Looking for an articulating pole chain saw for the top of a large hedge.

March 24, 2021 3:52 PM

There are lots of pole chain saws out there. I have an electric one that I use frequently for pruning my fruit trees, etc., but I'm looking for one that will lay the business end down flat on the top of a very large hedge at a height of 10 to 12 feet.

All the ones I've seen will angle the saw down about 30 degrees in a vertical direction (like a karate chop), but I want one that will lay flat on the top of a hedge (like putting your palm on the table) There are hedge trimmers that will do this, and I also have a pole hedge trimmer, but the top branches on this old hedge are too thick for that. I have Googled a lot, and phoned equipment rental places, but can't find what I need. I would prefer a corded electric machine. Help!

posted by weapons-grade pandemonium to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

Tangent: have you considered powered shears instead? Way way way slower, but they're vastly more likely to come with the articulation you need and they'll definitely cut through thick branches.

...just that they'll do it ... one .... at ... a ... time...

The work practices of landscaping staff around me would tend to indicate a chainsaw won't have the articulation you need -- about three years ago I tried to find one also, and the arborist I contacted (basically begging him to tell me if he'd ever heard of one) told me that professionals would never use that type of articulation in a pole chainsaw for technical reasons (tbh I don't recall the exact reason, but it was something about the angle you'd cut a branch vs. the angle to that branch that you need to maintain for personal safety or something of that sort). YMMV, obvs, but if you've searched in detail you may want to seek alternatives. Around me, to cut the type of thing you're discussing, they'd use a ladder or bucket truck.

...having said that, if you do find one please post here!
posted by aramaic at 7:16 PM on March 24, 2021

I'm sure you have already considered this, but why not just rent some scaffolding with a platform and use what you already own? Certainly, that would be safe and less expensive.
posted by Don_K at 8:26 AM on March 25, 2021

Response by poster: I have decided to hire a local landscaper to do the top. He has a cutoff saw on a ten foot pole that slices anything in its path, as well as a commercial hedge trimmer. I've done it myself for too many years, and don't want to climb my 16 foot orchard ladder anymore. That was an adrenaline sport.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:42 AM on March 28, 2021