Homemade Push Pole/ Habitat Hook for Hinge Cutting Trees

[Mennoniteman]

I'm thinking of making a homemade push pole for hinge cutting. The ones that I find for sale are expensive and aren't exactly what we're looking for. I'm seeing a seven footer for $150 plus shipping from $36 to $42 and tax, and seven feet isn't long enough for what we do, in the past we've been using 8' long, 2x2 wooden spruce studs, and they are a little too short. An extendable model with 3 length adjustments (6', 8 1/2', 11') is going to cost close to $300 total. I've been looking online at pike poles the firemen use, and the like, but there's not much out there under $150, and nothing that looks like it would work well.
When hinge cutting, our preferred method is to start with a bigger tree in the area, then throw the other trees in on that one in a wagon wheel pattern, which means that pulling down trees isn't feasible, since the area where the trees are coming down is already full of branches, besides the stupid factor (of pulling a tree down on ones self). So, we would be using this pole mostly as a push pole, with the option of a puller being a handy feature if a tree get's hung up in another. A pulling option isn't a must, and sometimes is a downside, because the hook tends to get snagged a lot in the thick sapling areas that we hinge cut in the most.
My starting criteria are, lightweight, strong, at least 10'-12' long, made with cheap readily available materials. I have a few random thoughts, but am looking for more inspiration. Any ideas?

 

[BenAllgood]

Aluminum pool poles or Aluminum painting poles could be a good start.

 

[Triple C]

I'm thinking of making a homemade push pole for hinge cutting. The ones that I find for sale are expensive and aren't exactly what we're looking for. I'm seeing a seven footer for $150 plus shipping from $36 to $42 and tax, and seven feet isn't long enough for what we do, in the past we've been using 8' long, 2x2 wooden spruce studs, and they are a little too short. An extendable model with 3 length adjustments (6', 8 1/2', 11') is going to cost close to $300 total. I've been looking online at pike poles the firemen use, and the like, but there's not much out there under $150, and nothing that looks like it would work well.
When hinge cutting, our preferred method is to start with a bigger tree in the area, then throw the other trees in on that one in a wagon wheel pattern, which means that pulling down trees isn't feasible, since the area where the trees are coming down is already full of branches, besides the stupid factor (of pulling a tree down on ones self). So, we would be using this pole mostly as a push pole, with the option of a puller being a handy feature if a tree get's hung up in another. A pulling option isn't a must, and sometimes is a downside, because the hook tends to get snagged a lot in the thick sapling areas that we hinge cut in the most.
My starting criteria are, lightweight, strong, at least 10'-12' long, made with cheap readily available materials. I have a few random thoughts, but am looking for more inspiration. Any ideas?

Mennonite - If you ever pass thru North GA in the coming months I've got one hanging in the shop that I'd give you. I bought it from one of the guys on the old QDMA forum that made them when hinge cutting was the rage. It's called the Habitat Hook. Has a telescopic locking pole and is awesome for pushing or pulling trees that hang. I don't plan on ever doing any more hinge cutting on my place. It's been hanging in the same spot for prolly 5 years now.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Mennonite - If you ever pass thru North GA in the coming months I've got one hanging in the shop that I'd give you. I bought it from one of the guys on the old QDMA forum that made them when hinge cutting was the rage. It's called the Habitat Hook. Has a telescopic locking pole and is awesome for pushing or pulling trees that hang. I don't plan on ever doing any more hinge cutting on my place. It's been hanging in the same spot for prolly 5 years now.

You must be tracking me. I plan to be in Hartwell teaching school the first three weeks of January...
BTW, why did you stop hinge cutting, if I may ask?

 

[Triple C]

You must be tracking me. I plan to be in Hartwell teaching school the first three weeks of January...
BTW, why did you stop hinge cutting, if I may ask?

That is way too coincidental that you will be in Hartwell in January. You won't be more than 45 minutes from the farm. As for hinge cutting, I determined that it just added no value to my property in terms of habitat improvement.

 

[Mennoniteman]

So, even though @Triple C set me up with a state-of-the-art extendable H&H Habitat Hook push pole (and I got to tour his place, which was even more cool), I'm still messing around with my idea of a cheap and easy push pole. I bought two 1-3/4" dia aluminum QLT snap together handles for $17.97 each (Better watch it, I'm not cheap already, but that's all I'm planning to spend) and I'm going to try to make a pvc T out of scrap plumbing pipe to snap on the lower end, and a steel tooth plate to snap on the upper end. This is still in the design stage.

 

[Mennoniteman]

This is the push pole that a nice gentleman from Georgia fixed me up with while I was spending 3 weeks there this past January. I also discovered that GA has some really nice country, and
I felt right at home there. This trip made me more fully aware of the fact that there's a lot of really nice places to live in the rural US that are a little off the beaten track and have room for everybody with some elbow room to spare, and are where peace solitude can be found, and also the place where the salt of the earth type of people are found.

 

[Bigeight]

Hopefully I can post pics soon. I thought the habitat hook was short/weighed too much for what it did. I made one out of a piece of 10' aluminum conduit 3/4" diameter. I had a buddy cut me the "hook" part out of metal with a plasma cutter that had a shank that went down into the conduit about 12" then welded. Very long, very light and very sturdy. I made a hockey stick type end on it with athletic tape to make a knob for pulling/grip.