Hedge Trimming - Kolkata 2005-08-10 02050

A hedge trimmer, shrub trimmer, or bush trimmerAs with the term ''scissors'', the plural terms "hedge trimmers" + c. are often used for individual trimming tools. is a gardening tool or machine used for trimming (cutting,

pruning Pruning is a horticultural, arboricultural, and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. The practice entails the ''targeted'' removal of diseased, damaged, dead, ...

)

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoi ...

s or solitary

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

s (bushes). Different designs as well as manual and powered versions of hedge trimmers exist. Hedge trimmers vary between small hand-held devices to larger trimmers mounted on tractors.

Types

Stand-alone hedge trimmers

The power source of stand-alone hedge trimmers can be

human power Human power is work or energy that is produced from the human body. It can also refer to the power (rate of work per time) of a human. Power comes primarily from muscles, but body heat is also used to do work like warming shelters, food, or o ...

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...

, or

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...

. * Manual hedge trimmers (sometimes also called hedge shears or hedge clippers) are designed as large

scissors Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of metal blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles (bows) opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutt ...

or large pruning shears. They do not need anything to operate and are cheapest/most environmentally friendly. * Motorized hedge trimmers allow work to be done faster and with less effort than manual ones. Their cutting mechanism is similar to that of

finger-bar mower A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reape ...

s. Powered trimmers are generally designed with safety devices such that they work only when both of the operator's hands are on the handles. ** Gasoline-powered trimmers tend to be more powerful but can be heavier and more difficult to start. ** Electrical trimmers tend to be lighter and less powerful (than gasoline variants) as well as less polluting/noisy, yet still require an electrical cord with most types (if not equipped with

rechargeable batteries A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or prima ...

). File:Taille haie.jpg, A manual hedge trimmer with telescopic handles File:HeckenschereElektr.jpg, An electric hedge trimmer File:323HD60.png, A gasoline-powered hedge trimmer

Tractor-mounted hedge trimmers

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

-mounted and tractor-driven hedge trimmers also exist but are uncommon. These

machines A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecul ...

consist of a moveable arm (

hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...

boom) with a large hedge trimmer attachment at its end. Their cutting mechanism is similar to that of finger-bar mowers. Such large hedge trimmers are often confused with tractor-mounted reach flail mowers (booms with flail mower attachments), which appear similar due to the use of booms. And in colloquial language both, tractor-mounted hedge trimmers and reach flail mowers, are imprecisely called ''hedge cutters'', or ''brush cutters''. In contrast to tractor-mounted hedge trimmers, reach flail mowers have a different cutting mechanism and are not only used for trimming hedges but also in several other fields of application (mowing taller grass, road verge cutting,

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

maintenance, etc.). File:2010-04-07 Unimog at Arthur Ibbetts machinery dealership.jpg,

Unimog The Unimog (, ) is a range of multi-purpose tractors, trucks and lorries that has been produced by Boehringer from 1948 until 1951, and by Daimler Truck (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG) since 1951. In the United States and ...

with a flail hedge and verge trimmer implement used in

agroforestry Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. Trees produce a wide range of useful and marketable products from fruits/nuts, medicines, wood products, etc. This intentional ...

File:WLMMH (DerHexer) 067.jpg, A tractor-mounted hedge trimmer ("hedge cutter") File:Dücker Ast- und Wallheckenschere.jpg, Detail view File:Cullompton, Colebrooke Lane - geograph.org.uk - 44053.jpg, A reach flail mower used for cutting hedges

References

External links

* {{Garden tools Gardening tools