Re: Long handle tree loppers

[John Rumm]

On 31/07/2016 12:57, Huge wrote:
> Just broke mine - still, they've done sterling service & didn't cost
> me anything.
>
> So ... recommendations for replacement. Anvil? Bypass? Ratchet?
> Can't say as I care about telescopic - I always used my old ones in
> their longest setting anyway. Buy a "name"? Or just el cheapo from
> Screwfix?
>
>
> £10;
>
> http://www.screwfix.com/p/telescopic-bypass-lopper/53249
>
> £35;
>
> http://www.screwfix.com/p/spear-jackson-razorsharp-advance-telescopic-ratchet-anvil-loppers/75976
>
> Also £35;
>
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Heavy-Duty-Telescopic-Ratchet-Loppers-Long-Reach-Tree-Pruning-Darlac-DP974-/271588761850

I am not a fan of the bypass design in this application since they will
often twist and splay a little as you apply a load - hence not giving a
clean or in some cases complete cut, and requiring several attempts to
get through. Although not surprisingly, better quality bypass work
better than cheap ones.

I have a couple of pairs. A S&J non extending set with oval ali handles.
Also a cheap B&Q set with steel extending handles. Sometimes handy for
getting ridiculous leverage (even if the tubes deform alarmingly in
use!) on hard stuff. Of the pair the S&J ali ones are generally far better.

If buying now I would go for an anvil design, and ali construction to
keep the weight down (having less inertia makes them easier to quickly
move and position them for the next cut I find).


--
Cheers,

John.

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[Broadback]

On 31/07/2016 13:55, Chris Hogg wrote:

> On 31 Jul 2016 11:57:32 GMT, Huge <Hu...@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Just broke mine - still, they've done sterling service & didn't cost me
>> anything.
>>
>> So ... recommendations for replacement. Anvil? Bypass? Ratchet? Can't
>> say as I care about telescopic - I always used my old ones in their
>> longest setting anyway. Buy a "name"? Or just el cheapo from Screwfix?
>>
>>
>> £10;
>>
>> http://www.screwfix.com/p/telescopic-bypass-lopper/53249
>>
>> £35;
>>
>> http://www.screwfix.com/p/spear-jackson-razorsharp-advance-telescopic-ratchet-anvil-loppers/75976
>>
>> Also £35;
>>
>> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Heavy-Duty-Telescopic-Ratchet-Loppers-Long-Reach-Tree-Pruning-Darlac-DP974-/271588761850
>
>
>
>

> I would go for ratchet types. I have both anvil and bypass ratchet
> loppers. The bypass loppers hardly ever get used. I would go for
> anvil, because over time, I find that the hinge bolt on a bypass type
> wears and the blades no longer meet properly and fail to make a clean
> cut, and tightening the nut on the hinge bolt merely makes them
> stiffer to use without solving the cutting problem.
>
> Anvil types will tolerate a certain amount of wear and slack in the
> hinge bolt and still cut cleanly. I've been using a ratchet anvil
> lopper for 15 years; they've had some pretty rough treatment over that
> time and the soft metal anvil is worn and indented by contact with the
> cutting blade, but they're still giving good service. No maker's name
> on them, unfortunately, so I can't guarantee to get the same make when
> it eventually comes to replacing them. The loppers have telescopic
> arms, but remember that the longer the handles, the wider you have to
> spread your arms to open the jaws.
>
> Much depends on what you plan to use them for. If it's just light
> pruning, and you have a pruning saw for thicker stuff, then the first
> of the ones you've listed might be OK, but if you plan to go at
> heavier stuff then I certainly wouldn't bother with the first, so
> either the second or the third.
>
> The very first ratchet anvil loppers I had looked very robust, but the
> anvil and its support were made of some cheap die-cast alloy that
> broke the second time I used them.
>
Do Chris' observations apply to secateurs also?

[Nightjar]

On 31-Jul-16 12:57 PM, Huge wrote:
> Just broke mine - still, they've done sterling service & didn't cost me
> anything.
>
> So ... recommendations for replacement. Anvil? Bypass? Ratchet? Can't
> say as I care about telescopic - I always used my old ones in their
> longest setting anyway. Buy a "name"? Or just el cheapo from Screwfix?
>
>
> £10;
>
> http://www.screwfix.com/p/telescopic-bypass-lopper/53249
>
> £35;
>
> http://www.screwfix.com/p/spear-jackson-razorsharp-advance-telescopic-ratchet-anvil-loppers/75976
>
> Also £35;
>
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Heavy-Duty-Telescopic-Ratchet-Loppers-Long-Reach-Tree-Pruning-Darlac-DP974-/271588761850
>
>

I have no idea what make mine is. I found it in the garage of the house
we moved into in the 1970s. A wooden pole, c 8ft long, with a handle at
the bottom with a wire running up from that to a lopper at the top. It
is bypass type, with the jaw opposite the blade being hook shape, so you
can hang it over the branch. If it doesn't fit in the hook, the branch
is too big. It is still working fine.

