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I intend to restore some territory on my mom's/uncle's land to the River Cane brakes. I know of a patch of forest where most of the trees are quite small (~20ft tall), but I was slow to cut them when preparing for our pine grove despite similarly small size. The river cane is native rather than invasive, and things like Center Hill Lake and urban sprawl have destroyed many of the original canebrakes; plus, I like the look of them and know mom does too.
Any tips on how to speed up the cutting process for small trees? Thanks for any help!
Side note: Most trees here are hardwoods (ugh!), and these are no exception despite their small size. However, if I encounter a standalone bigger tree in the area I'll probably leave it; they'd be more dangerous and even slower to cut, I don't want to release more CO2 by cutting a massive tree, and I'd still rather our bamboo forest look more like the bamboo jungles of Minecraft than a complete can thicket.
P.S.: I'll be 17 in a few months and still have no idea how to work a chainsaw. Dad's busy and doesn't have the best one anyways.
Any tips on how to speed up the cutting process for small trees? Thanks for any help!
Get three or four of these Brush hooks as in post #44 and have a Brush party!
Any tips on how to speed up the cutting process for small trees? Thanks for any help!
Get three or four of these Brush hooks as in post #44 and have a Brush party!
Did you watch the video that was posted in post #44? Did you see how much is left behind when you use this tool? Did you listen to what the 'pro' said about using the tool and that it required a lot of upper body strength?
I have my choice of using the brush hook or using a chainsaw and I will grab my chainsaws every time. There is no comparison. My brush hooks are only for decoration on my sheds. You can even get a bow bar for the chainsaw for the smaller brush; but much of the smaller brush can be cut with a mower. You can cut a lot lower with the chainsaw as long as you clear out the dirt and rocks away from the base of the small tree. You do not leave spikes that can impale anybody that is unlucky enough to fall on one.
For small brush, like the cluster in that brush hook video, pruning loopers work well and one can cut closer to the ground without leaving dangerous spikes facing upward. Here is one manufacturer: https://www.garrettwade.com/premium-...BoC0-gQAvD_BwE.
Again, OP is 16 years old, has never used a chain saw, and from the sound of it has basically no idea how to go about this. I suspect swinging a brush hook has a lot of the same risks as swinging an axe, except in the opposite direction - try to cut a small springy sapling with an axe and it'll bite you, whereas the brush hook wants stuff to be not too big. If it's too big, you've got to take a heck of a swing, which can be really dangerous in the midst of a bunch of brush.
I'm going to stick with my recommendation of a selection of hand saws, but add the recommendation for a pair of good loppers. It's going to be hard to injure yourself using those.
Again, OP is 16 years old, has never used a chain saw, and from the sound of it has basically no idea how to go about this. I suspect swinging a brush hook has a lot of the same risks as swinging an axe, except in the opposite direction - try to cut a small springy sapling with an axe and it'll bite you, whereas the brush hook wants stuff to be not too big. If it's too big, you've got to take a heck of a swing, which can be really dangerous in the midst of a bunch of brush.
I'm going to stick with my recommendation of a selection of hand saws, but add the recommendation for a pair of good loppers. It's going to be hard to injure yourself using those.
I do like your idea of the bow saws and good loppers. When I was 13 or 14 I cut a quarter mile track around the back of our property with a bow saw. We had one old 47 Ford pickup that my father allowed me to learn to drive in as long as I made the road! Most of the trees I cut were Scotch pines and Bull pines and the largest were about 8 to 10 inches in diameter. The bow saw worked great. Fortunately it was just a case of clearing the trees and making them small enough to move out the way. I did not have to strip every limb off and cut it into firewood.
Even with the bow saws you can still have some of the same problems that one will face with a chain saw; like pinching or binding the blade. But that experience will help one when they do start to use the chainsaws.
At 72, turning 73 in a few days, I have to think twice about all cuts. Of course when you're young and inexperienced; you should take your time and think all cuts through. Maybe I should buy a pair of the new Kevlar chaps just in case? But when I started cutting most had no safety equipment; today there is plenty available. Also there are the training videos. YouTube is loaded with helpful information to those that want to learn. The chainsaw fails I like to look at and I have made some of those miscalculations in the past; fortunately I learned and was not injured or did I damage anything. The classic fail is cutting a branch off on a ladder and when the limb falls; the butt of the limb comes back and knocks out the ladder. Sometimes when we watch what happened to others we can learn and, hopefully, I never stop learning!
I think that 98 might be pushing it a little bit for me to be still cutting! But one never knows? I did give away my 15 pound Monster maul and bought myself an 8 pounder. I do like the excitement of watching the big ones fall! Thank you for remembering me!
I bet that would be pushing it! My great-grandfather is 92 years 3 months old, and he has dementia and trouble walking on his own despite having long been quite healthy for his age (up until a year or two ago).
I do like your idea of the bow saws and good loppers. When I was 13 or 14 I cut a quarter mile track around the back of our property with a bow saw. We had one old 47 Ford pickup that my father allowed me to learn to drive in as long as I made the road! Most of the trees I cut were Scotch pines and Bull pines and the largest were about 8 to 10 inches in diameter. The bow saw worked great. Fortunately it was just a case of clearing the trees and making them small enough to move out the way. I did not have to strip every limb off and cut it into firewood.
Even with the bow saws you can still have some of the same problems that one will face with a chain saw; like pinching or binding the blade. But that experience will help one when they do start to use the chainsaws.
And if you pinch or bind the blade of a hand saw, it won't kick back and give you 30 stitches.
I bet that would be pushing it! My great-grandfather is 92 years 3 months old, and he has dementia and trouble walking on his own despite having long been quite healthy for his age (up until a year or two ago).
As we age we fear what we never feared before; like going down the steps. Here is a link to all the ways one could meet their demise: https://danger.mongabay.com/injury_death.htm. Some of those I never would have thought about like: "Bitten or stung by nonvenomous insect and other arthropods" and how they claim 9 lives each year! Apparently they were not lucky lives! I did not see tree accidents although they could have been lumped into one of their categories. But now I have to worry about: "Inhalation of gastric contents" which killed 312 people in 2000.
I hope that I am still cutting for a few more years; but time will tell. It is one of the reasons I am cutting so much ring now; because I still can and fear that I might not be able to do it as I still age. I removed all the trees that threatened my house and if I did not do that now; they would have threatened my wallet in a few years. When I was younger I could cut, split and load three to four full size pickup trucks of wood a day and that is a pretty good workout. There is about 5/8th of a cord in a rounded full 8' bed pickup. That is approximately 2,700 pounds of green oak. I was always overloaded. The good thing is that I was in great shape at that time and could eat anything! Unfortunately I still eat everything and no longer do that much work!
And if you pinch or bind the blade of a hand saw, it won't kick back and give you 30 stitches.
I have never been cut by a chainsaw while cutting wood; knock on wood. I have been cut several times while I sharpened the chains for myself and others when I was in business. I still have two chainsaw grinders and several files. None of those cuts were serious; but the sharpened chains will cause you to bleed if you don't protect your hands.
I have been hit by chains when they come off the bar; especially when cutting small brush. Sooner or later you get a small stick between the bar and chain and the chain comes off. But I have never been cut by one of those chains. I always presumed that it could happen; but it has happened so many times that I don't worry about it - maybe I should?
I have been hit by the backside of saws that kicked back at me and always try to make sure it doesn't happen again. Even the backside of a strong saw like a 455 Rancher can cause considerable pain and swelling if your shin gets in the way. I presume the chaps would help and also reduce the chance of the chain touching your leg.
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Unfortunately I still eat everything and no longer do that much work!
