Found a weird trick for knotty crotch cuts that saved me 20 minutes today

I had a massive red oak with a double leader that kept pinching my bar, and after fighting it for 10 minutes I tried cutting a shallow relief notch on the opposite side first - it released the pressure immediately and the rest of the cut went smooth as butter. Has anyone else tried something similar on tight crotches, or do you have a go-to method for preventing pinch?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver7191mo ago

Try pinching the bar on purpose next time and see how that works out. That relief notch just makes the tree settle differently and could let it split right down the middle instead of cutting clean.

oscarb711mo ago

Hell yeah, that's a good trick. I do something similar but I'll drill a hole through the center of the crotch first with a big auger bit. Lets the tension out and gives me a clear path for the saw.