Used a Stihl brush cutter with the cutting blade for years. Yes, it does the job well for any softwood up to ~3" dia. Don't forget the harness and the chainsaw file to sharpen the blade correctly. The kickback can be fast and strong...be warned. Good show. Tak Tak.
Great video! Just remember folks, you cannot use a blade on a curved shaft trimmer because they have a flexible drive shaft and will twist apart but a strait shaft trimmer has a solid drive shaft that will not twist off and break......
duane brown I found that many straight shaft trimmers have flexible shafts, as well. They are for home owners and light to moderate use. To get a descent trimmer that has a shaft capable of handling a cutter head, I had to transition to a commercial model. That is all I buy now and I am satisfied with the Stihl FS70 for brush like heavily grown dog fennel (it will probably handle much larger, just my preference) and it only weighs 10lbs. I use the FS130 with handle bars for everything else, even 4-5 inches periodically. I have a Shindiawa brush cutter with handle bars, though they are great cutters, mine is sub par for my liking...it may be just mine. Where the Shindiawa has problems getting up to rpm quick and staying there during use, my Stihls don't have a hiccup. Husqvarna makes great units too. I would shy away from some of the big box store units and their other brands that mimic high quality straight shaft units with junk.
I've been using a Husqvarna 555FX forestry saw. I've cleared nearly 30 acres of ERC trees here in the Ozarks. I've gone to using those 7" & 8" blades with the chainsaw teeth. They cut a bigger kerf and in sappy wood, that makes a big difference.
Yup I have the Stihl blade haven't tried any others but sharpens easily, and really knocks down saplings, and rips through thick vines. I don't even have that high end of a Stihl just a RC56 but it still rips right through everything.
I used a 40 teeth carbide circular saw blade on my Husky to grind down a tree stump and clean up brushes. It worked fine and effective. Cheaper tool too.
you said you cleared about 20 acres of brush - how many people and how much total time (manhours) did it take? I have approx thus much of neglected pastures covered with small cedars from a few inches to 6 'to 7'... i just purchased FS 111 Stihl and just tried out a woodcut blade and WOW did it do well...
I need something to widen a path where there are tons of menacing looking bushes with thorns! I am going to look into some of the models you guys referenced in the comments. I am a total newbie to this and the idea of operating a chainsaw is beyond terrifying so I am thrilled to see that there are other options. Although whirring blades in general are pretty nerve racking....
I have an Echo SRM 400-U brushcutter and I take care of my acreage with it. I've used it extensively for years from cutting everything from brush to small trees up to 6" in diameter using standard 7 1/4" carbide circular saw blades. Had a special washer made costing me $50.00 that enabled me to do this. Great setup. Now they have carbide blades widely available and relatively inexpensive that are especially made for brush cutters. I don't use a brush guard, (look on Lawnsite.com for the pros and cons of this choice) and turn the left handle back to rest on my hip for better control. Bottom line, emphatically YES, it's worth it if you have small trees and brush to remove on a regular basis.
I sharpen the blades I use on my Stil with a round file just like a chain saw tooth and each tooth works like a scythe in the grass but it also cuts like a chain saw with woody brush. Cutting heavy grass for hay I use it just like a scythe except I can under cut on the back stroke and sill windrow the grass to the left. I have a video of my sharpening the blades but I have not edited it yet.
I do lots of clearing, from heavy weeds to 1" (25 mm) or larger woody stems to 5" seedlings, running machines from 40 y.o. 21 cc Echo to 31 cc Tanaka, with 10 or 12" 3-knife or 40-tooth carbide blades or 9" chainsaw-cutter blades. More engine displacement mainly results in more weight- not good. Loop-handle is preferable where cutting head's run at differing elevations. Bike-handles best for simple side-side cutting. Harness mandatory for safety, as are eye & hearing protection. Blade hole must match arbor, 20 or 25 mm. 3-knife blades work well for 1" stems, and are easily field-sharpened. Carbide blades easy to bench-sharpen with diamond wheel on HF sharpener. Chainsaw-cutter blades easy to touch up in the field, with 3/16" file; they and carbide blades handle much larger stems. In US, best blade prices I've found, are at Forester.
