I got to flex the new chain on my chainsaw by helping my old man cut down this tree that was struck by lightning in his neighbors' backyard.
He walked me through the procedure to get the tree to fall with greater accuracy by using a winch to help with the operation. The cable was snaked around another tree for more leverage, and a tow strap was wrapped at a high point on the tree for greater leverage.
I remember helping my Dad a ton cut down trees as a kid, but I guess I never really paid attention to the techniques. Here's the next step he took by cutting a wedge in the direction the tree should fall. The winch was there to help start the momentum after the next step. I manned the winch while he did the back cut.
Here's the start of the back cut which is cut to slope down toward the top of the wedge. I tightened up the winch, and waited to see the tree start to fall to kick on the winch full blast.
Man.... it worked like a charm! He fell this joker right where he wanted it to go. It was a good thing this happened as a big wind may have caused the rotten part of the tree to fall on the neighbors' house.
Job well done! Looking forward to taking down some dead trees on my property.
Hope this helps anyone that wants to fall some trees.
Peace and Joy,
Greg 
