Fish,
Yeah it's great when everything turns out right. I can't think of a better way to spend a Thanksgiving morning. Thanks for the personalized help.
Given both these tree's were heavy leaners, they made a really loud pop when triggered and they came down really fast. I was glad I had spent ample time clearing all the garbage out of my escape routes so I could run for cover.
Shoerfast,
Can't say I had any of the problems you mentioned with the spikes. Perhaps its because of their spacing. Looking at your picture, your spikes are much closer together. I didn't have any problems with sticks or bark at all but that could have been the type of wood/bark as much as the spikes. Another difference is that I didn't use the saw for much under 18" lumber as I had the 346 for that work. It only has very short dogs, dull at that.
The only real downside I feel for these large spikes is the loss of a little bar length. Other than that, its all positive in my book.