How to Edge With a String Trimmer
Not every string line trimmer will accept edging attachments, so check options before purchase. Edging straight walkways with string trimmer edgers--also called stick edgers--is easy, but these same devices work poorly on curves. Edge flower beds and other unpaved areas with the ordinary weed-cutting string trimmer head. Either method requires careful attention to the work. Improper use can damage cutting heads and blades and give poor results. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Check the area for obstacles and clear away problem debris. Lawn edger blades will not cut through stones, tree roots, glass fragments or other hard debris. Edgers either throw these items or bounce off them, sometimes with enough force to damage the edger blade.
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Keep the edger at the right side of your body. Edger safety shields deflect debris only to the right side--using them left-handed is unsafe.
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Check the depth setting of the edger blade. The blade height depends on both machine settings and the way operators hold the edger/trimmer. Hold the machine so that the guide wheel rests on the sidewalk edge and the blade touches the ground about half an inch away from the pavement. With the end of the blade resting on the dirt, the guide wheel should be 1/4 inch above the concrete.
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Set the edger blade depth. Most attachments shift cutting depth when operators loosen a wing nut or adjustment knob on the edger housing. Raise or lower the blade so the guide wheel allows a 1/4-inch cut below the surface of the ground. This often takes several tries to get right.
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Put on your safety goggles. Start the line trimmer and lower the motor so that the guide wheel touches pavement before the edger blade contacts dirt. Use a high speed to begin the cut and lower to half speed when the blade penetrates. Step forward carefully, rolling the attachment on the guide wheel and following the pavement edge.
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Tips & Warnings
At right angle corners, lift the edger out of the cut and change angles before starting the next leg.
Keep the blade just off the edge of the walkway. Grinding the blade against the pavement quickly wears the blade down.
On rough ground, as when edging the plastic barrier at the border of a flower bed, the string trimmer head works well enough if tipped to nearly 90 degrees. Run the tips of the cutting string along the border lightly--cutting at a low angle kills grass and allows weeds to invade the bare strip of ground.
