We've got *lots* of hedges to cut - 200 yds+ of mostly hawthorn and privet
plus a little of the dreaded L*******. Our second B&D trimmer has given up
and is just ripping instead of cutting. It only lasted 2 or 3 years.

I've come to the conclusion that we need to spend a little more money :-(
Any suggestions? We need :-

Electric (not cordless)
Not petrol (too heavy - otherwise would love one)
Blade length of approx 600mm

TIA.
--
Regards,

Troy the Black Lab.

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"Troy" wrote in message
...
We've got *lots* of hedges to cut - 200 yds+ of mostly hawthorn and privet
plus a little of the dreaded L*******. Our second B&D trimmer has given up
and is just ripping instead of cutting. It only lasted 2 or 3 years.

I've come to the conclusion that we need to spend a little more money :-(
Any suggestions? We need :-

Electric (not cordless)
Not petrol (too heavy - otherwise would love one)
Blade length of approx 600mm


try the bosch pro range 600/700 blade length, 32mmcut powerful motor,
solidly put together around £130

pk

Troy wrote:

Hello Troy

T We've got *lots* of hedges to cut - 200 yds+ of mostly
T hawthorn and privet plus a little of the dreaded L*******.
T Our second B&D trimmer has given up and is just ripping
T instead of cutting. It only lasted 2 or 3 years.

If the blades are still tight (ie, not floppy with a noticable gap
between them) then ten minutes with a good file should bring them
sharp again. With that much hedge I'd be surprised if many of the
cheaper electric hedgecutters would last for very long.

T Electric (not cordless)
T Not petrol (too heavy - otherwise would love one)

Bit pricier, but you can get backpack hedgecutters with the engine and
fuel tank mounted behind you and the cutter on a light shaft. Not used
one (though have the chainsaw version) but it seems a sound idea.

But petrol cutters have reduced in weight a lot over the past 5 years
or so. Got a little jonsered one here that does the job fine, but does
get your arms aching after a while.

If you're rural, bung the tractor driver a few quid when he does the
roadside hedges. I've had most of my hedges done this way for three
years - *much* easier!

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/

"Troy" wrote in message ...
We've got *lots* of hedges to cut - 200 yds+ of mostly hawthorn and privet
plus a little of the dreaded L*******. Our second B&D trimmer has given up
and is just ripping instead of cutting. It only lasted 2 or 3 years.

I've come to the conclusion that we need to spend a little more money :-(
Any suggestions? We need :-

Electric (not cordless)
Not petrol (too heavy - otherwise would love one)
Blade length of approx 600mm

Viking (Stihl) do a good electric one, not sure if they come as short as you want though - I'll look in the Stihl
catalogue when I go back to work.

Rod

Troy wrote:
We've got *lots* of hedges to cut - 200 yds+ of mostly hawthorn and
privet plus a little of the dreaded L*******. Our second B&D trimmer
has given up and is just ripping instead of cutting.

......Now its funny you should say that, Troy.
Snap. Ditto. Me too.
And then I discovered that I had lost one of the 'bolt+spacer+nut'
thingies that holds the reciprocating blades together - but apart, if
you see what I mean. At £1 a set, they are expensive for what they are
but a sight cheaper than a new trimmer. I have five on order. Let me
know if you need one.

--
ned

On Mon, 25 Aug 2003 22:05:18 +0000 (UTC), Paul Kelly wrote:

try the bosch pro range 600/700 blade length, 32mmcut powerful motor,
solidly put together around £130

Thanks for that Paul. I've had a look at them in Homebase/B&Q and online.
On my shortlist :-)
--
Regards,

Troy the Black Lab.

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On Tue, 26 Aug 2003 16:02:23 GMT, Simon Avery wrote:

If the blades are still tight (ie, not floppy with a noticable gap
between them) then ten minutes with a good file should bring them
sharp again. With that much hedge I'd be surprised if many of the
cheaper electric hedgecutters would last for very long.

Slight gap - I think it's worn out - as you say they don't seem to last
very long.

Bit pricier, but you can get backpack hedgecutters with the engine and
fuel tank mounted behind you and the cutter on a light shaft. Not used
one (though have the chainsaw version) but it seems a sound idea.

Good idea but not possible - it's shared with SWMBO :-)

But petrol cutters have reduced in weight a lot over the past 5 years
or so. Got a little jonsered one here that does the job fine, but does
get your arms aching after a while.

See above :-)

If you're rural, bung the tractor driver a few quid when he does the
roadside hedges. I've had most of my hedges done this way for three
years - *much* easier!

Semi rural but not possible - I just wish :-)

Thanks Simon.
--
Regards,

Troy the Black Lab.

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On Tue, 26 Aug 2003 19:09:51 +0100, Rod wrote:

Viking (Stihl) do a good electric one, not sure if they come as short as you want though - I'll look in the Stihl
catalogue when I go back to work.

Thanks - I've had a look at Viking - they certainly do them at the size I
need. Like the look of them and certainly on my shortlist.

Thanks Rod.
--
Regards,

Troy the Black Lab.

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On Tue, 26 Aug 2003 20:19:38 +0100, ned wrote:

.....Now its funny you should say that, Troy.
Snap. Ditto. Me too.
And then I discovered that I had lost one of the 'bolt+spacer+nut'
thingies that holds the reciprocating blades together - but apart, if
you see what I mean. At £1 a set, they are expensive for what they are
but a sight cheaper than a new trimmer. I have five on order. Let me
know if you need one.

Thanks Ned, but it's not that (just been up to the shed to check :-)). IIRC
they kept coming loose on the last one - kept tightening them up until I
got fed up.

I've got to face up to the fact that although B&D type stuff would be OK in
the average size garden and would probably last for ever, if I want
something to last with my lengths of hedges I've got to spend real
money:-(((

Thanks again Ned - see you in the other place :-)
--
Regards,

Troy the Black Lab.

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Troy wrote:

Hello Troy

If the blades are still tight (ie, not floppy with a
noticable gap between them) then ten minutes with a good
file should bring them sharp again. With that much hedge
I'd be surprised if many of the cheaper electric
hedgecutters would last for very long.
T Slight gap - I think it's worn out - as you say they don't
T seem to last very long.

Ah. Could still probably be fixed, but whether it's worth it is a
different matter.

Bit pricier, but you can get backpack hedgecutters with
the engine and fuel tank mounted behind you and the cutter
on a light shaft. Not used one (though have the chainsaw
version) but it seems a sound idea.
T Good idea but not possible - it's shared with SWMBO :-)

Gotcha. My wife tried ours (small petrol) but soon resorts to
"helpless female" after five minutes, so anything you can do to ensure
yours is happy to use it has got to be good, or you'll end up like me
- having to do it all yourself.

Sometimes the agricultural retailers have a better selection of higher
quality cutters than the DIY sheds, as do some of the
garden/horticultural centres. Most of the DIY sheds seem to focus on
price and potential for markup rather than quality for a lot of their
power tools.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/