The extended length of the lopper handles will give you additional leverage, which will allow you to cut bigger stems with greater ease. Use the larger, and more heavy duty loppers when you are pruning back shrubs and trees with branches that are too large for your hand pruners. For branches and stems that are greater than one half-inch in diameter, use a pair of loppers. For dead branches and stems up to one half-inch thick or less, use an anvil pruner. Use bypass pruners for living branches or stems which are up to one half-inch thick or less. To help reduce the strain on your hands, arms, and wrists, always wear a pair of work gloves when pruning, and be sure to keep your tools clean and sharp. Though a good pair of bypass pruners can handle most small to medium-sized branches, ratchet pruners are perfect for especially tough wood, or for people with minimal arm strength. Ratchet pruners have a cutting mechanism that uses gears to cut through branches in stages, reducing the strain on your hands, arms, and wrists when cutting through thick branches. Using the wrong tool for the task can be frustrating and tiring, and it can also shorten the lifespan of your pruning tools. Pruning work is tough and often very repetitive. The majority of pruning tasks can be handled using just three tools: a pair of bypass pruners, a pair of anvil pruners, and a folding saw. For larger branches, you can use a folding saw or, for a bit more money, a chainsaw. Bypass pruners (or loppers) should never be used on a dead branch, as they have a tendency to get jammed in between the blades, which can bend or otherwise damage the blades of your pruner. For dead branches, you will need a pair of anvil pruners or loppers, which cut the wood with one sharp blade, which crushes the dead branch against a hard surface (the anvil plate), similar to the way a knife cuts through vegetables on a cutting board.Īnvil pruners (or loppers) should never be used on living wood, as the cutting mechanism can easily damage the branch, instead of making a clean, thorough cut. Bypass pruners can be used for just about every small to medium pruning job.īecause of their design, in which the blades pass by each other like scissors, they are the best tool for cutting living wood. The first pruning tool that you should invest in is a sturdy pair of bypass pruners, preferably a nice pair that has replaceable blades and parts so that you don’t have to buy a whole new pair when they inevitably break or the blades lose their edge. We also discuss when loppers and pruners are insufficient for the task, and what your choices are when you need to cut through an incredibly large tree trunk or branch that is too large for even the most powerful loppers, or cut apart and remove fallen trees from your property. Pruning back your plants is also good for the plants themselves as well, as it promotes new vigorous growth and a more compact, bushy habit. Pruning and trimming make your property look neat and orderly, while adding a creative element to your landscape that your neighbors will envy. Knowing what tools to use for each trimming task on your to-do list is incredibly important and can give you a serious advantage when it comes time to prune back your plants. Pruning can be quite labor intensive, depending on the size of your property and the kind of plants that you have on your home landscape. Pruning should never be something to fear or avoid, and it should never lead to physical injury, but dull pruners and rusty loppers can be more harmful than helpful and could end up putting you on the sideline for weeks. On the other hand, using a tool that is ill-suited to the task, can make a relatively simple project into a painful, arm and wrist-aching, back-straining chore that can take hours and even cause injury. When it comes to pruning and trimming the shrubs, trees, and plants on your property, using the proper tool for the job can turn a tough task into a walk in the park. Here’s an outline of the differences between loppers and pruners, the two most commonly used pruning tools, and explain when exactly you should use each tool. Loppers are larger tools with long handles that give you more leverage so you can prune (or “lop off”) branches that are larger. What’s the difference between loppers and pruners, and when do you use one or the other? Pruners generally fit in your hand and are used to prune small branches.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |