Braided Cable on my weed wacker instead of plastic cutting line?

[Ron JD670]

I have some semi dense,low growing blue berry bushes, some green some dead, combined with low scrub oak bushes less than 1/16" dia I would like to wack but my husky 232L just eats cutting line,my husky is up for it, but in the owners manual it only shows plastic cutters,not for woody use. Curious if anyone ever tried braided cable, small diamater, say like the inside of a motorcycle cable housing >1/16" diameter?

Not sure if I can upgrade the head to a saw or metal tri blade do to the ergonomic settingof the controls, it would lack leverage, but I still may consider it or a short term use.

I am aware of the eye hazards and leg hazards applying to this idea, but wondered about the balancing and the line cutter on the wacker.

When i bought mine the dealer advised me not to use anything other than the two specifically recommended. My concern with the cable is it could wrap around the vines and pull the trimmer out of your hands.

I'd first check with the dealer to see if you can put a cutting blade on that machine.

If you cannot I would look at renting one you can, unless your looking to upgrade and have long term use.

If you can use a cutting blade or you upgrade your machine or you rent checkout beaver blades, my brother turned me on to them. They are a metal plate with a chain saw chain welded to the plate. They cut wood and heavy vines. Sharpen just like a chain saw. They are not effective on non woody our small willowy vines. They are pricy but worth it if you have ongoing brush to clear.

Good luck.

[Tollster]

Ron,the beaver looks impressive, and I do have some laural I have been trying to remove,its tricky with the saw as it loves to kick back.
Can you mount the beaver on a weedeater? I know my husky was designed for commercial use, so that may be a good item to try.
Some other ideas here for the blueberry shrubs look like they may work well on the non woody types like the flexie blade by oregon

Thanks for all the ideas and replys.
Tol

[Ron JD670]

Ron,the beaver looks impressive, and I do have some laural I have been trying to remove,its tricky with the saw as it loves to kick back.
Can you mount the beaver on a weedeater? I know my husky was designed for commercial use, so that may be a good item to try.
Some other ideas here for the blueberry shrubs look like they may work well on the non woody types like the flexie blade by oregon

Thanks for all the ideas and replys.
Tol

Tol
Yea the beaver blades are impressive but a bit pricy. I put of getting one due to cost even though my brother told me to get one immediately. I finally got tired of stopping to sharpen the saw like blade provided with my Tanaka. So I next cheaped out and tried an Oregon brand "brushcutter blade" 22tooth 9" it has a chain saw like tooth pattern cut into a plate. This is good tool If I was doing light cutting 1/2 hard to1&1/2 soft wood and occasionally (couple time a year for a few hours) I'd have stuck with the Oregon blade. After a half acre and smoking the brushcutter blade trying to cut 2" narly buck brush and larger material I finally broke down and bought the beaver to finish the two acres. This was BT - before tractor.

among the advantages are:
ease of sharpening and retaining an edge
Less jamming or binding because of the wider kerf
The higher mass giving the blade momentum when cutting.

As far as mounting on your Husky that would be a question for the dealer or your manual. I bought the Tanaka with the brush cutter on my list. I just knew i was not up to crawling under buck brush, sage, and mazanita with a chain saw. I did find out that generally the curved shafts use a cable which is not suitable for a cutter. The straight shaft systems usually use a solid shaft with a gear at the bottom. The Tanaka allows the weed whip head to be removed and a adapter and plate to be added that holds the blade. This was standard accessory on the Tanaka.

Lots of luck and good cutting.

[Tollster]

Tol
Yea the beaver blades are impressive but a bit pricy. I put of getting one due to cost even though my brother told me to get one immediately. I finally got tired of stopping to sharpen the saw like blade provided with my Tanaka. So I next cheaped out and tried an Oregon brand "brushcutter blade" 22tooth 9" it has a chain saw like tooth pattern cut into a plate. This is good tool If I was doing light cutting 1/2 hard to1&1/2 soft wood and occasionally (couple time a year for a few hours) I'd have stuck with the Oregon blade. After a half acre and smoking the brushcutter blade trying to cut 2" narly buck brush and larger material I finally broke down and bought the beaver to finish the two acres. This was BT - before tractor.

among the advantages are:
ease of sharpening and retaining an edge
Less jamming or binding because of the wider kerf
The higher mass giving the blade momentum when cutting.

As far as mounting on your Husky that would be a question for the dealer or your manual. I bought the Tanaka with the brush cutter on my list. I just knew i was not up to crawling under buck brush, sage, and mazanita with a chain saw. I did find out that generally the curved shafts use a cable which is not suitable for a cutter. The straight shaft systems usually use a solid shaft with a gear at the bottom. The Tanaka allows the weed whip head to be removed and a adapter and plate to be added that holds the blade. This was standard accessory on the Tanaka.

Lots of luck and good cutting.

Sounds like the ticket,I have a straight shaft and its an "L" model for long shaft, works good for hills and underbrush,buts heavy even for a two stroke.
Thanks

[tcreeley]

I once put a 10" rough cut table saw blade on my Ryobi weedwacker. Bad idea. It worked great but with the extra torque spinning- it was harder to control. I don't know how many fenceposts I almost cut all the way through. I keep thinking- what if it had been an ankle! When it hit- it pulled itself in deeper.
Now I just stick with the heaviest string they sell for it.

[bcp]

This sounds interesting:

OREGON brand Flexi-Blade trimmer line

Bruce

[LD1]

I once put a 10" rough cut table saw blade on my Ryobi weedwacker. Bad idea. It worked great but with the extra torque spinning- it was harder to control. I don't know how many fenceposts I almost cut all the way through. I keep thinking- what if it had been an ankle! When it hit- it pulled itself in deeper.
Now I just stick with the heaviest string they sell for it.

I prefer the 7-1/4 saw blades. They seem to be about the perfect size

[ricklman]

I use these Amazon.com: Grass Gator 4600 Weed II Heavy Duty Replacement String Trimmer Head: Patio, Lawn & Garden
Get a package of these replacements Amazon.com: Grass Gator 4610 Weed II Blade Pack: Patio, Lawn & Garden while you're there.

[Daves Maple Farm]

How about 6 inch steel leader used to fish with? Has the loops already on them..or would it be too dangerous?

[flusher]

Too risky. Spend the money (~$400) and get a commercial rated string trimmer. Mine is a Tanaka TBC-245PF. This is the 7th year with zero problems.