weed wacker question

[bigtiller]

You guys sure have more energy than me.
If my 60" trim mower can't cut it, I spray it with glyphosate.

 

[kenmbz]

I try to keep some of the brush for wildlife cover.
My hope though is to get the rocks and chunks of fallen ash moved so I can use the flail to cut this down without using the brushcutter too often.

The smaller trees, autumn olive and the like don't get damaged by string, but the blade works great.
I use renegade blades for whatever the strings won't take out for now.

It does not bind up even in the tall stiltgrass and cuts though anything up to about 3" without too much work.

yes it is a long time to clear the acre I use it on and some of the unfinished trails, but it works.
EVentually I will also have the trails to where I can get the tractor through, but the dead ash are still falling, still need to remove the bigger rocks and chunks of wood everywhere from shattered ash trees.

 

[JasperFrank]

For more delicate areas I use this head which will take line up to .105 inch. I have a measure set out on my garage work table for the lengths to cut. The ends I have to cut at a 45 angle to feed the line. Because you are working with 6 lines, this chops up the grass in to smaller pieces- less wrap. I don't find steel core line to be any more useful than the Nylon. First thing I do with the bump feed head that came with the new whacker, is to throw it in the trash.

 

[ultrarunner]

095 has been my go-to...

Bought several large Tanaka branded spools when a mower shop went out of business...

The Tanaka is good stuff and didn't fuse/melt in the head like others tried.

Just bought some Echo 105 lightning to see how it works.

.105 is the max for my head.

 

[ning]

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This blade has been amazingly effective at clearing brush and small saplings on my property. This blade combined with my Stihl trimmer are responsible for clearing a significant amount of area on my property. I’ve probably purchased about 7 of these blades in the past 5 years. My neighbor recently purchased and now uses this blade to clear areas of his property too. I highly recommend it.

Just like another poster mentioned, keep anything you love far away from your work area. This blade sends rocks and debris at lightning speed anywhere and everywhere.

Mike

I've been using an Oregon blade that looks pretty much identical -

I'll definitely put it away shortly as the grass is rapidly drying and it'll soon be a fire risk, but it definitely annihilates blackberries, oak seedlings, bunch grass... with the tall grasses depending on how much there is I either sweep back and forth from top to bottom, or I'll just cut it off low and let it fall.

It's really refreshing to be able to use the trimmer for an entire tank of gas without stopping every few minutes to swap strings. We use a 3 string head with cam locks which you jam a string into and it generally holds it (recently replaced the head because the previous one stopped holding the strings), with 0.155 string. That stuff cuts really well but definitely doesn't last very long when given anything other than grass to cut (and I suspect my wife runs it right along concrete walls to get every bit of grass away from it!).

The Oregon blade works great but obviously if you put it in the ground or into rocks it dulls up, but like a brush cutter it'll continue to cut grass even when dull, and it's easy to sharpen. I'll note that even with the blade guard in place, it can really kick rocks - my wife got a big bruise below her knee from hitting a rock.

 

[ArlyA]

I believe bump heads max string size is 105. I put a Bump head on a few weeks ago so a young fellow can keep our yard while away. Hadn't used it in about 15 years so it was kinda fun. All our normal use and larger string heads are cam lock. Years ago tried some heads where the string freed around things to keep it on and found them terrible to use. Cam lock waaaay better.

 

[ultrarunner]

My best string head is called the Tanka Brain.

It always kept the line optimal without bumping.

Centrifugal force released head to feed the line.

The OEM Echo .105 bump head is ok…

 

[big bubba]

thanks to above posters for equip ideas to avoid weed binding on my bump string head. i'll try removing the guard on the FS250 bicycle handle beast, and my approach technique on tall stemmy fescue. may also step up on the string size. different types of string design is another topic worthy of discussion.

i use blades occasionally but not around landscape trees for obvious reason. once the initial stems are cut, dealing with the blade growth later on is cakewalk
thx again

 

[ArlyA]

We've tried every "supreme whacko guaranteed" string shape in the book which made little, to no difference. What did was the string diameter and that's why we're hoping to up in size what we use. We do occasionally cut a swamp grass that is fiberry as heck and would need to multi cut its length as the op suggests to get it down.

 

[big bubba]

is 105 the max string diameter of bump cutter head? i may step up from 95, then remove guard