Tried using a pole pruner to trim my mom's pecan tree and snapped the head clean off

Was helping my mom out in her backyard in Austin last Sunday. Her pecan tree had a dead branch about 15 feet up, nothing crazy. I figured my basic fiberglass pole pruner could handle it. Got the branch caught on the way down and the whole head twisted and broke off at the joint. The thing was only rated for like 1 inch diameter cuts and that branch was probably 2.5 inches where I cut it. Learned my lesson real quick about matching tool specs to actual branch size. Anybody else ever wreck a tool by trying to push it past its limits?

3 comments

3 Comments

jakewhite1mo ago

My buddy did the exact same thing on a pecan tree here in Waco. Snapped his head off too.

claire_grant341mo ago

Didnt I read somewhere that most pole pruners max out at like 1.5 inches before they snap?

robert6591mo ago

Maybe it's just me but I remember reading somewhere that a lot of pole pruners top out around 1.5 inches on branches before the joint gives out. Sounds like yours was just too small for that branch by a decent margin. Rough way to learn the limit though.