Best Machine for Dealing with Tree Branches and Brash

What a machine changes about clearing brash

Brash is bulky and awkward, and a pile of thin branches takes up far more room than the weight suggests.

Clearing it becomes a haulage job rather than a cutting one.

A chipper deals with the volume the chainsaw work leaves behind, reducing the pile to a fraction of its size at the point it’s fed in.

Hardwood past about 50mm slows a pruning saw right down, where a chipper’s feed rollers pull the same stem in under power without anyone forcing it.

Burning brash takes somebody standing over it for the afternoon. But chip can go straight back onto borders or paths the moment it leaves the chute.

Ask the people who service these machines

ILH Groundcare has been family-run from a workshop in Cumbernauld since 2007.

We sell, hire and repair arb machinery rather than stocking a bit of everything.

Darren and the team are factory-trained on Forst, FSI, MultiOne and Energreen.

The same workshop that services a chipper between hires is the one telling you which size to take.

The useful conversations start with three things: how much brash there is, how thick it runs, and what the access looks like.

Get those across and the choice between a 6-inch towable and a tracked 8-inch is straightforward to make.

Wood chippers turn brash into something useful

A wood chipper is what most of our customers reach for once brash starts piling up.

It feeds branches and hedge trimmings through a set of cutting blades, turning them into chip you can barrow, spread or bag rather than burn.

A small chipper from a DIY shed suits an occasional garden job, but it’s a different bit of kit from a trade-grade machine run daily.

The Forst range spans models such as the ST6P, a compact towable chipper suited to everyday hedge and branch work.

At the other end sits the tracked TR8D, built for bulkier brash on estates and gardens a wheeled machine can’t reach.

Chippers for farms, estates and heavier daily volume

Farms and estates already running a tractor often go for something like the PT8.

This PTO-driven chipper takes its power straight from the tractor rather than carrying its own engine.

That frees the same tractor up for topping, mowing or trailer work between chipping jobs.

For daily volume beyond what a typical arb chipper handles, the Arbmax D35 steps up to a 13-inch drum while staying light enough to tow behind a pickup.

Matching chipper size to the job in hand

A chipper’s rated size is the maximum branch diameter it’ll take.

A 6-inch chipper still handles the bulk of hedge and branch brash most crews deal with day to day, and it’s the size most people start with.

An 8-inch model earns its keep once felling or crown work start feeding it branches a 6-inch intake would choke on. While a tracked chassis gets that capacity onto ground a towable rig can’t reach.

We make sure to understand the type of branches you are handling for appropriate recommendations.

Mulching brash where it lies instead of chipping it

Chipping isn’t the only option to handle brash, robotic flails can also be used for certain tasks.

For example, an Energreen RoboMax fitted with a forestry mulching head chews through brash and small branches on the spot. A stump grinder attachment can also be used for leftover tree stumps.

Mulching or grinding in place suits a felling or hedge-laying job where the brash sits on a slope, a boundary, or woodland ground a chipper can’t easily get to.

What happens to the brash once it’s processed

Thin brash chips into mulch you can spread straight back around trees, borders or paths.

Branches too thick to feed through a chipper, trunk sections and heavier limbs from a felling job, usually get set aside for firewood, or wood fuel, instead.

A log splitter handles the splitting once the wood’s seasoned, which beats running it through blades built for brash.

Hardwood like oak or beech is worth keeping for that. Softwood brash rarely is, and it’s better through the chipper than stacked in a log store it’ll never dry out in.

Hire it for one job or add it to the fleet

A single felling job or a boundary hedge trimmed back hard doesn’t always justify buying a chipper outright.

Hiring one for the length of the job is often the more sensible option.

Our hire fleet covers the Forst and Arbmax range across Scotland, checked over and ready to go before it leaves the yard.

Book it for the length of the job and it goes back when you’re done.

Buying tends to make sense once repeat hire costs for regular felling or hedge work add up to more than a purchase would.

The team will say so if that’s where you’re heading, rather than keep hiring you a machine.

Frequently asked questions on branch clearances

What’s the best machine for clearing brash?

Most brash goes through a wood chipper, turned into chip you can spread or move rather than burn. An Energreen flail mower handles it differently, mulching brash down where it falls instead of chipping it away.

What size chipper do I need for branches?

Most hedge and branch work stays within a 6-inch chipper’s capacity. Step up to an 8-inch model once felling or crown work brings thicker material into the mix.

Can hand tools deal with brash, or do you need a machine?

Loppers, a pruning saw and secateurs handle a few branches without any trouble. Once brash is piling up from a proper prune, a hedge cut back, or a felling job, a machine clears it faster than a crew ever could by hand.

What’s the difference between chipping brash and mulching it?

Chipping turns brash into wood chip you move off site. Mulching, done with a flail mower and forestry head, grinds it down and leaves it where it falls, which suits ground a trailer can’t easily reach.

Can you hire a wood chipper for a one-off job?

Yes. A single felling or hedge job is exactly what our hire fleet exists for, rather than a machine sitting unused in a shed afterwards.

Get the right machine for the brash pile in front of you

Volume, access and what happens to the material afterwards decide which machine actually fits your job, and none of that comes off a spec sheet on its own.

Call 0141 775 9288 and tell us what you’re clearing. We’ll point you to the chipper or flail mower that suits the job in front of you.