Thanks Skeet, I plan on using 4 flap also...glad it worked good for you. I haven't been very lucky with Tbuds.
Ned, here is that link I posted in grafting tutorials on 4 flap. It looks easy for me anyway. I might cut the scion first & hold it in my mouth while I cut the 4 flaps. Malcolm mentioned this once for keeping buds fresh ---saliva is good for them. Naw, maybe I should just follow directions LOL.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/propagation/fourflap/fourflap.htm

I would prepare the stock first, hold it in place with wire tie, prepare the scionwood very quickly, then untie the flap, snap off the wood, insert the scionwood and tie up. If you can find those tiny rubber bands that salmon fishers use (tie around the gill portion of bait fish), they would even be excellent to hold small things.

Joe, wanted to ask you about my T Bud that took. The algerian clementine budwood you sent that I T budded in Sept took & finally leafed out a month ago. I budded it on 1/8th in stock & it's the only bud that made it this far. Recently the one leaf fell off -- it was about 1/2 " long. Bud is still green, but will it keep growing or is it a goner? There is nothing growing on rootstock & it is cut about 2 " above bud. I was so proud of it

Patty, let us hope that it will sprout back with a vengeance. I've got some that did just that, especially if there are mites, scales or aphids, sometimes even tiny stress or root problems. But when the tree recovers, they sprung back. Although I have to admit that some of them remained indefinitely dormant until they were swallowed by the host, but I am sure they were not blind buds.

Joe:
I just want you to know that some of the plums that we got from the scion exchange that I grafted to my Santa Rosa plum are starting to show new buds (perhaps flowers). And a lot of my citrus are starting to show life maybe flowers.



(pic taken and grafted on 1/30/07)

After having read Dr. Manners and Buddingman's comments regarding chip budding, I began using the hanging chip bud whenever the bark is not slipping well. As they indicated it would, it has proved to work at least as well the T bud for me. It is a little slower, but practice speeds up the process, and improves the technique considerably. Besides, I would say success is more important than speed for most of us.

Sometimes I use a cloths pin to hold the bud in place, while I start the tape. Once I have made a few turns with the tape, the cloths pin is removed, and I finished the taping. This helps if the bud won't "hang" well, or if the knife happens to slip out the rootstock before I finish the cut.

Ned