bore cutting

[snowman]

I guess i was blessed. I learned to log for free. After school, weekends, all summer long. Lucky me huh. Seriously though, with so many people hobby logging these days, I think these courses are a great idea.It is probably the most dangerous hobby you can choose besides maybe mt climbing.

[Corley5]

I smashed a saw doing a bore cut the other day.  The big beech was without a doubt going to fall west.  Notched, bored, and when I cut the holding wood it pinched tight without any room for a wedge not that a wedge could've lifted it anyway.  Took the powerhead (brand new Jonsered 2171) off the bar and retrieved the Husky 395 from the truck.  I didn't more than touch the holding wood on the other side and the tree set down on this bar.  It stayed for a few seconds and then with a couple cracks started falling west as I'd planned.  I stayed with the saw as long I dared but there was no pulling it out.  It's a real helpless feeling watching a $1,000.00 saw get crushed    Otherwise I've been bore cutting the other big beeches with great success and recommend the technique    I'd like to take the GOL course and considered it when it was offered in the SW part of the state but just couldn't justify the time and expense to attend at that distance.  It'll be offered up here eventually 

[Ianab]

Just trying to visualise what happened here 

The holding strap should have been been on the East side of the tree and you cut that last to let the tree fall. As long as you are dropping the tree with it's lean the stap will be under tension and open up (quickly) as you cut it.

It sounds like you were cutting the hinge wood too thin? Thats the only time I've (accidentally) pinched a bar while bore cutting. 

Just trying to work out what went wrong, because it shouldn't have pinched the bar 

Cheers

Ian

[Ed_K]

 I watched a cherry crush an almost new 2171. A friend got it caught in the bore cause it was rotten and leaning across the road. We were cutting for the town. I touch the backstrap and it let go, pulling the saw out of his hands and dropping on it when everything hit the ground  .
 Looking at your situation, did you have wedges in the bore? Where you trying to get it out of a hangup?

[Corley5]

I had plenty of hinge wood.  There was still wood there to hold it and direct the tree.  It fell just where I had intended it to go in the first place to the west    There was little to no wind that day either.  For some unknown reason it took a lean east until I nipped a bit of the hinge wood to let it fall east.  Then it changed its mind and went back west on top of the saw.  Wedges inserted before I cut the holding wood MAY have helped but it appeared to have a west lean and without any noticeable wind I didn't think it was necessary

[Ianab]

Ahh... I understand now.

The tree was just out to mess with you 

Yup.. in hindsight wedges would have helped. Even if the kerf had closed you could probably have nipped a small cut into the closed up gap to get some wedges started.

Ouch about the saw though 

Ian

[Bibbyman]

Dad always used a notch/hinge cut and often bore cut the hardwood trees he fell.  He didn’t do it every time but when needed extra control.  He also bore cut (or what he called plunged cut) about every walnut and cherry tree.  He did this to minimize the chance of cracking or splitting the butt log.

When we were sawing a lot of walnut grade logs for a broker, we saw a lot of what would have been very valuable veneer logs on the lot that had be stump shot, split, side blown out or even halved by using the “match cut” that is still popular in southern Missouri.