This is the top that spun 189 degrees on the way down. While I love Gerry's teaching on wind resistance and think that would be a good subject for videos, if you are trying to spin a top, wind is more something to overcome that use to your advantage.
I've given a lot of thought to this spin of this top and tried to put all the factors together.
Early separation is a must. VERY narrow face, and then as Sean mentioned a torque from the pull line and a hinge set up to hold on one side. Not sure which plays more of a factor (which is a very important distinction), the hinge or the pull, but it makes sense that you need to have a pull that continues after the piece starts to move. Usually, the pull line cannot keep up with the speed of a moving top. So you'd need a line that's set fairly low (COG or below) and a moving truck to get much torque.
I AM guessing the timber fallers will adjust their cuts to allow a tree to spin after it brushes another tree. Probably more just by using a narrow Humboldt than having the notch hold on one side.
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SO many factors to dial in. It seems more of an academic inquiry, than something that has much practical use in the field. But still this is the stuff I think about in bed.
13:21 the notch is pointing straight up
Just took another look.. the hinge was tapered. 3.5" on the wide side... 2" on the thin side, so that makes sense.