Now that I have a saw that functions, I have to get back to work.
I want to ask what pros think of plunge-cutting to prevent barber-chairing and other kinds of splitting problems.
My land is full of oaks, and a lot of them are rotten inside, so they can act a little weird. Also, I have to deal with a lot of leaners, both standing free and caught in other trees.
Ever since I found out about plunge-cutting, I've used it a lot. If I have a tree leaning to the north, for example, I cut across the north side a little bit and beat two wedges into it to keep the cut from closing. This gets rid of the strap on the side the tree will fall toward,so it can't be part of a barber chair. Then I plunge into the west side of the tree and cut until I hit the cut where the wedges are, giving me one big cut most of the way through the tree, with a strap on the south side and wedges on the north to keep the tree up. Then I cut the strap and run like hell, and the tree falls to the north. There is nothing left inside the tree to barber-chair.
Is this a good safe method, or am I deluding myself? It's slow, but I'm not being paid, so it doesn't matter. Sometimes I plunge with a pole trimmer because it puts me farther from the tree and a couple of steps closer to safety.
I really hate felling trees because I'm not confident in my ability to do it the traditional way with a notch. If I try to make a notch, the second cut usually misses the bottom of the first one.