How low do you cut your saplings in the field? ... because if you leave the stump too high they can be dangerous (i.e. trip and fall on them)... but if you try to cut them too low, you have your blade in the dirt... any thoughts on this? Thanks.
The blade is basically cutting parallel to the ground when everything is adjusted properly, since your harness is supporting most of the weight of the unit. You can "float" the blade across the surface of the ground & cut very low. Another thing is to make sure the throttle control is set up for using a blade as compared to using a string trimmer head. The blades perform best when operated at their designed speed. String trimmer heads are not rated for as many RPM's as a brush blade, which brings back an important safety point. Do not use circular saw blades as these are not rated for the RPM's that a clearing saw is capable of operating at. They may break up & fly apart on you, & the guard on the clearing saw is not going to save your feet. Also, some invasive species may require a squirt of herbicide on the remaining stump in order to prevent re-sprouting. Bush honeysuckle is one I have had to deal with.
I prefer to use the triangular blade overall. It works amazing for saplings and willows, as well as smaller softwoods and even some birch and poplar. I stopped using the saw blade to maintain remote helipads (just clearings in the bush with maybe a log pad), and switched to the triangular blade, and never looked back. Easier to maintain an edge than the saw blade, and if it gets dull, you can flip the triangular blade and have a fresh edge to use. They do throw more debris than the saw, however. Maybe for the initial clearing I would prefer the saw blade, but most vegetation would have to be trees with a diameter greater than 15cm. I swear those triangle blades are under rated!
I was using my echo trimmer at my property and my neighbour came to me and told me that I was doing it wrong. I was runing it continuously at full throttle and he told me that I should rev it more, you know like some douchebags before the light goes green, vroom vroom. He told me that "it oils better that way". After a quick search on Google my feeling that the jury is still out on this one, so what are you thoughts?
Bought Echo SRM 420 brush cutter and with 350mm blade you can pretty much remove even trees with diameter of 20cm with ease. Its also much faster than 50cc chainsaw.But chainsaw is better for limbing those trees. Now I have no idea how I lived without it.
I am wondering the same thing. I hate sitting the brush cutter circular blade down and someone possibly stepping into the blade while power is off. It is a dangerous tool and I try to place the blade to minimize exposure to keep from having accidents and also dulling the blade in dirt or rocks.
Looking forward to your tips for using these. They are uncommon in the US, they are considered pretty "unsafe" by a lot of people I think? I have a cutting blade for a stihl kombi trimmer head but I don't have the wide handle bars, do you think they are necessary for good control when using the brush cutter saw?
The sawblades are realy fun to use At school we've sawn down trees that were 25 cm in diameter We even did a face cut Looking back this was realy dangerous but fun as hell
Yeah we use them in my school as well for lots of clearing in a more open type area, if we're cutting where there's rocks sticking out the ground we generally use a chainsaw because it's less hassle to set up.
Nice video. I've owned a Jonsered brush cutter for about 10 years. I could not get along without it. I mostly use the saw blade, since I'm using it to cut a lot of invasive Buckthorn saplings: generally less than 2" (5cm), but occasionally go up to 3 or 4 " (~8-10cm). IMO, the useful limit on my saw when cutting something very hard like Buckthorn is about 3" (~8cm). I can do 4" pine easily. Mine is not the largest clearing saw, so I'm a bit limited by power, especially in the hardwoods. I'd love to see you demonstrate it in use, especially tips for directional felling of saplings. I can do it, but I'm not all that good at it. Always looking for tips. PErhaps you could combine this with a video where you discuss what you are taking out and what you are leaving when you thin your forest for TSI work.
