To my eye Mike; your over the top lacing, pulls straightest, has most loaded points from rope straight inline with target axis. Also, i think that if the loaded line between the bend and the hitch lays against the spar, it steadies, stabilizes, pushes forwards more focussed somehow. Also in this position, applying an arched input pull, into an arched motion; maintaining more of 'focus', conserving more of effort into work. In that way not giving more power, but using existing power to more advantage, by this focussed conservation of force to target.
i think the bowline at top, pulls slightly off center to spar, and would provide more pressure towards heavy side. Grabbing the larger fork, would be off center pull to spar, but could be used as a correction, dealing with the sidlean force, reeling it into target, rather than pushing further away (as with torque from pulling on smaller fork can i think) with any torque given from off center pull.
Great rig Dan! i think for truck pulls ya need to verify weight in truck, solid non-slip run of proper length, overwhelming force on your side, possibly redirct pull from top of tree to lower so reactive pull doesn't pull up on truck - losing traction; while giving a mroe rotational angle of pull then advancing truck angle. Deeper face, to lessen backlean.
At 45 degree calculation, and any margin for error; you are in kill zone. Equivalent to the fall - height of cut: if tied at top; as best case scenario.
In Dan's case; i might have considered 'comealonging'(actually preferring chainhoist myslef) tree as forward as possible, lock off; then finish with truck pull. Primary comealong pull can continue thru 1st phases of back cut. Alternatively using truck, lock off with a line. Then switch truck to alternate system. If no extra pulleys, pull thru a self tended friction hitch,; let it hold tension, as you relax truck and lock off line, get multiplying pulleys free to use on secondary pull to finish. This makes the secondary pull much easier, and gives some degree of safety. Also, you can lay or hang spar aginst the line, to give bent tension and keep pulling as tree advances, on that side.
The next biggest thing is to make sure the face is in no way Dutched. If it is, all the tension is going into increasing compression on this unconected space in front of hinge. You want total relief in front, so the only responsive force you casue increase in is hinge strength, of connected wood, that controls from the rear that you are manipulating with saw thru backcut. Not, forcing higherforce in disconnected compression, inside of face,that you can't alter with saw cutting forward to target.
i think the idea of a directional line is wrong in good wood generally. The direction of pull should be to the full releif of the gunned face; forcing the hinge stronger, to multiply your efforts to then steer against the distractions to target of sidelean etc. Correcting lean directly with line by countering lean to opposite side of target, generates the same leveraged force on spar, just not further running it through the hinge multiplier to let that higher number fight sidelean. Unloading the hinge tension with the line correction to counter lean, doesn't allow the hinge to work for you in that way.
A bent line always gives a multiplier, forces re-induced onto themselves are harder to trace, as in Mayhem, DdRT, martial arts etc.
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