Dutchess Rail Trail: Brush Trimming & Pruner Repair

The bushes & trees along the Dutchess Rail Trail were reaching out to touch us again, so I took some slow rides with many stops.

Maple Oak trees along Page Park Drive:

Blackthorn encroaching through the fence at Overocker:

A tree somebody tossed down the trail bank near Morgan Lake:

The slide lock on my trusty rehabilitated Fiskars bypass pruner worked loose and began sliding into the LOCK position when held overhead, then fell apart during disassembly:

The lock now consists of:

• An M4 × 12 mm nut from a Chicago Screw that exactly matched the 5 mm OD cylinder passing through the pruner body
• A laser-cut fluorescent acrylic disk for thumb grippiness
• A washer just because
• An M4 hex-head screw
• A dab of Loctite bonding screw to nut

Clean the blades with alcohol and it’s ready for the rest of the season.

I should have put a wave washer in the stack for some springiness, but it works surprisingly well for what it is.

Now: discover how long acrylic lasts out there in the wild.

Update: Yeah, the lock needed a wave washer for more friction, which became apparent after the first overhead branch.