Went to the local Stihl bloke today...

[Wild Dingo]

To see what sort of bar or chainsaw power plant Im gonna need to update to so I can do some milling... Presently I have the largest farm boss... good saw no wukkers! :2tsup: ...just I want to make a mill then I can start to milling the mess of logs out the back until slabi or Bob can turn up to give me a hand... so I was thinking someone had said that this saw was probably going to be too underpowered to make one with enough "meat" in the power department to run a larger bar.

So anyways in I went and Im lookin at some of the larger powered units... they put the big boys out the back :roll: ...so the bloke comes over and asks what Im interested in so I tell him I need a longer bar to make a mill and probably a bit more grunt than the existing one so whats his recommendation

Now this is were I ended up looking like a stunned chook in a meat factory... this bloke starts telling me I would have to get the 5 FOOT bar and that even with that size bar Id be lucky to mill logs bigger than 2 FOOT as Id loose the rest in the mill... mind boggling I thought!!

Soooo not havin the goods to hand or the collective brain packets along side me to refute his words I sorta went "YOU BLOODY WHAT?" and this fella swore black and blue that Id not be able to mill anything larger than 2ft with a 5ft bar and chain... but not only that but that the farm boss I have should have no worries doing the job "ON ANYTHING" yeah friggin right I thought... so I wandered out and decided to ask me brain trust here for their insights into what I need

So...
1) what size power plant do I require?

2) what is the best "average" size mill bar (I was thinkin about 36in would be about right)

3) how much do I loose with the mill?

4) Which is better for the purpose a husky (which one) or a stihl (again which one)

5) What chain is the best for mill work?

I will wait upon the answers from the collective brain trust before I go back or forward with this

Cheers

[dazzler]

4) Which is better for the purpose a husky (which one) or a stihl (again which one)



If the huskies still have a chrome bore then I like that one if you want to keep him for a loooooooong time :2tsup:

[martrix]

1) what size power plant do I require?

I would say 80cc minimum for decent sized Oz hardwoods.


2) what is the best "average" size mill bar (I was thinkin about 36in would be about right)

Yes.


3) how much do I loose with the mill?

Depends how you make it. The way BobL made his I think you only loose about 100mm off the bar length. Granberg Alaskan probably says how much you loose on their website.



4) Which is better for the purpose a husky (which one) or a stihl (again which one)


Both will do it. I just find Stihl more common for parts.


5) What chain is the best for mill work?

Skip-tooth chain with the teeth ground to 10°.

Go back to the Stihl dealer and wrap the bar around his head. They are just cowboys who bought a name/franchise that know how to tinker with 2-stroke engines.

[martrix]

If the huskies still have a chrome bore then I like that one if you want to keep him for a loooooooong time :2tsup:

Even the old Stihl's have chrome Nikasil plated bores. They all wear, some faster depending on how they're treated.....:C

[dazzler]

Even the old Stihl's have chrome Nikasil plated bores. They all wear, some faster depending on how they're treated.....:C

Damn, I thought I was special........:(

[Ramps]

Just went down the Husky vs Stihl (or is that Ford vs Holden) road for a friend (about 2 weeks ago).
They're much of a muchness at the moment but ..

Stihl have more parts locations (as Matrix says) but if you're near Bunbury or Donnybrook you'll have a good supplier.

Husky seem to have a better air filter at the moment and I feel the easy start option on the bigger motors is a boon. Prices seem to be a bit better on the Husky at the moment as well.

At the moment I'd go with the Husky

All else I concur with Matrix.

[weisyboy]

i have a 76cc saw running a 30" bar and it seams to have no trouble except if it is cutting the full width and the two of us push on it realy hard.

skip tooth chain and leave it how it is ground when you buy it.:2tsup:

[MurrayD99]

I think the pro logging guys are pretty much using Stihl here. Anyway, I reckon the Stihl somehow "sounds" better under load. How's that for objective!

[Ianab]

What the guys have said... and...

6 ) Find a dealer that knows what they are talking about :?

