I do this many times throughout the growing season - hedge trimming. Walther Pall has an excellent article on the subject, read it here. It is a great tool for development of your trees. I mean why not hedge if it is not a show tree, who cares if the leaves get cut. Anyway, here is the technique applied to a couple of elms - a winged elm and a zelcova. In case you did not know, zelcova is short for Japanese gray-barked elm. My weapon of choice is a set of grass trimmers from Fiscars, Corona also makes a nice pair.
First up is the zelcova. It looks a little underwhelming now, there is a couple more inches of trunk below the soil. I hope to get it a proper pot in the spring.
Next is the winged elm, Ulmus Alata. I really like this one.
Hedge trimming, how do you do it? Think of your hedges around your house and trim them like that. Picture how you want them to look in your head and then go postal on them!