I know Jack. It is very expensive. I can’t afford a tree service either but I have done some serious tree cutting in a cherry picker. I used to pay $250 for the day to rent a cherry picker but recently I heard the rental is much more expensive now, like more than twice that amount. I have a laurel oak that’s slowly dying in my back yard. It’s on the property line but it’s on me. 99% of the base is on my side. It’s preventing me and the neighbor from putting up a fence. The base is about 4 feet across. Luckily it’s not near my house or anything else but the thought of working on it with a 14 inch chain saw is a little daunting. At least I won’t destroy my house.
Please be careful. Someone that knows my history with a chain saw gave me some good advice.
“There is no such thing as a small chainsaw accident.”
You might want to keep that in mind also.
Also, if you drop it on the house, the wife or SO will be really ticked.