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Which saw do I need to cut through thick stems?

robert.flookrobert.flook Posts: 1
in Tools and techniques
Hi,

I am trying to remove a shrub/bush from my garden which has been left to grow wild for a good few years (not entirely sure what it is TBH). I have been able to cut back the higher branches with a hedge trimmer but how need to hack through the lower stems - which are thicker. I used a universal saw on another plant which was of the same variety, and though it worked, it was tough. 

Which saw should I ideally be using to get through thicker stems near the bottom of the plant? 

Any advice gratefully received.  

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I use a bow saw.
    Devon.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    I use a bow saw if there's room, or one of those curved pruning saws if space is tight


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    A pruning saw is the ideal tool as it can get into places a bow saw can't. I have both and am happy using either. Pruning saws work on the pull stroke which can help in tight spaces. You can get folding versions of pruning saws which are easier and safer to store.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I like Bahco or Silky for pruning saws, or any saws actually. Cheaper versions often don't last very long and you can't get replacement blades.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    We use a Wolf pruning saw head and then fit a short, medium or long handle depending on where the branches are that we're cutting.   OH recently removed a lot of large, low branches from a mimosa we've inherited and found that an ordinary wood saw worked well but it helped to spray the blade with WD40 to stop it sticking.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • marknissen7marknissen7 Posts: 2
    Pruning saws is the tool you are looking for :-)
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    Another vote for a pruning saw. Have cut through some fair size branches with mine and is good in the tight spaces at the base of multi-stemmed shrubs.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I only use a saw for branches over an inch or 2cm ish. I use long handled loppers for less than that and to clear the area, before I use a saw.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Don't cut too far down in case you need a bit of leverage to get the roots out.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • ZeroZero1ZeroZero1 Posts: 577
    You don't need a saw a lopper is what you want. Much easier https://www.homebase.co.uk/our-range/garden/garden-tools-and-gardening-equipment/pruners-and-cutting-tools/loppers
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