# Bore Cutting Safely



## stevohut (May 3, 2010)

I have never tried to bore cut yet and I'm a little apprehensive about it. I understand the theory behind it. I just don't know what RPM you want to start your saw into the tree and once you can swing the bar around so its perpendicular to the tree what RPM do you start boring with. Do you just go indian with it or do you need to take your time and a little more care. My biggest fear is starting the cut with the side edge of the nose on the bar and having it kick on me. Any help would be great guys THNX

Steve


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## Damon (May 3, 2010)

I do alot of bore cutting and what ive found works the best is to start at around 3/4 throttle and start with the saw at about a 45 to the tree as you start in you will slowly straighten the bar out to perpendicular squeeze the throttle and let the saw feed its way in, i recomend starting to learn borecutting in softwood and start with the bar verticle or up and down bore instead of a horizontal side to side bore once you become profficient making the easier verticle bore it will be easy to switch to horizontal boring.

that being said bore cutting is a very dangerous technique if you are not completely sure of your skills with a chainsaw DO NOT attempt this technique!! I dont think that i can be clear enough about this, if you mess up you will get a kickback of some sort you need to be relaxed and focused to do this if you get to tense you are more likely to geta kickback in my experience i think that this is a very valuble skill to learn but it is extremely dangerous make sure you have all proper PPE before attempting it.

Tom


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## logging22 (May 3, 2010)

Damon said:


> I do alot of bore cutting and what ive found works the best is to start at around 3/4 throttle and start with the saw at about a 45 to the tree as you start in you will slowly straighten the bar out to perpendicular squeeze the throttle and let the saw feed its way in, i recomend starting to learn borecutting in softwood and start with the bar verticle or up and down bore instead of a horizontal side to side bore once you become profficient making the easier verticle bore it will be easy to switch to horizontal boring.
> 
> that being said bore cutting is a very dangerous technique if you are not completely sure of your skills with a chainsaw DO NOT attempt this technique!! I dont think that i can be clear enough about this, if you mess up you will get a kickback of some sort you need to be relaxed and focused to do this if you get to tense you are more likely to geta kickback in my experience i think that this is a very valuble skill to learn but it is extremely dangerous make sure you have all proper PPE before attempting it.
> 
> Tom



:agree2::agree2:


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## Fireaxman (May 4, 2010)

Damon said:


> I do alot of bore cutting and what ive found works the best is to start at around 3/4 throttle and start with the saw at about a 45 to the tree as you start in you will slowly straighten the bar out to perpendicular squeeze the throttle and let the saw feed its way in, i recomend starting to learn borecutting in softwood and start with the bar verticle or up and down bore instead of a horizontal side to side bore once you become profficient making the easier verticle bore it will be easy to switch to horizontal boring.
> 
> that being said bore cutting is a very dangerous technique if you are not completely sure of your skills with a chainsaw DO NOT attempt this technique!! I dont think that i can be clear enough about this, if you mess up you will get a kickback of some sort you need to be relaxed and focused to do this if you get to tense you are more likely to geta kickback in my experience i think that this is a very valuble skill to learn but it is extremely dangerous make sure you have all proper PPE before attempting it.
> 
> Tom



Also, if you are just learning to bore cut:

1. Be sure to use a full comp ("Safety") chain with good clearance teeth (clearance teeeth that have NOT been ground down to make the chain more aggressive). An aggressive chain like a skip tooth chain or a full comp chain on which the clearance teeth have been filed down has more tendency to kick back. 

2. Stay to one side of the bar. Don't "Sight" down the bar. Overlook this precaution and Kickback can catch you right between the eyes.


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## crashagn (May 4, 2010)

I know since last summer I started to use bore cutting when dropping the main trunk. I have yet to look back. I 1st cut the wedge, bore through so Iam atleast 4+ inches away from hinge and work back to opposite side of tree and leave the strap. I put a few wedges in for helpers, cut the strapand then will work more material from the back side of the hinge untill i feel it is right. 98% of the time saw is out of the cut and a few beats of the wedges and tree is going exactly were i want it. Regardless, if you have the time, tree, and the area to safely practice then do it! Its another technique that will serve you well down the road


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## Damon (May 4, 2010)

I must admit i have never bore cut with saftey chain that is a really good idea to start and i repped you for it fireaxman i am going to pick up a coil myself to have onhand for any borecutting instruction i do, but i will tell you that i did my first one at the tender age of 14 with an electric chainsaw under the watchful eye of my father (dont worry i was wearing chaps helmet hear pro and steel toes) it is not a really difficult thing to do but you really need to have a feel for it, I learned in oak and ash and i will say that it is way easier to do in softwood, i cant tell you how many ooohs and aaahhhs i got from my forestry proffessors and woodsmens team buddies the first time i stuffed a chainsaw nose end first up to the teeth with no wiggle room. the girls were all convinced i was gonna die lol i think bore cutting is something that really seperates the men from the boys when it comes to chainsaw work, and im sure alot of people on here will agree with that, personally i get nervous working with people even doing ground work if they cant cut bores to me it helps give me an idea of what kind of experience they have. you deffinitly should lear how to do it at some point it is an invaluble skill for certain applications(chainsaw carving comes to mind immediately). just be careful as you learn remember your PPE and go slow, maybe pick up some saftey chain at your local hardware store and you should be fine