That sounds like an excellent idea if you're not doing too too much coppicing. It will of course depend on the thickness at which you cut the coppice. Generally hazel is allowed to grow thicker, so it would probably work best for willow.
when I clear brush with the closest thing I've got to one of those, I find that it is best to wear my thick, double-knee jeans and a thick coat, as well as the head protection. it's not to protect from the cutter itself, as with a chainsaw, but to protect from what it throws. a 3 inch x 0.75 inch chunk of BlackBerry at high speed doesn't exactly feel pleasant.
Great videos. Have you already done (or would you consider doing) videos on how you choose which trees are worth thinning, and which are worth keeping? I saw one of your videos on this topic where you discussed promoting your softwood, but I am wondering about how you think your hardwood (I think you have mostly birch)?
I prefer to use my Stihl 460 with the shredding blade and Husqvarna 545 for softer use, with the cutting circular saw because the Husqvarna is less reliable (low quality screws and maybe weaker angle gears) but I still love the Husqvarna overall
For denne video: En af de bedre, hvad angår gennemgang af buskrydder, men hvorfor viser I ikke brugen af de to sidste klinger?!? I viser, hvordan de udskiftes, men ikke i en brugssituation. Det er lidt for vag.
In Sweden and neighbouring countries it has its well-deserved place, but in some other places it seems to be kind of unknown. Brush saws are very useful.
I have absolutely no connection to the company but use an Australian Brush Destructor blade and find it replaces all 3 of the blades mentioned. The saw blade is archaic as all it does is fell the brush, then what? The brush destructor cuts the brush and then you go back over it to mulch it when it's on the ground so the area is properly cleared instead of leaving crap everywhere. brushdestructor.com/ Although a chainsaw would be better, I also cut through 150-200 mm trees quite easily with that blade. Not wearing chaps is probably fine for easy work like in this video, but for more serious clearing they help to prevent the inevitable debris from taking out one's shins. The novelty of having a chunk of wood ricocheting off each leg wears thin very quickly!
I just purchased an echo commercial model . . . lots of power but terrible balance . . . I keep going back to my old HHT35 Honda . . . I shouldn't have listen to the hype about commercial models . . . I used my Honda for six years clearing acres of land . . . cuts up to 2" alders and has fantastic balance . . . alder and brush over 2" you need a chainsaw, so all that extra power and weight is a waste.
Ye don’t waste money on grass blades there hopeless. Stihl do circular saw blades which can hit stone and metal and keep going carbon tipped highly recommend
![Clearing Saw Tips & Tricks [Bonus Video]](/img/n.gif)
Used a Stihl brush cutter with the cutting blade for years. Yes, it does the job well for any softwood up to ~3" dia. Don't forget the harness and the chainsaw file to sharpen the blade correctly. The kickback can be fast and strong...be warned. Good show. Tak Tak.
Great video! Just remember folks, you cannot use a blade on a curved shaft trimmer because they have a flexible drive shaft and will twist apart but a strait shaft trimmer has a solid drive shaft that will not twist off and break......
duane brown I found that many straight shaft trimmers have flexible shafts, as well. They are for home owners and light to moderate use. To get a descent trimmer that has a shaft capable of handling a cutter head, I had to transition to a commercial model. That is all I buy now and I am satisfied with the Stihl FS70 for brush like heavily grown dog fennel (it will probably handle much larger, just my preference) and it only weighs 10lbs. I use the FS130 with handle bars for everything else, even 4-5 inches periodically. I have a Shindiawa brush cutter with handle bars, though they are great cutters, mine is sub par for my liking...it may be just mine. Where the Shindiawa has problems getting up to rpm quick and staying there during use, my Stihls don't have a hiccup. Husqvarna makes great units too. I would shy away from some of the big box store units and their other brands that mimic high quality straight shaft units with junk.
Instablaster...
I have an Echo SRM 410U and LOVE it! I've had it for years and YES it is worth it!
I've been using a Husqvarna 555FX forestry saw. I've cleared nearly 30 acres of ERC trees here in the Ozarks. I've gone to using those 7" & 8" blades with the chainsaw teeth. They cut a bigger kerf and in sappy wood, that makes a big difference.