--
--

Colin Bignell

[Nightjar]

On 31-Jul-16 4:16 PM, Chris Hogg wrote:
> On Sun, 31 Jul 2016 15:04:03 +0100, Broadback
...

>> Do Chris' observations apply to secateurs also?
>

> I would say so, yes, eventually. The hinge bolt will wear and the
> blades not meet properly no matter how tight the bolt, but they take
> less stress in use, so the hinge bolt takes longer to wear.
>
> But I know some people swear by bypass types.

I was under the impression that the two types of secateurs were for
different jobs: Anvil for cutting woody stems and bypass for soft stems.



--
--

Colin Bignell

[S Viemeister]

On 7/31/2016 1:15 PM, Nightjar wrote:

> I was under the impression that the two types of secateurs were for
> different jobs: Anvil for cutting woody stems and bypass for soft stems.
>

That's what I was taught, and that's how I use them.

[Rod Speed]

"Chris Hogg" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:q95spbpl6nqkb17d8...@4ax.com...

> On Sun, 31 Jul 2016 15:04:03 +0100, Broadback

> I would say so, yes, eventually. The hinge bolt will wear and the
> blades not meet properly no matter how tight the bolt, but they
> take less stress in use, so the hinge bolt takes longer to wear.

But with those so cheap it doesn't really matter much.

> But I know some people swear by bypass types.

I do with secateurs.

[Chris Green]

Huge <Hu...@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote:
> >>
> > I have no idea what make mine is. I found it in the garage of the house
> > we moved into in the 1970s. A wooden pole, c 8ft long, with a handle at
> > the bottom with a wire running up from that to a lopper at the top. It
> > is bypass type, with the jaw opposite the blade being hook shape, so you
> > can hang it over the branch. If it doesn't fit in the hook, the branch
> > is too big. It is still working fine.
>

> Ahh, yes, I have one of those, also. "Secateurs on a stick", I call them. I'm
> after something that will cut through a 2" or so limb.
>
You want a "chainsaw on a stick" then! :-)

I have one of those "Secateurs on a stick" and they work well, however
I also have a "chainsaw on a stick" (Ryobi Expand-It) and that will
cut through quite serious branches up to 6" or so.

--
Chris Green
·

[harry]

I have a rope and pulley operated one.
Pain in the arse.

[John Rumm]

I have one of those as well - a red wooden pole, with a green handle.
The hook is kind of anvil design, but on mine the hook is made from two
layers of steel with a space between them, and that gap is where the
blade runs. So the hook supports both sides of the cut like an anvil,
but the blade never actually touches it since it bypasses the hook on
the inside. No idea how old it is - but definitely older than me!

[John Rumm]

I have the same pruner attachment... One problem I find is that its
oiling does not really work that well. Even though I have checked that
the oil path is clean and blown everything out, it still seem to use
little or no oil.

I have a feeling that the normal (quite viscus) chain oil is too thick
for it.

[Capitol]

Chris Hogg wrote:
> On Sun, 31 Jul 2016 15:04:03 +0100, Broadback
> <messag...@j-towill.co.uk> wrote:
>
>

> I would say so, yes, eventually. The hinge bolt will wear and the
> blades not meet properly no matter how tight the bolt, but they take
> less stress in use, so the hinge bolt takes longer to wear.
>

> But I know some people swear by bypass types.
>
>

No longer available from Amazon, but brilliant:-


https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LGXY2FE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
<https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LGXY2FE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1>

Li batteries lasts about an hour of cutting.

[PeterC]

On Sun, 31 Jul 2016 18:50:14 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

> I have both, and both work equally well on either. Sounds like a tale
> put about by secateur manufacturers to boost sales!

I've not used anvil secateurs so not sure about this, but I understood that
for close pruning, to avoid leaving snags, the bypass ones can get in
closer.
As for loppers, I'll never have bypass again - once had to go up the tree to
wrestle the blades from the bark that was jamming them.
I found the Aldidl pair OK until the anvil broke.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

[Nightjar]

On 31-Jul-16 6:14 PM, Huge wrote:

> Ahh, yes, I have one of those, also. "Secateurs on a stick", I call them. I'm
> after something that will cut through a 2" or so limb.

I have a pruning saw on a stick for branches that big.

--
--

Colin Bignell

[Brian Gaff]

I want some blind friendly ones, maybe with alignment bleaps so it can
detect ewhen its around a branch?
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Huge" <Hu...@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote in message
news:e067dcF...@mid.individual.net...

> Just broke mine - still, they've done sterling service & didn't cost me
> anything.
>
> So ... recommendations for replacement. Anvil? Bypass? Ratchet? Can't
> say as I care about telescopic - I always used my old ones in their
> longest setting anyway. Buy a "name"? Or just el cheapo from Screwfix?
>
>
> £10;
>
> http://www.screwfix.com/p/telescopic-bypass-lopper/53249
>
> £35;
>
> http://www.screwfix.com/p/spear-jackson-razorsharp-advance-telescopic-ratchet-anvil-loppers/75976
>
> Also £35;
>
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Heavy-Duty-Telescopic-Ratchet-Loppers-Long-Reach-Tree-Pruning-Darlac-DP974-/271588761850
>
>

> --
> Today is Boomtime, the 66th day of Confusion in the YOLD 3182
> I don't have an attitude problem.
> If you have a problem with my attitude, that's your problem.

