Hand chain saws

Jay Angler wrote:

Pearl Sutton wrote:Might make it hard to dodge falling branches though. Hmmm.

That's why I said you'd need a *LONG* T-T. And wear a helmet and safety glasses!

How about putting a sawhorse or two in a line perpendicular to the direction the saw needs to go. Rest a *really* long pipe on the sawhorses with clamps that allow the pipe to slide back and forth, but don't allow it to shift out of alignment. Attach the rope to each end. Think if it like a ginormous "Bow Saw" but with the blade up the tree? First you pull the pipe, then you push the pipe and the saw goes back and forth.  

Does that make sense?

It does, and that may work for some people. Too much upper body work for me.  I'm trying to think legs and balance to power it.

Pearl Sutton wrote: It does, and that may work for some people. Too much upper body work for me.  I'm trying to think legs and balance to power it.

How much range would it take to make it work - 3 feet? More? Ideally less? Think in terms of the pipe being higher up (tall work horses like 4 feet tall, and attached at one end to the top of a rocking chair or better those gliding rocking chairs. You're sitting and pushing with your feet? Back is supported. I think I'm getting crazier, but I can picture it in my head. It's a lot to move and position for every tree branch, but if you need to get your legs and mass to do the work, maybe my crazy ideas will lead you to something you can actually build and operate.

If you had to do it yourself, maybe an extension spring attached to a trailer hitch or other secure place of a vehicle could hold and pull back the other side of the rope. If you prefer to use your legs more, maybe a type of handle that you can hold firmly while using your legs, or even a seat of some sort, (being careful when the branch breaks to not fall with the seat.)
I haven't used one of these saws as I've been skeptical of their usefulness, so I'm glad to see your methods and success.

When I saw (haha) this thread my brain immediately invented a device that's basically a bicycle-cranked chainsaw. Seems to me this could be made starting with the working end of a regular chainsaw and, yes, an old bicycle's pedal-guts for something that could be run by hand, no power or fuel required. Would be slower than the real thing but maybe it would work pretty well?

Rez Zircon wrote:When I saw (haha) this thread my brain immediately invented a device that's basically a bicycle-cranked chainsaw. Seems to me this could be made starting with the working end of a regular chainsaw and, yes, an old bicycle's pedal-guts for something that could be run by hand, no power or fuel required. Would be slower than the real thing but maybe it would work pretty well?

This issue here is that the OP wants to cut a branch 20 ft up! She'd need to buy a gross of the hand chain-saw chains and attach them all together to reach over the branch and down to the bike!

Now, maybe if you got an old tricycle where you can go forward and backward with the pedals under load, you could have a "bike section that provides power," a "tree section that cuts," and adjustable non-stretchy ropes joining the two ends of the cutting chain to the two ends of the bike end. You still have to MacGyver the issue that these saws work better if they're not in a tight loop around the branch, but are actually forming a triangle, which is also important so that the operator isn't right under the falling branch! Remember people, those small looking branches 20 ft up are often big and heavy and there's a reason they're referred to as "widow makers"!

I have read that a "recumbent-style" set-up is more energy efficient for bicycle powered equipment than an upright style bike system.

Jay, I think Rez means take a chainsaw bar, chain, and sprocket assembly and put it on a pole powered by a bicycle crank. Or maybe a pole saw attatchment made for a string trimmer would work. I think I would go with a reciprocating saw. I forgot to comment, but I had the idea of Edward Norton on his log cutting dilemma thread making the world's first (possibly) bike powered drag saw since he's really into bikes.

As for Pearl, I did have the idea that if upper body strength is an issue, perhaps she could simply attach one rope to one hip, and the other to the other hip, and make Chubby Checker proud and just do the Twist until the branch comes down! Maybe after a bit of practice and training, she might move up to a hula and have them down in no time. It could be efficient enough to perhaps even start an environmentally friendly limb trimming business...the novelty factor alone should command a premium price for her services. Go Pearl, go!