Would you recommend I get the 545fr 2.8 hp or is yours worth the extra $500? I have a lot of thick brush to clear.
Yup I have the Stihl blade haven't tried any others but sharpens easily, and really knocks down saplings, and rips through thick vines. I don't even have that high end of a Stihl just a RC56 but it still rips right through everything.
Have an Oleo-Mat 740 on the farm for almost 20 years. Very reliable make, much under rated.
I used a 40 teeth carbide circular saw blade on my Husky to grind down a tree stump and clean up brushes. It worked fine and effective. Cheaper tool too.
you said you cleared about 20 acres of brush - how many people and how much total time (manhours) did it take? I have approx thus much of neglected pastures covered with small cedars from a few inches to 6 'to 7'... i just purchased FS 111 Stihl and just tried out a woodcut blade and WOW did it do well...
I need something to widen a path where there are tons of menacing looking bushes with thorns! I am going to look into some of the models you guys referenced in the comments. I am a total newbie to this and the idea of operating a chainsaw is beyond terrifying so I am thrilled to see that there are other options. Although whirring blades in general are pretty nerve racking....
I have an Echo SRM 400-U brushcutter and I take care of my acreage with it. I've used it extensively for years from cutting everything from brush to small trees up to 6" in diameter using standard 7 1/4" carbide circular saw blades. Had a special washer made costing me $50.00 that enabled me to do this. Great setup. Now they have carbide blades widely available and relatively inexpensive that are especially made for brush cutters. I don't use a brush guard, (look on Lawnsite.com for the pros and cons of this choice) and turn the left handle back to rest on my hip for better control. Bottom line, emphatically YES, it's worth it if you have small trees and brush to remove on a regular basis.
Hey! I can not find anything online about those electric heathers... Have you purchased extra? Which models fit?
I sharpen the blades I use on my Stil with a round file just like a chain saw tooth and each tooth works like a scythe in the grass but it also cuts like a chain saw with woody brush. Cutting heavy grass for hay I use it just like a scythe except I can under cut on the back stroke and sill windrow the grass to the left.
I have a video of my sharpening the blades but I have not edited it yet.
I do lots of clearing, from heavy weeds to 1" (25 mm) or larger woody stems to 5" seedlings, running machines from 40 y.o. 21 cc Echo to 31 cc Tanaka, with 10 or 12" 3-knife or 40-tooth carbide blades or 9" chainsaw-cutter blades. More engine displacement mainly results in more weight- not good. Loop-handle is preferable where cutting head's run at differing elevations. Bike-handles best for simple side-side cutting. Harness mandatory for safety, as are eye & hearing protection. Blade hole must match arbor, 20 or 25 mm.
3-knife blades work well for 1" stems, and are easily field-sharpened. Carbide blades easy to bench-sharpen with diamond wheel on HF sharpener. Chainsaw-cutter blades easy to touch up in the field, with 3/16" file; they and carbide blades handle much larger stems. In US, best blade prices I've found, are at Forester.
How low do you cut your saplings in the field? ... because if you leave the stump too high they can be dangerous (i.e. trip and fall on them)... but if you try to cut them too low, you have your blade in the dirt... any thoughts on this? Thanks.
cut as close to the ground as possible.
The blade is basically cutting parallel to the ground when everything is adjusted properly, since your harness is supporting most of the weight of the unit. You can "float" the blade across the surface of the ground & cut very low. Another thing is to make sure the throttle control is set up for using a blade as compared to using a string trimmer head. The blades perform best when operated at their designed speed. String trimmer heads are not rated for as many RPM's as a brush blade, which brings back an important safety point. Do not use circular saw blades as these are not rated for the RPM's that a clearing saw is capable of operating at. They may break up & fly apart on you, & the guard on the clearing saw is not going to save your feet. Also, some invasive species may require a squirt of herbicide on the remaining stump in order to prevent re-sprouting. Bush honeysuckle is one I have had to deal with.
