lisa820•25d agoMost Upvoted

Just realized a trick for dealing with those super tight crotch unions on mature oaks

We had a big pin oak in a backyard in Cincinnati with a union so tight you couldn't get a finger in there, let alone a saw. The usual advice is to make a relief cut from the outside, but that felt risky with the target zone. On a whim, I used a cordless drill to make a pilot hole right at the base of the union, then used a small pruning saw blade to start the cut from the inside out. It gave me just enough of a kerf to get my bigger saw in safely. Took an extra 15 minutes, but it felt way more controlled. Anyone else have a different method for these nightmare-tight spots?

2 comments

2 Comments

jennifer_west25d ago

Honestly, drilling in first makes me a bit nervous about hitting hidden metal. I've had better luck just tapping a really sharp, thin folding saw blade into the seam to get it started. It takes some wiggling, but you avoid putting a hole in a spot you can't see.

wendy_murphy1625d ago

I've had good luck with a utility knife blade for that same reason.