Thread: Chainsaw Blade for a Brushcutter?

Those full chainsaw discs/blades can be pretty dangerous which is probably why they were discontinued and replaced by steel discs with fewer teeth which reduce the kick back potential.
Brush cutters are also designed to be used at ground level and not at 8-10ft above the ground where arm strength is reduced,
The appropriate device to use at height are pole chain saws which are specifically designed for OH use.
Even the budget battery powered ones are surprisingly good, nice and light and a dream to use, especially compared to waving a brush cutter above ones head..
A Ryobi pole chainsaw cutter with replaceable hedge trimmer head (no battery) is available for $170.

Agree with Bob. There’s a reason why they don’t sell them anymore. I had the Triton blade your parents had. It used to kick like a mule. I threw it out. Using one overhead would be suicide.

Yep. I agree with Bob and Jack. Overhead use of a brush cutter is asking for trouble. Put the chainsaw blade on too and......NO. The small battery operated chainsaws would be the way to go. If you have existing cordless tools, check to see if that brand has available a small pole saw and match it up to your existing batteries. Otherwise you will have to start from scratch. The better brands can be hideously expensive, but the budget lines, as Bob has said, can be surprisingly good if only used occasionally.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by BobL

Even the budget battery powered ones are surprisingly good, nice and light and a dream to use, especially compared to waving a brush cutter above ones head..
A Ryobi pole chainsaw cutter with replaceable hedge trimmer head (no battery) is available for $170.

Much better and easier than waving a brush cutter above your head.
Have one of these and for the odd job they are good, easy to use so long as you keep it sharpened and tensioned.
The 240v electric version is also good with the drawback of pulling a cord around where you need it.

If you already have a brand of battery tools, suggest look to see what they sell in that brand.

Thanks for the advice guys.
Those triton blades did kick like a mule but they were handy.
I ended up going with this, $200 including freight off ebay, 12inch bar and supposedly 65cc - I wouldn't buy it if I was going to run it all day but for my needs it's good enough and it's what I can afford.
It's ebay chinesium but a few physical shops are selling this brand now so parts will be available.

Pole Saw2.jpg

I'd be interested to hear how you go with it - at that price, I mean "how bad can it be"? Lots of sellers offering basically the same item.

I used to borrow a similar Ryobi item from a neighbour for the odd bit of high branch trimming, but on the Ryobi it is actually the joints between the extension sections that is the weak point. With even one extension the weight of the cutting head was enough to shear off the aluminium tube where it goes into the socket of the next section.

As long as the pole sections aren't made from "Tightanium"*

*Tightaneum is an alloy of tin and polythene......lol

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

I used to borrow a similar Ryobi item from a neighbour for the odd bit of high branch trimming, but on the Ryobi it is actually the joints between the extension sections that is the weak point. With even one extension the weight of the cutting head was enough to shear off the aluminium tube where it goes into the socket of the next section.

For a few years I've had a petrol powered Ryobi pole saw with extension similar to the one smidsy bought and it's worked perfectly with no problems. Also works way better on thin branches than my bigger 'real' chainsaw and is a better all rounder for light and even not so light work at heights and even ground level at a bit of a distance. Amazing how much that short chain bar can cut through. I use it in preference to my 'real' chainsaw unless I'm cutting thick timber.

The junction between the base and extension pole can be a bit of a problem as can the junctions on other attachments for the Ryobi, but the trick seems to be to make sure the spring ball locators are aligned and that the clamps are very tight, otherwise they can slide out in use.

I think a lot of the polesaw heads, and those tiny cheap chainsaws, use the pico chains rather than standard width. Thinner kerf means they cut surprisingly fast.....just another size of files to buy to sharpen them !

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

I'd be interested to hear how you go with it - at that price, I mean "how bad can it be"? Lots of sellers offering basically the same item.

I used to borrow a similar Ryobi item from a neighbour for the odd bit of high branch trimming, but on the Ryobi it is actually the joints between the extension sections that is the weak point. With even one extension the weight of the cutting head was enough to shear off the aluminium tube where it goes into the socket of the next section.

Pole Saw.jpg

I'll let you know how I go with it, the place I'm in is a rental and previous tenants have ignored the trees so it'll get a good run to start.
About the only annoyance is that it runs 25:1 whereas my blower & brushcutter are both 50:1 so I'm back to mixing two types of two stroke - I only use Penrite semi synthetic oil.
The pic is the other saw I bought, $100 freight free, ebay - a manual pole/pruner with 8 metres reach.
Comes all in a carry bag, the connections (aluminium) seem solid and the bag has a nice smell of oil meaning it's been well packed.

I have the Wolf version of that manual polesaw thing - a bit shorter, I think about 4m extended - but the pole is 2-piece extension rather than lots of sections that join together.

Works well on smaller stuff (up to maybe 75mm), but you'll get quite a workout using it ! The sawing action seems to use muscles that you don't use for anything else (!), so I always pull up a bit sore after a day of branch lopping. It's very laborious for thicker branches, hence my interest in a powered version.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

I have the Wolf version of that manual polesaw thing - a bit shorter, I think about 4m extended - but the pole is 2-piece extension rather than lots of sections that join together.

Works well on smaller stuff (up to maybe 75mm), but you'll get quite a workout using it ! The sawing action seems to use muscles that you don't use for anything else (!), so I always pull up a bit sore after a day of branch lopping. It's very laborious for thicker branches, hence my interest in a powered version.

Cheers

I'll use the manual saw for higher stuff and the workout I'm looking forward to - I need to exercise.
I bought that mainly for the poles, if the saw blade turns out to be crap I can mount a better saw on it - Dewalt do a 250mm pull saw which I reckon would go well on it.

After 20 years and several hand sharpenings with a diamond needle file, I finally relented and treated myself to a new blade for the Wolf extension pole last month

WOLF GARTEN | Multi-star Pruning Saw - 370 - Botanex

Huge improvement over the older clapped out one !

I have one of those long polesaws Chinese made,they do the job on smaller branches Ok .If doing heavier branches they can start to become unwieldy if you're not physically up to the task.Can be tiring .