Glad to see you back :)
Håller med!
I prefer to use the triangular blade overall. It works amazing for saplings and willows, as well as smaller softwoods and even some birch and poplar. I stopped using the saw blade to maintain remote helipads (just clearings in the bush with maybe a log pad), and switched to the triangular blade, and never looked back. Easier to maintain an edge than the saw blade, and if it gets dull, you can flip the triangular blade and have a fresh edge to use. They do throw more debris than the saw, however.
Maybe for the initial clearing I would prefer the saw blade, but most vegetation would have to be trees with a diameter greater than 15cm. I swear those triangle blades are under rated!
I was using my echo trimmer at my property and my neighbour came to me and told me that I was doing it wrong. I was runing it continuously at full throttle and he told me that I should rev it
more, you know like some douchebags before the light goes green, vroom vroom. He told me that "it oils better that way". After a quick search on Google my feeling that the jury is still out on this one, so what are you thoughts?
5:03.. id use trimmer line on all the grass and then come back with the saw or star blade for the woody weeds.
Bought Echo SRM 420 brush cutter and with 350mm blade you can pretty much remove even trees with diameter of 20cm with ease. Its also much faster than 50cc chainsaw.But chainsaw is better for limbing those trees. Now I have no idea how I lived without it.
Where’d you get that blade cover my friend?
I am wondering the same thing. I hate sitting the brush cutter circular blade down and someone possibly stepping into the blade while power is off. It is a dangerous tool and I try to place the blade to minimize exposure to keep from having accidents and also dulling the blade in dirt or rocks.
I got a 460c its my 3rd one they seem to hold ip well
Looking forward to your tips for using these. They are uncommon in the US, they are considered pretty "unsafe" by a lot of people I think? I have a cutting blade for a stihl kombi trimmer head but I don't have the wide handle bars, do you think they are necessary for good control when using the brush cutter saw?
Reed Hedges I hv a Km131R trimmer, having trouble finding right part # for shield to match the cutter blade. Rick
which is stronger husqvarna 545 or stihl fs460
The sawblades are realy fun to use
At school we've sawn down trees that were 25 cm in diameter
We even did a face cut
Looking back this was realy dangerous but fun as hell
Yeah we use them in my school as well for lots of clearing in a more open type area, if we're cutting where there's rocks sticking out the ground we generally use a chainsaw because it's less hassle to set up.
Nice video. I've owned a Jonsered brush cutter for about 10 years. I could not get along without it. I mostly use the saw blade, since I'm using it to cut a lot of invasive Buckthorn saplings: generally less than 2" (5cm), but occasionally go up to 3 or 4 " (~8-10cm). IMO, the useful limit on my saw when cutting something very hard like Buckthorn is about 3" (~8cm). I can do 4" pine easily. Mine is not the largest clearing saw, so I'm a bit limited by power, especially in the hardwoods.
I'd love to see you demonstrate it in use, especially tips for directional felling of saplings. I can do it, but I'm not all that good at it. Always looking for tips. PErhaps you could combine this with a video where you discuss what you are taking out and what you are leaving when you thin your forest for TSI work.
Do you think the Stihl FS550 is overkill?
Awesome video! Keep cutting bro!😎🙌💪
Har kört en hel del med röjsåg, men har aldrig sett en med värmda handtag. Väldigt smart!
Moraren Ja det är riktigt skönt. Men problemet med värmen i Husqvarnan är tummen. Som inte är uppvärmd.
are you using the oregon blade w/o carbide teeth?
I really like that blade cover. Where can I find one?
Nice video! Do you understand Swedish? Because if so. Tack för en bra video
how goes the situation with the mining company have they backed down yet?
Good to see you back!
I've used all of these... great assessment!
For clearing brush from the forests, clearing saws are priceless.
I really need to get one of those brush cutting blades.
I use the Still a lot, great machine, nice to see you back.
Thank you so much for your informative video.
