@tbg9b That is so cool!!! I want to try one now just for fun. I wrap electrical tape upside down (sticky side out). It’s hard for the first wrap but then it works well.
@Petey In the Jsacadrua video I linked in the other thread, he shows some bridge grafts while the bark was not slipping. He just jams the scion in. So that apparently works. Especially I bet on apple and pear.
If you want the bark to be “slipping” this thread: Optimal field grafting times in spring has some optimal times and I’ve found the bark to be slipping at those times. However, I feel like apple and pear gets more slippy after bloom but before bloom works better for catching the big flush of growth. Anytime you see little leaves (the size of a mouse’s ear) in spring I’ve found “slipping”.
If it’s slippy, it’s easier to figure out where to jam the scion in and/or peel - but I’ve now done a bunch of badly timed grafts where the bark was not slipping and that were successful - just at a lower rate. You might try some now and some later since you have a few damaged trees?