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TRAINING & EDUCA TRAINING & EDUCATION The result after a bore cut has been used to set up the hinge in a felling operation. By Michael “House” Tain he bore cut, also often called the plunge cut, is a chain saw cutting technique that, once understood and practiced, is an invaluable addition to tree care professionals’ mental toolboxes both aloft and at ground level. It may be used in a variety of ways including setting up the felling hinge of an upright tree while allowing additional time and safety, releasing tension or compression forces in downed wood in a controlled manner, or even simply saving energy while bucking up a log by allowing the operator to let the weight of the saw and their own body mechanics do the work.As valuable as the bore cut is, it is a technique that requires an intimate understanding and knowledge of the reactive forces of a chain saw; and is definitely not one that should be implemented into everyday work practices without some level of training and practice. Luckily, most tree care companies have multiple pieces of large woody debris around their yard, thus allowing new learners the excellent opportunity to understand and practice the bore cut under controlled conditions. In addition, professional training organizations such as Arbor 10 Arbor Age / March 2011 Canada Training and Education, ArborMaster, and North American Training Solutions all offer the opportunity to learn and practice the bore cut in their felling/cutting or chain saw courses. In any case, some level of training and practice coupled with basic principles can allow tree crews to start using the bore cut on a daily basis with safe, profitable results. Reactive forces The chain saw has four basic reactive forces, which are typically described as push, pull, kickback corner, and starting corner.The kickback and starting corner can be even more simply described as “no” and “go.”The push force is the one experienced by the saw and operator when cutting with the top of the bar. As the chain is moving forward, away from the drive sprocket toward the tip of the bar, the saw tends to be “pushed” back into the opera- tor.The pulling force is when cutting with the bottom of the bar, and the chain is moving back toward the drive sprocket,“pulling” the saw into the wood and away from an unwary operator. Although kickback has often been described as occurring at the tip of the bar, often with the instruction to not use the tip of the bar due to that danger, it more accurately occurs in the upper quadrant or corner of the tip.This is due to the fact that as the www.arborage.com