gettin hinges parallel

[Yorkshireman]

put in your directional fell sink cuts

 

then with the saw in the vertical score the outer bark at the point you want your hinge to be on both sides of the stem then when the saw is in the horizontal ie back cut you can lean over to see how far the bar has to go & can compare the near & distant to ensure a similar width

 

also if the back cut is not flat try thumbing the throttle rather than with a normal grip as the hand leads to a natural down ward angle of the bar