF scheme, which means that with five, the run time can be reasonable. The saw? Numbest piece of kit I have ever picked up. I can understand why one chap said he had one sitting near the chipper, and nobody ever used it! It does however have two saving graces. When using it in the yard at home for firewood, I'm often on my own, and I now don't have a cable to trip over. Secondly, it has in my very humble opinion, comparable power to a petrol. It is serving my purposes well, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone. The funniest part of the handbook is where it recommends using the lowest power setting for light pruning. I'd pick up either a bow saw or my 36v Makita before I attempted to prune anything with the 300. Now here we may disagree. I love .325 on my 261, and think it turns the saw into an absolute animal. Others may disagree.

Leylandii are a law unto themselves. They can turn their toes up on a whim, or return to greenery over a long, long period. I agree with you about those ones, I wouldn't rate their chances, and even if they did recover , they're not particularly impressive things anyway. I can think of a lot better replacements, Laurel would work if you just wanted evergreen cover that can be controlled.