[Andy Burns]

Brian Gaff wrote:

> I want some blind friendly ones, maybe with alignment bleaps so it can
> detect ewhen its around a branch?

And different bleeps when it's around a live cable?

[John Rumm]

The operator will do his own bleep in those circumstances ;-)

[Vir Campestris]

On 31/07/2016 16:16, Chris Hogg wrote:
> I would say so, yes, eventually. The hinge bolt will wear and the
> blades not meet properly no matter how tight the bolt, but they take
> less stress in use, so the hinge bolt takes longer to wear.
>
> But I know some people swear by bypass types.

My S&J bypass secateurs are 30 years old. A bit blunt now, and not keen
on cutting soft stuff - so I keep them for abuse. IIRC the RHS say anvil
have a _shorter_ life, but ymmv.

Andy

[Pet @ www.gymratz.co.uk ;¬)]

On 31/07/2016 12:57, Huge wrote:

> Just broke mine - still, they've done sterling service & didn't cost me
> anything.
>
> So ... recommendations for replacement. Anvil? Bypass? Ratchet? Can't
> say as I care about telescopic - I always used my old ones in their
> longest setting anyway. Buy a "name"? Or just el cheapo from Screwfix?

We have a Fiskars one.
Has a handy saw blade that can be fitted and a mult-angle head for
getting the right angle on awkward bits.

http://www.fiskars.co.uk/products/gardening/tree-pruners/telescopic-garden-cutter-up86-1000598

Must be about 5 years old now and still going strong despite trying to
chop branches that really needed sawing.


---
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[Bob Martin]

in 1512852 20160805 232509 =?UTF-8?Q?Pet_@_www.gymratz.co.uk_;=c2=ac=29?= wrote:
>On 31/07/2016 12:57, Huge wrote:
>> Just broke mine - still, they've done sterling service & didn't cost me
>> anything.
>>
>> So ... recommendations for replacement. Anvil? Bypass? Ratchet? Can't
>> say as I care about telescopic - I always used my old ones in their
>> longest setting anyway. Buy a "name"? Or just el cheapo from Screwfix?
>
>We have a Fiskars one.
>Has a handy saw blade that can be fitted and a mult-angle head for
>getting the right angle on awkward bits.
>
>http://www.fiskars.co.uk/products/gardening/tree-pruners/telescopic-garden-cutter-up86-1000598
>
>Must be about 5 years old now and still going strong despite trying to
>chop branches that really needed sawing.

Tell it to leave that decision to you.

[T i m]

On Sat, 06 Aug 2016 08:33:44 BST, Bob Martin <bob.m...@excite.com>
wrote:

LOL!

Cheers, T i m

p.s. Although shouldn't it have read 'tell them' as isn't it 'a pair',
as with a 'pair of scissors'?

[Pet @ www.gymratz.co.uk ;¬)]

On 06/08/2016 09:21, T i m wrote:

> p.s. Although shouldn't it have read 'tell them' as isn't it 'a pair',
> as with a 'pair of scissors'?

My Dad (Welshman) used to say "a scissor". Why would it be a pair? after
all, it operates in "a scissor(s)" motion and unless there was the 2
blades joined together that made up the scissor you simply have a
knife/blade of which a pair of blades plural make a scissor singular.

:)

[T i m]

On Sat, 6 Aug 2016 17:51:05 +0100, Pet @ www.gymratz.co.uk ;¬)
<0345.86...@GymRatZ.Gym.Equipment> wrote:

>On 06/08/2016 09:21, T i m wrote:
>
>> p.s. Although shouldn't it have read 'tell them' as isn't it 'a pair',
>> as with a 'pair of scissors'?
>
>My Dad (Welshman) used to say "a scissor". Why would it be a pair?

Same reason it's a 'pair of trousers' or 'pair of pants', 'pair of
headphones', I guess? Whilst they are all one thing they combine /
contain two objects?

'I'd like two wiper blades please' (when they are asymmetrical) or 'a
pair of wiper blades' when they are identical (although that one is
probably pushing it). ;-)

>after
>all, it operates in "a scissor(s)" motion

Yes, where the two things are acting as one, as in 'put your grey
trousers on' (because you are treating them in the singular at that
point).

>and unless there was the 2
>blades joined together that made up the scissor you simply have a
>knife/blade of which a pair of blades plural make a scissor singular.
>
>:)

Yes, as in 'pass me the scissors' (treated as a singular object)
versus 'we need a new pair of scissors' because that is how they are
made?

Or summat ... ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Fredxxx]

But... doesn't "a new pair" refer to a singular quantity?

[T i m]

Yes! ;-)

As with trousers, pants, headphones, glasses and even individual
things that are typically sold in pairs like speakers or cufflinks.

'I've bought you 'a' (singular) 'pair' (quantity per unit) of
cufflinks for your birthday'.

Cheers, T i m