Pretty good size elm on my uncles place. It up and died last year and we've got some potential weather coming this week so he wanted it down. Probably 30" across the stump. Had a really wide face cut because in terrible at lining up an undercut. Went right where I shot it and right where my uncle wanted it though so it worked out. Shot it pretty much straight away from where the pic was taken, maybe just a touch right.
How often do you get wedge split like that?
Not often, if i am wedging in the flare i trim it flat. It didn’t look like i was in the flare but it split anyways, i was surprised. I also thought i was going to have to wedge a bit more than i did.
Having just started climbing, I was thinking the same thing. Bad enough my half inch line feels like dental floss the higher I go, but if it was hanging from Graham crackers like that, I'd be a prime candidate for an adult diaper.
Driving long banana wedges in from the side, like you did at the end, gives you easier and more gradual lift over distance compared to the shorter/shorty wedges being driven in directly from the back.
I usually try to use the orange Stihl wedges but only had two in the van, so I used what I found. The shorty was mainly for keeping it from sitting back then I added the orange wedge to spread the weight and make it easier going. Wood started breaking out on the shorty after a few strikes and then another bigger section when I doubled up on the orange wedges. I usually start wedging from the back unless I am trying to get under side weight to help steer, wood starts breaking out or I can't get it to go then I start moving the wedges forward.
