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- #11
I am glad you did not have an accident getting those limbs loose. Depending on how high those branches are, I like using my Ryobi 18v pole saw to cut off branches. With the extensions, I get about 10 feet of height, or distance, on the cuts...
That saw will cut up to 6-inch round limbs. Surprisingly, it is a pretty good pole saw, especially compared to my older manual pole saw. The 8-inch chainsaw on the end does a great job cutting. I mostly use it for trimming high branches, but I have also used it in situations like yours where I need something further away from the fall zone. I have bigger, faster chainsaws but they don't let me stand 10 feet away from the tree, for example.
I only use that pole saw a couple times every year, but when I do use it, it's the perfect tool for the job. I have never regretted buying that pole saw. I am in the Ryobi line, but other brands have pole saws just like mine. I have 3 acres of wooded lot, so it was a good investment for me.
In fact, when I cut down the 50 foot widow maker I was talking about in this thread, I only used my Ryobi 18v pole saw to cut around the ~12-inch broken tree trunk. It did not go all the way through, but I only had to cut most of the break and that allowed the tree to be pulled down easier.
And yes, I was very respectful that the tree could have fallen down at any time, and I had no idea where it might fall. So, the pole saw allowed me to cut the break while hiding behind protective barriers to keep myself safer. No way was I going to climb up a ladder 10 feet and cut the broken trunk with my full-sized chainsaws. That would have been incredibly dangerous for me.
Like you, I was faced with a situation where that broken tree could have fallen down at any time, on top of anyone (most likely me), and it was unsafe to leave it to nature to take it down. Thankfully, we both managed to take down the problems and share the experience on the BYC forums.
I prefer to do things myself, but if someone is not comfortable with taking down a widow maker, I would not hesitate to tell them to hire out the job. Our local arborists charge hundreds, if not a thousand dollars or more, for tree jobs. That's a lot of money to me, but well worth it if you don't feel safe on any job where you could end up dead!
