Nice adaptation of the painters pole.
I will stick with the telescoping polesaws--they can tie off branches and then cut them too! Either hung in the tree or attached to the saddle, they are well worth the trouble if used right.
Telescoping polesaws are used for positioning and retrieving hand lines, so branches can be tied off and lowered safely. The hardest part about pruning with a pole saw is being able to undercut, to avoid ripping the branch collars. The standard 3-Step pruning method for any branch results in a stub falling freely if it cannot be held by hand or rope. That does not work over the house. Because many reduction cuts are beyond our reach, and roping stubs so small and so far out on the limb is practically difficult, we often must make do with a 2-Step pruning method. This calls for precise and deep undercutting, sometimes with a second undercut meeting the first to form a notch to direct the falling debris.
With good positioning and technique, even climbers who lack brawn can make proper cuts with a polesaw. Clean wounds are the goal, no “splitting of the wood or tearing of the bark.” Per ANSI, but small wounds on the outer crown are not major damage to the tree. If a major rip of the branch collar seems possible, it is best to secure it with a hand line. The hand line runs through a fork that will guide the cut branch to the desired landing zone. By using a fork directly above the cut branch and tying near its center of gravity, the limb can be held secure while the cut is finished cleanly. If reducing load is the goal, polesaws are used to break off all dead branches within reach. Their weight may be minimal by itself, but with precipitation and wind, the load they exert can increase in a hurry.
Sometimes branches have to be cut back to laterals less than 1/3 the diameter of the parent, which is commonly considered to be the main criterion for selecting a new branch end. However, there are at least six other criteria for selection: 1. good vitality, 2. good exposure to sunlight, 3. good attachments, 4. good angle for wound closure (not horizontal facing upward), 5. Enough interior growth to sustain the branch, and 6. good direction for future growth. The load and the risk can be reduced significantly, but every remaining branch still harvests enough sunlight to sustain itself, and the tree system.
