Foreman swore by the 3-point notch, nearly lost a 60 foot oak because of it

So the older foreman on my crew in Portland, been doing this 30 plus years, always says skip the Humboldt unless you're scared of the saw. Used his 3-point on a massive oak last Tuesday, the trunk was leaning uphill, and the hinge snapped sideways about halfway through the drop. Took the whole top on a weird angle, clipped a neighbor's fence and my ground guy had to jump out of the way. We got lucky, nobody hurt, but the stump cut showed the notch was way too deep on the tension side. He still won't admit it, just said the wind shifted. Has anyone else had a stubborn old timer push an outdated cut that nearly turned into a wreck, and how did you handle calling it out without starting a fight on the crew?

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shanem3716d agoMost Upvoted

Talking to him after the close call worked better than arguing on the job site.