Anyone done much chainsawing???

[mosschops2]

Morning All

There are some great big Common Poplars in my back garden. When I say some, I really mean 3. They are about 60 feet tall, but grow at 7 feet per year!

Three years ago I had them taken from 70 ft down to 40 ft, c/o a local company, which in cutting down the branches (which were up to 25 ft long, maybe 6 inches thick at the thick end), they let these branches fall unhindered through the air, to destroy any living thing beneath them - mainly some bushes, shrubs, and a couple of apple trees.
All for the cost of some thing the other side of £550!
(Although not that bad - given that five blokes put in some decent graft for 5 hours).

I'm wondering whether it is something that I should even consider! I'm about to be unemployed (pretty much), so time is not that huge a factor - although at the same time don't want to plough a full working week into it - I'm more thinking about the combination of saving money, and getting the job done without undue devastation of the rest of the garden.

Is there such a thing as a chainsaw safety course, which might be worthwhile??

Or is this crazy??!!

 

[Kirstie]

Yes there are chainsaw training and qualifications you can get as my father in law teaches them. There's also special protective equipment you need to wear - the obvious goggles and gloves, but also these trousers with panels on the front made from really tough fabric which can stop a chainsaw from cutting your leg off if you drop it or slip. They are dangerous things and IMO I would pay for a tree surgeon to get rid of your trees.

 

[Melvil]

Hmmm...I'd be very very wary of using a chainsaw without training. I used one when I was a lad and they're sometimes very tricky. Either they can 'kick' back in your face or you end up chopping through the wood easily, too easily, and then chopping yourself. Eye protection absolutely compulsory, too.

Don't know about any courses, I was taught by my auntie and uncle. They also had a massive circular saw powered by a tractor that I wasn't allowed anywhere near!

 

[Big Bren]

I would pay for a tree surgeon to get rid of your trees.

I concur.

Bren

 

[Arch]

oooh, be very very careful. Chainsaws aren't like those hedgetrimmers they sell in B and Q... To work one in a job, you generally have to have qualifications these days. Not something to play with, unless you're prepared to do the training - which isn't just a half hour kind of thing...

Get a professional in - but maybe not the ones you got before, because they sound a bit careless...

We'd hate to see you moss-chopped up...

 

[domtyler]

What other equipment would you need to hire apart from the chainsaw?
Is it realistically a one man job?
How good are you at being handy in general?

 

[alecstilleyedye]

if you can hold out for that liam bloke from big brother…

 

[mosschops2]

I was definately going to go for all the right clothing etc Kirstie - but good point.

I am pretty handy DomT - but this is quite a big job - esp. as I'm likely to cut more back than last time - they basically took the trees to where they were last pollarded - but I'd like to loose another 10 foot or so.....

I am aware that chainsaws are a big deal compared to hedge trimmers and strimmers, and maybe the best bet is to start saving up..... tricky when you're not working!!!

Or I could just let the buggers grow - see how immense they can get.... shouldn't take too long!!! They already shade the garden until midday (being in a vaguely (sp?) north-south line.....

 

[ajevans]

Whatever you do, do not try and stop the moving blade with your hand!

You're going to be suspended high up in a tree that is going to be blowing in the wind, wielding a powerful tool that could easily kill or maim you.

I want the training to be a tree surgeon, nevermind basic training for using a chainsaw. Alternatively get the professionals in.

 

[Yorkshireman]

Working up trees (particularly with power tools, ropes etc) is a dodgy enough game in the first place - leave it to the experts (who should be able to crop poplars without causing 'collateral' damage). I'm speaking as someone who served a 4 year apprenticeship (no 'Fast Track Training' 50 years ago ) as a forester and arboriculturist and subsequently worked as a tree surgeon for a few years

 

[Ben]

To answer your thread title, yes lots. I think the main consideration, beyond competence with a chainsaw and having the correct protective equipment is where are trees situated and if you felled them would it matter of you buggered it up a bit (i.e. if they don't fall exactly right are they going to hit a neighbour's fence, a power line or your kitchen extension?). If there's no chance of doing that then felling them yourself may be an option.

If you intend to sectionally fell the trees I would say a professional would be best, working at height with ropes or from a platform would not only be tricky but by the time you've hired the stuff you need you may as well have paid a professional. Never, ever use a chainsaw while on a ladder!

 

[Aperitif]

No- I usually pop the link out with an extractor tool - oh sorry...didn't understand the question...

Agree with all the 'safe' posts above. If you do decide to cut a cartoon 'V' shape in the base and shout "TIMMMMBEEEEERRRRRRRRR" - make sure someone is filming the carnage for youtube etc.

Maybe you could ask Yorkshireman up for the weekend + Kirstie's F.I.Law, pay them and clear off on your bike for a few hours?

Could be a good November 5th!

Hope your garden is soon unpoplar.

 

[Cycling Naturalist]

You'd be bonkers to try to do it yourself. Apart from having the right protective gear - the Kevlar trousers are a must, you need to know how to work on a tree. To do the job properly, you need to be able to take it down in segments while you are anchored. The segments have to be secured and either line lowered or sent sideways on a zip line. It takes a lot of equipment and skill to do the job safely and competently.

 

[Arch]

You'd be bonkers to try to do it yourself. Apart from having the right protective gear - the Kevlar trousers are a must, you need to know how to work on a tree. To do the job properly, you need to be able to take it down in segments while you are anchored. The segments have to be secured and either line lowered or sent sideways on a zip line. It takes a lot of equipment and skill to do the job safely and competently.

The key skill being, not cutting off the bit you're secured to...

I cut a whole tree down once, an Ash. Ok, it wasn't all that big, maybe 15 feet tall? It was growing against the shed tacked on the back of our garage and was shedding keys all over the garden, and therefore hundreds of saplings to pull up. I got on the roof of the shed at weekends and cut it down from the top, bit by bit, with a pruning saw. Took weeks... Eventually we got it down to a stump, which we killed off with creosote.

By this time, the shed was virtually falling down itself. It was pretty rotten and I think the tree had been holding it up... Having me tramping about on the roof probably didn't help...

 

[Aint Skeered]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
don't even think about it Mosschops, it's too bleedin dangerous.
I took on some tree work after 'The Great Storm of 87'or was it the 'great wind', because I was skint, anyway, I had a couple of very close calls, scared the Sh*t of me. Get in the proffesionals mate.