Tom


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## rarefish383 (May 9, 2010)

I think I understand the therory of leaving the strap to turn the tree loose when every thing else is ready. I've been doing tree work for 40 years now (I'm retired now and only do a little for family and friends) and have never used a bore cut other than making chairs out of stumps. If you have a tag line on the trunk with pressure on it why do you need wedges and the bore cut? It just seems a little dangerous proceedure, Joe.


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## huskystihl (May 9, 2010)

Light throttle until you bury the nose and ease into it. I understand the theory behind safety chain but your gonna have to muscle it a bit which is never good if you slip, kinda like trying to make an under cut with safety chain. A guy that worked for me for a bit showed up with his shiny new 290 one day and about a half hour into the day he said somethings wrong with my saw, it's kickin me out of my under cut.


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## komatsuvarna (May 9, 2010)

Ive bore cut with my 009 stihl. Ive tried it a little with my 372 and ive had to change undies before too. I have no problem getting it started, its that point were its time to square the bar up and push that it starts jumping and i quit right there. Usually bout 2 or 3 inchs in. My rakers were probably too low when i tried it a few times. Id like to be able to do it, but ill probably stick to conventional. Although, i have a red oak to take down with bad lean. Bore cutting it would probably be the safest bet to keep it from barber chairing. Maybe i need to buy a safety chain and give it another try.


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## utilityman (May 9, 2010)

*Bore Cutting*

Anyone homeowner who purchases a chainsaw should be made to take a safety coarse such as the Game of Logging. These coarses teach you the proper way to handle a saw safely, including bore cutting, cutting spring poles safely, ect.

I am not saying that borecutting is the best method for every application, but sometimes you just can't beat it.


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## tawilson (May 9, 2010)

komatsuvarna said:


> Ive bore cut with my 009 stihl. Ive tried it a little with my 372 and ive had to change undies before too. I have no problem getting it started, its that point were its time to square the bar up and push that it starts jumping and i quit right there. Usually bout 2 or 3 inchs in. My rakers were probably too low when i tried it a few times. Id like to be able to do it, but ill probably stick to conventional. Although, i have a red oak to take down with bad lean. Bore cutting it would probably be the safest bet to keep it from barber chairing. Maybe i need to buy a safety chain and give it another try.



The first time(and maybe the last) I did rakers on a grinder I got them a little low and went out to do a bore cut. It was exciting. The first few I did I practiced on some downed logs till I got comfortable with it. I like it for leaners and cutting stumps off flush.


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## Rftreeman (May 9, 2010)

rarefish383 said:


> I think I understand the therory of leaving the strap to turn the tree loose when every thing else is ready. I've been doing tree work for 40 years now (I'm retired now and only do a little for family and friends) and have never used a bore cut other than making chairs out of stumps. If you have a tag line on the trunk with pressure on it why do you need wedges and the bore cut? It just seems a little dangerous proceedure, Joe.


:agree2:


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## TreeClimber57 (May 9, 2010)

For leaners it is tough to beat. For any tree (other than very small ones) it is good.. although not necessary. I usually cut tree off at higher than normal level when teaching new guys (about as high as I can comfortably reach), then have them bore cut remainder.. at that point they are only working with a couple of feet of wood. While not the same as a full tree, lets them concentrate on technique rather than worry about a few thousand pounds of wood and where it might fall.


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## huskystihl (May 10, 2010)

Sorry dude but if you got a spring board/barber chair and are afraid or apprehensive of the cut you probably should shy away for now. May I suggest going a little deeper with your face cut and making your backcut dividing the tree in half. First cut from the right facing the tree second cut from the left, that way your body is in no way behind the trunk and have an arms length head start to run. Without seeing it theres no way to accurately make the call but it's how I would teach a new guy.


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## huskystihl (May 10, 2010)

huskystihl said:


> Sorry dude but if you got a spring board/barber chair and are afraid or apprehensive of the cut you probably should shy away for now. May I suggest going a little deeper with your face cut and making your backcut dividing the tree in half. First cut from the right facing the tree second cut from the left, that way your body is in no way behind the trunk and have an arms length head start to run. Without seeing it theres no way to accurately make the call but it's how I would teach a new guy.



Also just like I tell my guys, I hate to see equipment get ruined but we can always replace a saw.


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