On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 12:10:39 -0400, Jeff Wisnia wrote:
Speaking of "dangerous tools": Two weeks ago I succumbed to temptation and
bought one of those Remington pole saws (a lightweight 10 inch electric chain
saw on a telescoping pole.) to help me trim back some of the tree branches which
persist in seeking the open spaces over our backyard. (Because every other
direction is blocked by more trees, those trees aren't dumb.). I'd been using
one of those pull rope loppers, but some of the branches which I wanted to cut
were too large for it.

Anyway, the pole saw worked as advertised albeit it's reach wasn't as great as I
would have hoped for. But, the clamp which you tighten to lock the telescoping
pole sections where you want them is pure ****e for the job it has to do. It's a
plastic collet clamping on a shiny fiberglass pole. The collet is closed by a
threaded plastic ring with a ribbed outer surface. Looks OK in principle, but it
would take King Kong to tighten it enough by hand to keep those pole sections
locked in use. And, the (rather crummy) manual which came with the product
specifically warns NOT to use tools to tighten the clamp. Even with work gloves
on I can't tighten it enough to lock it up.

I have one of those pole saws. It works great. Sounds to me like you were
trying to manually saw with it. Let the chain do the work. If it is sharp and
properly tensioned, you don't have to exert any great force to make it cut,
and the telescoping clamp won't slip. Mine tightens up just fine with hand
effort, but if the pole is as "shiney" as you say, you might try taking the
shine off with a bit of sandpaper. That'll let the fingers of the collet grip
it better.

But in keeping with this thread, I'll relate one incident with respect to the
pole saw. You *cannot* step out of the way quick enough to avoid the
limb you were cutting *directly* over your head. Fortunately I was wearing
my hard hat. Now, for limbs which are so high I'd need to stand directly
underneath to reach them, I use a ladder, off to one side, so I can reach
*over* and cut the limb instead of reaching *up* to cut the limb.

Gary