Saw Blade on a Weed Whacker vs. Bamboo Shoots

[Gunwheeler]

That's actually a combo I was eyeing at Home Depot (for half what Stihl wants). Echo has a great warranty. You'd recommend it?

That Echo lasted 25+ years. I would buy another. I could probably get it running again. Don't know if there are parts for it.

 

[teflon6string]

That Echo lasted 25+ years. I would buy another. I could probably get it running again. Don't know if there are parts for it.

Cool! I've only known the Echo name for a short time. Thought they were newcomers. Grew up with names like McCullough, Stihl, Craftsman, Husqvarna, etc. Some magnificent, some abject crap (like my broken/discarded Ryobi and Homelite). Probably why I'm in here pimping for endorsements today...

 

[Gunwheeler]

Cool! I've only known the Echo name for a short time. Thought they were newcomers. Grew up with names like McCullough, Stihl, Craftsman, Husqvarna, etc. Some magnificent, some abject crap (like my broken/discarded Ryobi and Homelite). Probably why I'm in here pimping for endorsements today...

Been going back in the years trying to remember when I bought it. Best I can remember is I bought it in 1978 or 79. Quit using it 4 years ago (don't need one anymore). So that puts it at about 30 years of service. When I bought it it was the first step down for the top model. It has handle bars and an over the shoulder strap. Also have a Echo chainsaw I bought at about the same time. Makes more exhaust noise than others but cuts well. Quite burning/collecting wood 10+ years ago.

Should be noted I do not know of the newer Echo products. But can vouch for the old school stuff.

 

[x2ndxall]

I retrofitted a 7 1/4" Diablo circular saw blade to my weedeater. It's a lot of fun.
I've never had to use it on bamboo. But it's cut lots of briars, cedar, maple, alder and fir and never failed to impress. They make a demo blade that might work good on bamboo.

If anyone tries this, be careful and please use a guard. Machines don't know (or care) the difference between limbs and....limbs.

 

[oknow]

Bonus points for thinking outside the box! But, alas, I'm too urban. And at 18 rounds per second, that could get expensive.

View attachment 241363

But think how quick you will be done

 

[albin25]

Start a rumor that you can get high smoking dead bamboo root...

...The neighborhood kids will have it all dug up and gone in a week...faster if you put up "no Trespassing" signs.

 

[The Heretic]

I haven't tried it on bamboo as the little bit I have (about 2 sq. ft) I don't want to cut down, but I do have the saw blade for my Stihl Kombi and it doesn't work very well on anything I tried it on, including saplings and brambles. I also tried the triangle blade (three blades) and that is even worse.

I have a pole pruner - a 12" chain saw on an extension and that works the best for saplings and even brambles, although brambles it doesn't work very well on and a flail mower would be better (I am buying a flail mower because I have about 3 or 4 acres of brush I need to cut every year).

I use a string cutter for anything lighter, but one of those with a swing out metal blade might work better.

From what I understand spreading bamboo is particularly difficult to deal with. I would spray it and then cut it. I have Himalayan blackberries and that is what I do with them - spray them with generic Roundup and then cut them after they die, or run through them with a dozer blade.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Use a stump grinder. Go down at least 12 inches. Let dry. Then use deisel gas and a match.

 

[teflon6string]

... I also tried the triangle blade (three blades) and that is even worse...

Yeah, the 3-blade brush cutter head on my Ryobi (when it was still running) was great on soft things like mature ivy and 1.5-inch diameter blackberry brambles, which cut like butter compared to yellow bamboo. I tell ya', this stuff is like Kryptonite!

Contrary to a stern warning in the 100-page 7-language instruction manual, I ground the 3 leading blade edges sharp on a wheel. That bamboo stopped it dead like a polaroid of Rosie O'Donnell tucked into a Playboy magazine.

 

[Mikej]

[QUOTE="teflon97239, post: That bamboo stopped it dead like a polaroid of Rosie O'Donnell tucked into a Playboy magazine.[/QUOTE]

Nice!

I'll vouch for Echo. I've been using their 22, 23, 2200,2300 series string trimmers for close to 25 years for light commercial. From Home Depot. The ticket is to use it properly and store it properly when it's not going to be used for awhile. I use a premium oil. Drain the tank and run the gas out if you're not going to use it for a couple of weeks. It should last for home owner use for many years and, in my experience, Echo customer service the couple of times I've needed it was exceptional.

Ryobi.....Phhtt. Used a couple of them when I first started, total crap! Their crank shaft was only supported on on side with a main bearing, and the piston rod was stamped and spot riveted!

 

[mjbskwim]

I bought a Ryobi drill once.I wouldn't even think of buying any of their products again.
So we're back to the excavator or fire.
Just go buy the fancy weed wacker anyway

 

[Redcap]

Brush hog.

 

[oknow]

Brush hog.

Yep. No way will that bamboo even slow that thing down.

 

[teflon6string]

Sadly, I'd have a lot of trouble getting a brush hog into where this is. I think I've made a choice, and I might pounce on something this weekend. I'll put some before/after pics here because I'm sure others have bamboo too. Wish me luck fellers, I'm going in!

 

[Certaindeaf]

Yep. No way will that bamboo even slow that thing down.

An 8x8 patch a bamboo wouldn't slow down a three year old with a hacksaw. lol

 

[JohnThomas Sorrels]

If you are still looking, I used to work at a hardware store that carried something similar to this, that was a universal fit for weed wackers, it would cut through a 2x4...

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Rino-Tuff-3-Blade-Brush-Cutter-Head-for-Gas-Trimmer-16231/100671859

 

[JohnThomas Sorrels]

Here is the exact one I remember...

http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/Grass-Gator-4650-6-Brush-Cutter-Head-With-Metal-Blades/20370628

 

[PBinWA]

I googled but I couldn't find it online. I have a head for my trimmer that is basically a chainsaw chain wrapped around a disk. Cuts awesome. If it wasn't buried in a shed somewhere I'd dig it out and take a picture.

 

[BlindedByScience]

We had a patch of blackberries at the old house that was out of control. I used Ortho Brush-B-Gone and modified my weedeater with a couple stainless steel cables instead of the nylon. Worked like the bomb....the Brush-B-Gone worked fantastic, and the SS cables chopped the stuff off at the dirt with almost no effort.

Can't recommend Brush-B-Gone enough. Won't kill the grass, but it's death to any woody plants. Bet it'd make toast out of bamboo. Just apply it carefully and you won't have any trouble. FWIW the spring after I got rid of the BB's we planted small trees and they all did fine.

 

[jbett98]

I have used Crossbow herbicide to good effect.
I cut the bamboo shoots off at about 4" from the ground and then drilled down thru the center of the cane and poured undiluted Crossbow into the shoot.
Capped it with some plastic wrap and a rubber band.