Reducing height of a tree

[Thing Fish]

You could always pepper the trunk 2/3 way up with an elephant gun?

That way you haven't got to leave the ground...

Assuming that is you have one lying about and are a good enough shot...

[Rare Bird]

Get him to fit the TV ariel to the top of the tree

[walpurgis]

I wouldn't use a chainsaw. A circular saw blade in a big handheld angle grinder is far more fun!

[The Grand Wazoo]

The tool to use if you don't have the skill to use a chainsaw is a Silky Fox pruning saw. They are astonishingly good tools. The cut is made with a pull-stroke as opposed to a the push of a woodworking saw and they have 2 parallel rows of amazingly sharp teeth - razor sharp in fact (no exaggeration). For a single cut through anything under about three inches in diameter, a good operator can have the job done before many people could even start a chainsaw.
The cut they make will leave a better finish than most woodwork saws - we have two of the 30 cm Gomtaro models around the house and they get a lot of use. They are not cheap but they are worth every penny - don't be convinced by cheap alternatives.

[Alex_UK]

we have two of the 30 cm Gomtaro models around the house and they get a lot of use.

Crikey, and I was scared with the chainsaw stories!

Note to self: Politely decline any invites to a bakeoff at Wazoo Towers...

Joking aside, Chris is the expert here, so I would heed his good advice on both counts.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Note to self: Politely decline any invites to a bakeoff at Wazoo Towers...

Ha! Not even for a Sunday dinner? My carving style is well rehearsed (paraphrased FZ quote of the day)

[Alex_UK]

Ha! Not even for a Sunday dinner? My carving style is well rehearsed (paraphrased FZ quote of the day)

Will there be fava beans and a nice Chianti?

Sorry, AoS thread drift at its best! - back to lopping tress. Ahem.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Now we've dealt with your safety, let's go back to the original question. I'd also question the TV reception thing. Have you considered doing something other than a crown height reduction? I can't tell what's going on at the bottom of the tree but it's either been heavily pruned before or it is naturally multiple-stemmed. You could consider removing some of the stems to thin it out and make the crown less dense.
As mentioned before by someone else, pruning will stimulate bushier regrowth, so it's only a temporary measure. Two other things to bear in mind - that any sort of pruning will allow a means for airborne fungal spores to attack your tree, which is never a good thing and this is just about the worst possible time of the tree's annual growth cycle to do any pruning.
My own field of expertise is not really the treatment of individual trees - in my job, if the odd one dies, it's no big deal because there are usually several thousand others nearby(!) but I do know the fundamentals and my preference is usually to avoid pruning where possible - I would actually consider felling the tree and allowing it to grow back from the rootstock, which allows you to select from several new stems. You'd be amazed how quickly a willow will grow back.

One last thing (& you'll proably know the answers already), but make sure there is no Tree Preservation Order on it and check that you're not in a Conservation Area. Otherwise, you could be presented with a fine!

[hal55]

ONLY EVER USE A CHAINSAW ON A LADDER IF IT'S ON AN EXTENDER POLE SO THE BLADE IS WELL AWAY FROM YOU.
Hire stores here in Oz do have such things, I paid $113 for a days hire and saved a couple of hundred dollars at least. Plus, being on an extension rod, a lot of stuff no longer needs to be done on a ladder anyway.


Hal55

[Covenant]

Thanks again for the advice. Chris, a couple more photos attached. There is no TPO, I have checked. Don't fancy taking it right down as lots of local wild life including woodpeckers and squirrels use it.