Forest Research Tools Home Page

For more information on our dry wood borer, click on the button to the left.

Welcome to Forest Research Tools

Note: I am traveling extensively this summer doing fieldwork and attending conferences and have realized that it's unlikely I'll get around to shipping any dry wood borer kits over the summer. You can place an order but please be aware that it likely won't get shipped until September sometime. I'm sorry for any inconvenience. -- Henri

We are a small but growing company that represents a collaboration between science and engineering with one common goal: to create innovative and improved tools for use in the tree-ring and forestry sciences. These tools currently include our dry wood borer kit, the FHX2 computer software for fire history analysis, a bookstore for tree-ring research, and a wood shop supply store, and will soon include (if all goes according to plan) a revolutionary new design for increment borers, the tool most commonly used by dendrochronologists and professional foresters to conduct their analyses and research.

In two years of operation and product distribution, we've sold nearly 80 of our dry wood borer kits to researchers in the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Spain, Poland, Belgium, Canada, Germany, and Italy! We thank ALL of you who have made this product a success! Because of our busy travel schedule, especially over the summer months when we do our fieldwork and testing, please be patient if we don't respond within a few days of placing your order. We promise we will make every effort to fill your order when we return.

Enhancements to the second generation of our dry wood borers...
Click on an image to bring up a larger version.

	1. The cutting tip now is 6-sided compared to our original 5-sided design. This design allows for more cutters per tip, decreasing cutting time, while creating a smoother core.
	2. The number of holes in the outer 4 inches (10 cm) has been doubled. This creates more efficient evacuation of the sawdust during the coring process.
	3. The end of the borer on which the drill chuck grips has been sided as the rounder design would occasionally lose its grip and come loose while drilling.
	4. The L-handle on the extractor has been enlarged to ensure a firm and stronger grip on the extractor when dislodging cores from inside the logs
	5. The polyethylene guide plate is now precision ground and drilled, offering a tighter fit to the drill shaft to ensure stability when starting the drilling process.

User Testimonials

"I received my borers and tested one out. What a great piece of equipment! I tested it out on the hardest oak beam I could find in the shop, and the borer chewed through it with no problems. Thanks again for bringing these to market. Please tell Frank I love the borer." -- Dr. Darrin Rubino, Department of Biology, Hanover College

"Just a short mail to let you know that I did receive the borer in mid-February. We use it for collecting samples on dried spruce cross-sections and it works just fine. Simple and efficient tool, really!" -- Joëlle Marion, Québec city

A core approximately 8 to 9 inches long, obtained from a Rocky Mountain juniper remnant log by John King, using the dry wood borer.

"I've attached a photo of a Rocky Mountain juniper sample from Yellowstone National Park that was collected using the dry wood borer. The sample contains 384 rings and pre-dates 150 CE. In cases where increment borers chew-up old remnants (e.g., note the unsuccessful increment borer hole to the right of the dry wood borer hole), very careful use of the dry wood borer often yields a viable sample." -- John King, Lone Pine Research, Bozeman, Montana

Our Dry Wood Borer on TV!

If you would like to see the dry wood borer being used, tune in to the History Channel and search for their documentary titled "Lincoln: Man or Myth." In this feature, you'll see Dr. Henri Grissino-Mayer using the borer to extract cores from Abraham Lincoln's birthplace log cabin in Hodgenville, Kentucky in March and April, 2004. The cores you see are real and actual examples of what our borer can extract! Be sure to read through our borer tutorial for more information on how to use our dry wood borer kit.

Need Help? Just ask!

If we can be of any help to you, your laboratory, your company, or your research, please do not hesitate to contact us to ask us questions! We are here to help!

Sincerely,

Henri D. Grissino-Mayer