I have oaks also. The bad news is that twigs, acorns, and pine cones are pretty hard on the cutting string. The good news is the strings are very easy to change. OPERATING TIPS: listen to it while it's chewing leaves, you can tell by the sound when it hits a twig. Shut it off quickly, and pull the twig out before it can break the strings. Keep an eye on what you're feeding in, and try to pull out anything pencil sized or larger. Set it to the coarsest setting, it will still chew up the leaves pretty good, but twigs will pass through easier.

Yes but letting them dry out completely makes it easier on machine. Wear eye protection and dust mask

Hi Cybergranny,
This product will be available around the third week of May, but if you would like you can reserve purchase now as the quantity may be limited. I hope this helps.

Unfortunately, Home Depot does not sell the replacement lines for this unit but you can get them through the manufacturer by visiting http://flowtron.com/mm5/merchant.mv.... I hope this helps.

I used weed cutter string with sucess, get the stuff for gas powered models and make sure it is same thickness. Make sure the aluminum bushings are stiil there and are smooth if they are sharp or worn it could be cutting your string