Pole saw poll

[John Paul Sanborn]

I like to have dedicated equipment, I hate the slop in all those section joints.

I want a 12 ft pole with the head on thight and the saw locked down firm.

Having 2 sections and the head on the ferule makes the cutting way too inefficient for me.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Even brand new, there is enough movement in aluminum ferules to bug me.

IMO, the longer the singal section pole the better.

When i ran a crew I had several different sized poles, all with male ferules on the but, so I could put an extention on if needed.

Short saws for dense trees, long wones for big open jobs.

I't suer is noce spending OPM, but then the shorter poles were all worked down from broken long ones

 

[Ax-man]

Sorry JPS,

I have been reading your posts and your thinking on trees,tools and business have pretty much been in line with mine.

I tried a 12 ft. solid pole just didn't care for it that much.

I see no big difference between a solid pole, as opposed to 2 -- 6 ft. sections.

Where is the big gain by having one long pole and a multitude of short ones to transport as compared to having 6 ft.. sections.

The only thing I can agree with you on here is the no slop in the head bit.

 

[SilverBlue]

Sloppy joints lead to sloppy cuts at times and the poles on the market are C.R.A.P. for what we have to pay for the overpriced **** . I have custom made screw together joints that work perfectly and as soon as the new shipment of carbon fiber material comes in it’s good by to the fiberglass poles forever. CF blocks and pulleys with titanium plates are on the design board next.

 

[Stumper]

JPS, I want to check both but your poll won't let me enter a statistical irrelevancy! I use dedicated head poles-5 ft wooden poles on each(polesaw and polepruner). I then add fiberglass sections. 12' is very useful but it isn't enough. I work on a lot of trees which have a branch or three that need some tip lightening 2O-25 feet off the ground. (Of course for you a 12' section IS enough to do work at 25'. ) I used to use 12'ft head sections and liked them but I switched transporting systems and use 5' plus the toolhead so that they will fit in my box.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Originally posted by Ax-man
Where is the big gain by having one long pole and a multitude of short ones to transport as compared to having 6 ft.. sections.

The only thing I can agree with you on here is the no slop in the head bit.

That slop is my biggest problem with sectional saws. If you have room in the truck to accumlate tools, why not? As Tom D. puts it, getting the squeel out of the pig. I was just saying that I would use busted polesaws by cutting them down and remounting the ferules.

Nowadays, for the most part, I feel that if you cannot reach it from 12 ft, you should climb for it anyways.

Of course on big spreaders, you can often get good angles from a greater distance. But I digress form the topic.

IMO the best all around tool is a long wooden pole (basswood) with all the joints solidly connected.

Oh and Rog, I think you will be disapointed withthe Zubat saw too, for similar reasons.

 

[rbtree]

Very possible, John. But at least it is not so long as the 21 footer, so the likelihood of messing it up is less. Still a delicate tool, I agree.

I've used one a couple times, so I know what I am getting myself into.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

'Neither" is my answer to the poll.

Long wooden poles are nice to use on the ground. I tie one to the ladder on the rare day when I know I'll need it.

For in the tree, telescoping is the only way to go. 12 0r 16' is way too long in many cases, and 6 or 8 feet way too short.

I'll go out to weigh my florian mini after I get a weight on the jameson rig. If there;s a big dif, gotta stick with the lighter one. The one that allows more undercutting and reach and twist and push-pull at the odd angles that are needed to get good cuts made.