I remember seeing some Silky demos at trade shows years ago. I have always heard they are state of the art. I have used a sawzall for pruning a mature June Gold peach before. I thought it was great but I haven’t used one of those light weight chainsaws to compare it to. Have you ever thought about seasoning and selling your peach trimmings for smoking wood at your farm stand? I’ve noticed those little bags they sell in the grocery stores fetch a pretty decent price.
Drew
I have been using a Greenworks 40 volt chainsaw for two years and LOVE it. I got the spare 4amp hour battery rather than the 2 amp hour one which runs out too soon. I can use it up in the canopy easily on my Tallman orchard ladder, along with my Bahco Ergo Bypass Pruner PX-M2. All is good.
https://smile.amazon.com/GreenWorks-20312-Cordless-Chainsaw-Included/dp/B00DRBBRU6/ref=lp_552918_1_4?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1482036756&sr=1-4
Can certainly relate to the conservation of energy principle. At about 5:35 on this review, this guy makes it look easier than it would be for me and a hand saw - no matter how sharp.
Just sayin’
I don’t think the oil will disinfect. The mushroom folks talked about putting the spores of whatever mushrooms they are interested in propagating into their chain saw oil, so that the oil will spread those spores as they cut. They seem to think that works. If so, oil is not going to sterilize much…
I save most of my larger cuttings from my stonefruit (cherry/peaches/etc) and my apples/pears… i have a lot saved up. I almost thought about using some of the apple wood for some sort of wood project but it split like crazy before i could get to it. I’m still not sure what i want to do with all of…and most of it is mixed so its hard to tell what is what anymore.
I have the Greenworks 40V cordless lawn mower…i use it all the time and while the cutting path isn’t as big as my old gas mower, the fact that i don’t have to run to the gas station to get gas is awesome…and the battery charges fast.
I’ve been using a corded electric Wen snowblower…the thing is a monster for feeling like a toy. I just have a big driveway to blow and i have an outside outlet…so its very simple with my 50ft extension cord. I’ve been super impressed by how it blows snow. Seems like it draws about 1200 to 1400+ watts (killiwatt).
Yes I agree. I use one too, as mentioned it’s great for tight spaces, say compared to a chainsaw, and certainly not loppers. I have numerous chainsaws, handsaws, and pruners, and the reciprocating saw works best for hard to reach larger limbs. It’s excellent for shrubs. Hand saws are nice too, and work well, I use them when I can. For me the reciprocating saw is the saw of last resort, but I often end up there. Sometimes you can’t make a good stoke with even a hand saw. For general use though, I would prefer a small chainsaw. I use the reciprocating saw for demolition and many others for carpentry, table, jigsaw,circular, etc. I used the ladder two at my cottage for three weeks worth of work, just a month ago. Most of my saws are Dewalt brand.
I sell prunings from peach trees. Fairly easy to sell on Craigslist, if you don’t ask an arm and a leg. I don’t try to sell stuff smaller than about an inch and a half in diameter. Stuff much smaller than that and nobody wants. It burns up too fast in their smoker.
So far it’s worked out good that I can easily bush hog anything less than 1.5" in diameter, so I just keep the bigger stuff. It’s a pain to have to cut it up in smaller chunks, but long pieces don’t work well in people’s smokers.
I doubt it makes a difference what kind of fruit wood it is, with the exception of pears. I see some people advertise pear wood for smoking, but I can’t imagine it would be that good. Both the wood and flowers of pears stink to me.
I’ve seen pear wood in used wood working… I’m sure its pretty straight seeing that it tends to grow almost like a pine.
Some people really like peach wood for smoking (meats). I’ll have to dig some pieces out next summer and try it. You should have a side business with all your peach trees… most of my cuttings are small, but over the years i’ve built up a big pile.
I use every kind of fruiting or nut wood and herbs on the grill. Haven’t the patience for full scale smoking. A little bit of smoke goes a long way and adds a lot of flavor. The best combination that I’ve encountered for grilling is pecan and pork. Truly sublime.
I have some blueberry wood saved up. What do you think would work best?
By the way, we grill outdoors here year round. 
So do we in our Z5a location 
Alan,
I see a bunch of Silky Gomtaro pruning saws on Amazon:
Do you use the curved or straight blade? I bought a felco based on your recommendation and absolutely LOVE it. Going to pick up a Gomtaro once I know which one you prefer.
Pecan and pork are my favorite also, somethings I add hickory and apricot to get some different flavors that compliment the pecan.
That is beautiful, but it looks hot. What is the next step?
I do too, grilled some nice steaks NYE. I also have a smoker, I only use once or twice a year or so though. I like to smoke fish I catch, sometimes Cornish hens etc.
I put it on the grill like this for two hours. It is not as hot as it appears, when the lid is closed I have most of the air shut off so it just smoked. It is getting hot because I had the lid open a little to long getting the photo taken. Right after I took the photo , I took it off the grill and put it in a turkey roasting bag in the oven at like 250 for 12 hours with a couple cups of water. Then I take it out and let it rest in the juice for a while, drain, pull, season and serve.
You’ll cut faster, but consider the weight of the tool including battery. Also consider your cuts will be on the “rough” side – only a slight improvement on a chain saw. A small (12") gas-powered 4-stroke (runs on unleaded) is much lighter, although for winter pruning you might need to keep a can of gas nearby and refill the tank once or twice per acre.
Sawzall is a brand name for a Reciprocating Saw (RS). As several folks here know the blades can be swapped out for length, hardiness, and tooth count to suit the job. I own the DeWalt 12 Amp corded model. In total it is lighter than the corded model with half the effective (not peak) power. It has been a real friend for many kinds of demolition from altering framing in my house to cutting through 50 year-old Brazilian Pepper Tree roots. I occasionally use it as a back up when a large limb needs pruning that is just a bit out of scope for my Corona Razertooth Saws. But to use it as a primary method of pruning in an orchard your size … I could see hauling around a very small gas generator on a dolly for the job. But a mini-chainsaw would be less hassle.
Anne
That principle says that energy is not created or destroyed
But of course what you meant was conserving personal work (energy) and letting someone else (the gasoline or electric producers) make up the difference!
Haha, yup, I last longer that way, LOL.
Edit, actually I use a solar power charged battery. Even so the sawzall is heavy. Can’t hold it with one hand but I love how it cuts through limbs like butter.
I really have to give it up for @alan…you recommendation of the silky saw was excellent. Ive been using it non stop for the last few weeks and have never felt the need to go for the chainsaw even on relatively large stuff. Best tool ive purchased since my ARS pruners!
Excellent tool!!
Do you sell your pruned, but blooming branches at your market? There’s an orchard in PA that sells fruit at various farmers markets in the DC area, and for a limited time in the spring they actually sell blooming peach clippings. I thought it was a great idea and have started doing that myself. When I prune, I’m always on the look out for branches that will be removed, but that could wait a bit so they could so I can take them at the right time (not when I’m doing the majority of my winter pruning). Nothing like having blooming peach flowers on the kitchen table!
