Hot or Not? The High Limb Tree Saw
By Chuck Cage
TM reader Jeff writes: “I saw this product link on The Hardware Isle via Make Magazine’s blog. I was wondering if anyone has used something like this before. I purchased a house in the last year with trees in need of pruning. Being a Toolmonger, I’d rather prune the easy limbs myself. Also, the tool looks pretty easy to make. The only interesting piece is the chain that cuts in two directions. Has anyone ever used one of these?”
When I first saw these, my first thought was, “When you’re done cutting, won’t the branch fall on your head?” But I’ve never used one. Have you? Let us know in comments.
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:35 pm
My inept neighbor decided he wanted to cut down a maple about 15″ in diameter in his back yard. He had his 83 year old father over to help him. Seeing disaster looming, I went over to help. The tree had to be taken down limb by limb due to proximity to the house. They had some shaky ladders and an ancient chain saw. After a bit of work on the lower branches using the ladder and chainsaw, it was clear that the higher branches were going to be a disaster.
Then I noticed one of these things in their chainsaw box. I was a bit skeptical, but we tossed the bag over a branch, and pulled the chain up into the working position. We used one person on each end of the rope, so we were not under the branch that was going to fall. With two people, we were able to keep tension on the chain at all times, and coming down from the top of the branch, it never got wedged. It worked very well, and we had the tree down in less time than it would have taken messing with ladders, and we avoided the fall and chainsaw hazards.
With one person, it’s tiring, awkward, and poses the risk Jeff mentions, but with two people, it works very well! The worst part is that I throw terribly.
One difference between the one illustrated and the one we used was the safety weight. Ours had a much lighter line, along the lines of nylon mason line, on the safety weight to make the toss easier. We’d toss the light line until we got the branch we needed and then pulled the heavier line and chain over the branch. The flat stock is there to help make the chain go over the branch teeth down.
I’m not sure I’d recommend it for pruning on a tree you want to keep, as there is no good way to undercut the branch to prevent tearing of the bark as the last bit of the branch rips away. I guess you could cut the branch long and then short.
I’m following the link to order…..
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:45 pm
I might just go ahead and not stand under the branch, but I’m crazy like that.
August 3rd, 2007 at 5:46 pm
THey work, but they’re slow, tiring, and not the safest thing in the world no matter where you’re standing.
You’re better off with a long extension saw (fixed blade or powered), and a good ladder (or better, a man lift) positioned where you can control the cut properly.
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Screw that, running for your life away from the limb is half the fun of this thing. But it will cut through a limb, and it doesn’t usually get stuck.
August 4th, 2007 at 9:03 am
I wonder how it would compare to a wire saw.
http://www.bestglide.com/Wire_Saw_Info.html
August 4th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
I’ve used these and I agree with wheels. This is *not* a pruning tool. I have used these to take out a lim or too along fence rows (i.e don’t care about the tree). They can work *fairly* well in that case however sever head trauma is aways a potential side effect. If you can do it with a pole saw you are better off (http://www.orchardsedge.com/order1.jsp?code=TP-6870) The pole saw will serve you well for tree maintenance as you can undercut and make quality pruning cuts. For the couple of times you need more umpf. Rent one of these (http://www.stihlusa.com/polepruners/HT131.html) basically a a chainsaw on a pole (rents for about $40.00 a half day near me) Lastly if it is a really big limb or really high up, rent a boom lift or leave it to the pros.
As for making one of these tools yourself you will note that there are only a few cutting teeth on this blade. If you were to use a chain saw blade (as I assume you might be thinking) it has far more teeth and might be to aggressive for manual operation at the end of a long rope. Plus unless you have a dead one laying around a chainsaw blade will probably cost you more than this tool.
August 6th, 2007 at 2:35 am
The guy from Survivorman or Man Vs. Wild or one of those shows tried to use one of those wire saws; IIRC he got two cutting strokes before the thing snapped.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:15 am
I agree with the first poster….seems like a great way to peel the bark off the underside of the branch. I’ve seen inexperienced people cut from the top only and strip 4 feet of bark from the underside of the limb all the way down the trunk! Often the weight of the limb will snap the remaining portion that is waiting to be cut and the bark will peel off like a banana. Undercut first, at least enough to break thru the bark.
If you aren’t concenered about keeping the tree healthy, then try it.
August 11th, 2007 at 9:57 am
[...] Hot or Not? The High Limb Tree Saw This tree saw was the hot topic this week. Many readers spoke up about time they had spent with the saw and the best methods to use it in a real world application. [...]
August 30th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
That looks like one of those ‘inventions’ who’s time will never come. There is a right tool for the job, then there’s everything else. Might make a nice weapon though.
August 30th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
[...] Everybody, it seems, has a story about the high-limb tree saw. Discussion continues apace. [Toolmonger] [...]
September 16th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
This is not a new device; I’ve had one for about twenty years - exactly the same as pictured, except mine has no writing on the throw bag. It works, if you stand directly under the limb (or if you have a helper). If you stand off to one side while working both ropes, it will bind. It’s not the best way to get a limb off, and it’s not kind to the tree, but if you can’t get a better tool on the limb, it is an option. Note that if there’s a lot of foliage around the target branch, it can be very hard to get the throw bag over just that branch.
October 13th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
“It is poorly designed with widely spaced teeth on just one side. It is almost impossible to orient the chain with the teeth touching the limb. The chain has a natural tendency to place the teeth facing up away from the limb.
The chain needs more cutting teeth to give it smooth action without getting wedged in the cut. A commando wire saw works better.
The weak clip holding the throwing bag to the rope failed the first time the bag got snagged on a 1/4″ limb. I replaced it with real rope clip.
I had to add 5″ long handles to the rope to develop enough pulling force.”
August 9th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I have used these with success. The throw bag included is too large and heavy. I have a much smaller one shaped like a bullet that works nicely. And I immediately replaced the yellow cord with stronger and thiner climbing rope.
If you secure the limb you are cutting with another rope over a limb above the one you are cutting, you can hold the limb up as you cut, get a clean cut all the way through (so the bark does not peal off underneath) and then lower the cut limb gently and safely to the ground.
It’s pretty easy to stand to the side while using the saw (so the limb won’t fall on your head). You just have to orient that metal bar weight at the correct angle.
Practice throwing the weighted bag is the most important thing. The type of work I do made that practice worthwhile. It’s actually kind of fun too. After a couple hours you can send the weight where you want it 90% of the time. After a couple more hours you will rarely miss.
Having all these ropes and tools and saws hanging 50 feet over your head may sound complicated and it can be, but once you get used to this kind of work it’s very quick and easy. A lot better then hauling yourself up in the tree (which is the kind of work I learned to use this tool for).
November 12th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I love this saw, what a great idea! This saw easily gets those really high branches beyond the reach of pole saws, and ladders. It consists of two long pieces of rope with a chain saw blade in the middle. A weighted bean bag allows you to toss the line over the limb. I was amazed at how quickly it cuts. The limb height is limited by the length of the lines, but you can always add more if needed. The challenge is throwing the bean bag over the right limb and getting the chain to lay right side up. I have thought about tying a steel nut to some fishing line and shooting it up with a sling shot for greater height and accuracy. I own a chain saw, skill saw, table saws, chop saw, band saw, coping saw, hack saw and others, every one has a special use. High Limb is an apt name for this one. High limbs often require a bucket truck and crew, but you just might do it yourself with this.