ideas for a long boom pole saw

[zotdoc]

I have a few high trees to trim and I was thinking of making a 40 foot long boom pole, that would attach to my front end loader and have an electric chains saw on the end. Anyone out their have experience with such a project? I am thinking of making it out of 3 inch conduit. If anyone else has tried this and failed, I'd like to hear from you. Thanks in advance.

 

[chim]

Sounds like a neat project, but it also sounds like it would be good to get some advice from someone familair with structural strength of materials. There are a couple of things I'd be concerned about. First, I'm not sure 40' of conduit would be self-supporting. I picture coupling problems with EMT and breaking at the threads with IMC or GRC.

The other thing is the amount of movement at the far end. If you curl the bucket an inch at the bucket edge, it'll move more than 3 feet at the saw.

Edit to add: That would likely be quite a lot for the loader to pick up.

 

[npalen]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/289981-fel-chainsaw.html

Here's my previous thread but don't want to derail this one. I doubt, without doing calculations, that a 40' piece of 3" conduit would support it's own weight and would require a heavy tractor and loader to withstand the cantilever. Starting with a larger diameter piece of conduit and then reducing down in size as it extends might work. I would think that 20' of reach when added to the loader reach might be a good start.
Anxious also to hear new ideas.

EDIT: I see that CHIM and I were posting concurrently.

 

[nc redneck]

I use a electric pole saw from a inverter on my 45-SE after putting the largest and best battery I could find that would fit. It works well for hand use but on the loader bucket I believe it would be hard to get the correct feel on bucket. Conduit would bend, saw or inverter would be overloaded. Check out this post
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/269126-quick-attach-front-end-hydraulic.html

 

[jenkinsph]

Hire it out to someone who climbs and trims for a living. I don't see any of these guys getting rich and they seem to get a lot oc work done for the money.

As far as rigging up to cut half that height, I use a Florian pole saw for the limbs less than 21' in height.

 

[/pine]

How much open space do you have?...
...even with a lot of maneuvering room it will be really tough to get the working end of a 40' saw positioned...JMO...!

 

[Leejohn]

I made one that is 10' from the bucket and it works good. My saw is spring loaded up and down and sideways. At 40' it well not work without braking the saw from it mounts and also the saw. You would need a very light hand on the loader valve. It took me 3 or 4 times braking things before I got it right and 2 saws.

 

[zzvyb6]

You can rent a JLG T350, Bil-jax or Nifty Lift (Towable man-lift) for a few hundred for half a day. I was so intrigued with all it's uses that I bought a used one. Paint the barns, trim trees, service the bird houses, paint the windmills and even raise up the windmill towers and install the fans and tails. Makes a good elevated Christmas tree stand, too. On mine you can remove the bucket platform and put on a jib arm for crane use. 42' at shoulder height.

Why ruin a good saw ?

 

[rourke]

That looks really scary.

 

[Ken45101]

I looked at one electric chain saw and it required manually pushing a button for the chain oil. IDK if any of them come with automatic oilers.

 

[irsmun]

They do have chainsaws with automatic oilers but I think a chainsaw is the wrong tool for what you are looking to do for those heights. Chainsaws are finicky about positioning when cutting. The people who trim high lines and right of ways use a boom with a circular saw blade type cutting tool at the end.



Its also reatractable. I can't imagine driving around with a 40' pole sticking out from your loader.

 

[Redneck in training]

You might look at hydraulic shears. I saw some on a pole while ago but can't find the link now.

 

[zzvyb6]

That looks really scary.

What's scary is the thought of a tree limb falling down 40 feet and hitting you while you sit in your tractor seat trying to manipulate a bouncing pole saw. Its better to be above the falling branches than below them.

These man-lifts are pretty cool to operate and won't let you go beyond their designed operating range unless you plan on hitting some electric wires. Here's another 35' shot:

 

[BukitCase]

I agree with most of what's been said so far - As to automatic oiling, the Makita UC4030A has auto oiler and a 16" bar. I bought one for a similar project, it's pretty highly rated. I plan to use a flex mount, tie the trigger on (it also has soft start) and stick to vertical cuts, with the last couple feet of extension on a hinged joint supported by a webbing strap so the saw cuts mainly with gravity. I'll start/stop the saw with one of those plug-in switches you can buy at Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

Looking at two 10 foot sections, small hydraulic cylinders limited by a flow control needle valve to slow down, mounted either on front or rear buckets of my 580B. I will use all 2" receivers and tubing for various configurations. That will give total extension from ground anywhere from 30-40 feet.

Hope to have it done by spring, no pix yet... Steve

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

What I wonder is how the OP is going to get 40' in the air to retrieve the boom-mounted chainsaw when the chain binds up 1/2 way through a big limb.

 

[Ken45101]

^^^ I had thought about that too! I have enough trouble with a 6' hand held pole saw.

 

[irsmun]

That was my point. Cutting with a chainsaw requires good positioning. Its much harder for me to cut a limb with my 9' handheld pole saw than with a chainsaw in my hands and my eyes on the cut. With a boom pole (especially that high) being maneuvered by your FEL I think it would be a mostly useless tool. If it worked well you would see commercial versions. The fact is they use circular blades or shears.

 

[Leejohn]

All I can say is mine works good for me, but it's only 10' hooked on to the bucket.

 

[zzvyb6]

3 inch conduit is probably not strong enough to be self supporting after at your required distance. It will buckle. Plus, you will need a bit more than 40' (like 47 --> 50') to reach your height will a reasonable angle on the boom in order to see what you are doing from the tractor seat and also to be safe from falling debris. If you fasten it to the center of the bucket, the sheet wall of the bucket will flex considerably, making it difficult to position the saw, so, you will need a 3 point type of fixture to hold onto it.

Maybe you should consider buying a good scope for a slug shotgun. A few potshots and the tree will be limbed! I used a shotgun with birdshot to blast high altitude wasp and caterpillar nests very effectively. You get a few branches, too.

 

[papa4fofox]

Can be done as a 2-man operation with a man-basket mounted to forks on the FEL. With my son in the basket using a chainsaw we readily cut branches up to about 15' high. Easy to maneuver.