Pruning saw Rx needed

[newforest]

So I have a contract to prune a whole lot of White Pine. The specs led me to expect a lot of work in stems 8-15 feet tall, and mainly leader repair/selection after the steady, inevitable weevil damage on this species.

Instead I am working in trees largely running 15-25 feet tall. So the job is largely doing 'first log' pruning to 8.5 feet or so, depending on where the branch whorls happen to sit on each stem.

The trees are rather open-grown on a good site index for White Pine, so there is plenty of 1" branch material to cut.

Overall, the work is not too difficult, but once you start working on things at chest height to just at the top of your reach, over your head, things change in a hurry. Ditto for just straight pruing, hour after hour.

Despite just finishing up 5 straight months on a chainsaw, my arms just can't do this with a fairly ordinary pair of Corona loppers I had (expecting to use them a fraction of the time and a Felco hand pruner most of the time). On the 3rd day, my biceps said "no mas."

So I ordered some reinforcements. 1 pair of Bahco loppers (P114 at 19.5" length, aluminum handles). I would have never thought that loppers would have power:weight ratio concerns, but I think that does come into play for pruning, all day long, with no break for debris removal, switching to chainsaw material, etc., etc. as one might expect in other arboriculture work.

I also have a 170 tooth Silky hand-saw (PocketBoy model) arriving with the new Bahcos.

But I am not sure if I should maybe go with a 2 handed type hand saw, for cutting the whorl at head height and just above - and how that would interact with doing everything from chest height and below, which is simple enough with the loppers. I am hoping I will be able to use the PocketBoy Silky with my left hand a good portion of the time, don't know.

A powered saw isn't really an option for production log pruning; a fatigue mistake - cutting into the bole - is increasingly inevitable as time passes.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Im late to this thread but you need some proper commercial pruning loppers. Not gardening loppers



or go the chainsaw route

 

[Colt Marlington]

Echo CS-2511T

 

[newforest]

Well I got through this job already. I enjoyed it, once I had the proper tools, though that was largely because I was essentially selecting Crop Trees, decades out, in a mixed species stand with somewhat random Pine density to start with. That made it interesting. Pruning your way down a plantation row is insidiously monotonous. There is a bit of craftsmanship to the work on each tree, at least.

This was only "First Lift" or first log pruning to a max of 9 feet, so the more usual pruning tools for going to 17 feet weren't needed. That work is sometimes done in the Loblolly Pine belt in the south-eastern states, by some ownerships. Weyerhaeuser bet big on it at one point, not sure if they still do. OSB mills don't care if a log was ever pruned.

I don't think very many ownerships will do this in the north, particularly on White Pine. The goal of it was to reduce Blister Rust damage and I was even working on trees that couldn't be pruned to 8' yet. Took me a while to wrap my mind around that idea - make at least one clear log or don't bother, was my thought before learning more about Blister Rust. Pruning lower branches helps improve air circulation around the stem and lowers the chance of rust infections. Some people in the Great Lakes prune Red Pine for log quality, but it is a very rare job.

The aluminum-handled Bahco loppers were great. Weight of a tool really adds up over a long day of repetitive work. No more wood-handled loppers for me.

It also helped tremendously to take a few more days off as I built up the portions of pecs and lats needed to work at chest height and above. Quite a surprise to run into muscle issues after 5 straight months on a chainsaw, but there one is always working at waist height and below.

The Silky Pocket Boy also worked great on the occasional branch running a little large for the loppers. I did end up breaking the blade, largely because I neglected to clean the rosin off of it, figuring I would just do that at the end of the job. But even with a broken, shorter blade, it still worked very well.

I also learned that pruning White Pine while it is below freezing is an ideal time to do it. Minimal issues with rosin/pitch build-up while working with a normally very sticky species. The rare day above freezing was noticeably 'stickier' and that is when I broke the blade. Freezing temps also lowered the incidence/risk of bark tearing. That allowed me to go to a little larger diameters done with a single cut, rather than the correct method of cutting the branch with a stub still attached, then cutting the stub with a second cut. And I had no problems working in up to a foot of snow whereas my usual saw work gets shut down after just a few inches accumulate.

I never did find any Pitch remover stuff for sale as I was familiar with from Christmas Tree pruning a long time ago. No more Xmas tree pruning in my future, that is for sure.

Overall, I would do this log pruning work again but would hope to do so in the winter months. Maybe then I could buy myself a tax deductible sled.

 

[newforest]

Thank you for posting the videos. Not sure what the backpack was in the 2nd video - a battery pack for the saw?

My contract specifically disallowed using a powered saw. I have heard of battery assisted "snippers" of some kind, but have never seen one yet.

I was wondering what kinds of Live Crown Ratios they would leave on that 2nd lift pruning. I haven't done it myself, but have worked near and seen it a fair bit. I think 40% LCR is just fine but some would say only 50%. I suspect 30% is even OK, if the pruned tree has enough free-to-grow space around the crown already.

And finally, I have been looking for a ladder like that, for sale in North America. I believe Terra Tech or Forestry Suppliers used to sell a similar ladder design, but my memory is they came from Sweden. Can't find them now.

(I want one for picking Chaga, not for pruning. I considered a 14' "telescoping" ladder that would be easy to carry through the woods, but at 22 pounds I deemed it too heavy - and I don't need 14 feet of height. The ladder in those videos would be perfect.)

 

[CacaoBoy]

And finally, I have been looking for a ladder like that, for sale in North America. I believe Terra Tech or Forestry Suppliers used to sell a similar ladder design, but my memory is they came from Sweden. Can't find them now.

Maybe this would be of interest:

https://rollingladderstabilizer.com/extension-ladder-accessory-for-trees/

 

[newforest]

an interesting product, thank you for posting. would be useful for serious work up in a tree or such, but not something I could really tote around through the woods on a one mile hike.

I just want a basic short aluminum ladder designed to be easily transportable in an actual forest, with minimal weight. I only need about an 8' length probably. I believe for such short lifts, users compromise on using more stabilizer hardware, in favor of the portability. would increase risk for the user, sure, but the risk is not as great when only going up 10 feet or less from the ground.

I just need to be able to climb up several feet, and knock what is essentially a shelf mushroom, off of the bole of the tree, higher up than I can reach from the ground.

I have no wish to get at the ones really really high up in a tree, as it is best to leave a portion of them to grow naturally and complete the whole life cycle of the unique little organism. but I could use a little help to get at the ones 8-15 feet up. sometimes this can be done with a stout pole from the ground; other times using a ladder to get a whack at them with a hatchet would help tremendously; other times a short lift with a ladder would be needed to get a pole to them at all.