Could you use it for coppicing willow or hazel?
That sounds like an excellent idea if you're not doing too too much coppicing. It will of course depend on the thickness at which you cut the coppice. Generally hazel is allowed to grow thicker, so it would probably work best for willow.
nice! do they still sell the old school fs 480s in Sweden???
when I clear brush with the closest thing I've got to one of those, I find that it is best to wear my thick, double-knee jeans and a thick coat, as well as the head protection. it's not to protect from the cutter itself, as with a chainsaw, but to protect from what it throws. a 3 inch x 0.75 inch chunk of BlackBerry at high speed doesn't exactly feel pleasant.
Great videos. Have you already done (or would you consider doing) videos on how you choose which trees are worth thinning, and which are worth keeping? I saw one of your videos on this topic where you discussed promoting your softwood, but I am wondering about how you think your hardwood (I think you have mostly birch)?
Great info as usual, Simeon! Many thanks.
Do they have any electric?
great video. what type of saw would you recommend for cutting out a beaver damn?
Rick Hyde dynomite
Thanks for sharing. We will be clearing out brush this was usefull.
Thank you
I prefer to use my Stihl 460 with the shredding blade and Husqvarna 545 for softer use, with the cutting circular saw because the Husqvarna is less reliable (low quality screws and maybe weaker angle gears) but I still love the Husqvarna overall
I was begining to think of the worst. Good to see you buddy lol.
Du måste ha sågskyddsskor. Det blev lag på det i december 2012. Bra video annars.
Man it just looks so cold there
I have the Husqi. Had it for 10 years. Sorry they discontinued it.
PS. at 73 years old, I am not going to get down low enough to do that work with a chainsaw.
i love my sthil fs 560 that thing will cut through almost anything
I have the same fs 480
For denne video: En af de bedre, hvad angår gennemgang af buskrydder, men hvorfor viser I ikke brugen af de to sidste klinger?!? I viser, hvordan de udskiftes, men ikke i en brugssituation. Det er lidt for vag.
great info thanx
Yes I'm fully trained and fully licenced to use a brush cutter
Chris Evans garden services jones Jones Do you need a license to use a clearing saw there?
So worth it.
I use it alot. If u get learn how to sharpen the blade it will cut throu anything its confronted with.
I would not put one on mine as they are so heavy on the engine
yeah, if you have small shitty engine, it is shit. and it depends on the blade how they go, is there 24 teeth or more etc
I thin trees as a career in Canada haha
Looks like a guy who knows what he is talking about.
In Sweden and neighbouring countries it has its well-deserved place, but in some other places it seems to be kind of unknown. Brush saws are very useful.
I have absolutely no connection to the company but use an Australian Brush Destructor blade and find it replaces all 3 of the blades mentioned. The saw blade is archaic as all it does is fell the brush, then what? The brush destructor cuts the brush and then you go back over it to mulch it when it's on the ground so the area is properly cleared instead of leaving crap everywhere. brushdestructor.com/ Although a chainsaw would be better, I also cut through 150-200 mm trees quite easily with that blade.
Not wearing chaps is probably fine for easy work like in this video, but for more serious clearing they help to prevent the inevitable debris from taking out one's shins. The novelty of having a chunk of wood ricocheting off each leg wears thin very quickly!
Riktigt bra video. Men glöm inte skydds skor 😉
I just purchased an echo commercial model . . . lots of power but terrible balance . . . I keep going back to my old HHT35 Honda . . . I shouldn't have listen to the hype about commercial models . . . I used my Honda for six years clearing acres of land . . . cuts up to 2" alders and has fantastic balance . . . alder and brush over 2" you need a chainsaw, so all that extra power and weight is a waste.
Ye don’t waste money on grass blades there hopeless. Stihl do circular saw blades which can hit stone and metal and keep going carbon tipped highly recommend
☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺👏👌👍👑🎉💐
You do realize that a brush cutter and clearing saw are 2 different things, don’t you? You should really do your research before doing a video.