Ian

[Manuka Jock]

Wild Dingo

Check out the local agents for all the chainsaw mill manufactures , and ask them re. the maximum bar length.
Poach design ideas from them

You may even be able to buy one cheaper that you can build it

My mill only takes up about 3 inches of the bar length , not 3 feet
And I do not have too bend my back , or push the saw along the log .
A wee winch pulls the saw sled along the beam.:2tsup:

Not too sure how it would go with a 5 foot bar tho :U

Jock

[BJP]

I run a magnum 088 with a 42" bar which is about 1070mm approx, on a 48" Westford mill and I can cut a 960mm log :)

[bobsreturn2003]

find some one who knows what they are doing. depending on brand 5 ft bar should cut at least,4.5 ft get an 090 if you are strong and fit ,best saw made for slabbing , or an 088 stihl or 3120 husky . if you find someone who know s what s going on its a lot easier . have a 5ft bar and use a 13hp honda in tropicl timber , its soft , and works well the 090 was the best as its a very big motor ,and cant be stopped cutting , this is all with a good budget . mate uses a 90 husky and a ripper jigh and plows through the logs at an angle . best to cut his way rather than straight across. watch some one local doing it if you can as its not easy work . best of luck bob

[Stu in Tokyo]

I did a bit of milling (http://www.ablett.jp/workshop/woodlot.htm)a while back, and I used an old, 1976 era 85cc Husky. I like the older saws for milling, as they are usually cheap, as they have no chain brake (not a bit deal when it is mounted on a milling frame) and they have longer stroke engines, which give you more torque.

I made my own Mill (http://www.ablett.jp/workshop/csm.htm)as well.

My blade was about 24" and I lost about 3" to the mill.

The Granberg ripping chain works very well, I could not get one here, in time, so I ground mine to match, the saw just about pulled itself through the log.
http://www.ablett.jp/workshop/images/woodlot/husky/ripping_chain.GIF


When milling, set it up so the end you start on is slightly higher than the end you finish on, gravity is a great thing :D

Sharpen you chain often, and install an auxiliary oiler on the end of the mill opposite from the motor, helps a lot!

hard work, lots of grunt work and sweating, but I enjoyed it.

Cheers!

[echnidna]

Stu,
Do you sharpen every 2 fuel tanks full or more often?

[Manuka Jock]

There are long bars available that take a saw at each end . A cobber of mine has one .
The trick is , to have one saw , the bigger/ better one as the master , and one as the slave.
Run the master at top revs , the slave just below that .

[Wild Dingo]

No worries... Derek in his thread in Announcements just reminded me that the wood show is on in a couple of weeks so I'll hang 5 till then and have a good yarn with the blokes from Welsford... mmm that reminds me I better get back onto Slabi as I think thats the weekend hes thinking of coming down but Ive been given the go ahead for to do the show this year (On Sundy) and well its been awhile since Ive been... and theres the tools... and the mills... an well theres the meetin of nobs an nobbettes to do :2tsup: Yes I think I bedder get Slabi to come down the weekend after... an even if I end up scoring a mill from Welsfords which is possible he can still wander down if he wants an set his Lucas up next to it... HECK we can have mill races!! :2tsup: nah just kidding :doh:

Cheers all :2tsup:

[Stu in Tokyo]

Stu,
Do you sharpen every 2 fuel tanks full or more often?

Depends on the wood, and how it is cutting, if everything is peachy, (no rocks!) about every second tank is right, but if the wood is really hard, like the Keyaki was, I'd spend 5 minutes just touching up after each refill, by hand, and use the jig, to get it right each 2nd or 3rd tank. If you hit a rock, or the wood is really hard, all bets are off..... :rolleyes:

Cheers!

[matildasmate]

Hi Dingo I use a Stihl MS660 91.5cc and my current longest bar is 36 inch or 90cm , I can cut a maximum 80cm wide slab with it , the 660 weighs about 7.5kgs , next size up being the i think 880 120cc weighs about 12-13kgs too heavy for me the 660 has heaps of grunt and is a reasonable weight , as for which chain to use , its very hard too say , so many people use so many different types , I personaly use standard regular Stihl chain semi or full chisel sharpened to 10 degs works great

[matildasmate]

Oh Dingo I forgot to say that Stihl dealer must be a complete idiot , from what you described

[slabber]

I RUN A 95cc HUSKY 48" BAR ON A 48" MILL AND SKIP TOOTH , ONLY LOSE ABOUT 3" OF BAR. THE BIGGER THE SAW THE BETTER, MAKES LIFE A BIT EASYER.ITS STILL HARD YAKA BUT I LOVE IT :)

[Redgum Ripper]

I started out with a 36" GB lumber mill running a Stihl MS660 it would give you a maximum slab width of 29.5 " when I got the 44" rails I fitted a Stihl 090 to it thinking that it would be the go but I found that not having the chain speed of the 66 that it was slower in the dry red gum and not near as fuel efficient so I have gone back to the MS660 with a 42" roller tip bar running 3/8 semi chisel skip tooth chain and a 8 tooth sprocket on the saw, has been a fantastic combination highly recomend
:2tsup:






To see what sort of bar or chainsaw power plant Im gonna need to update to so I can do some milling... Presently I have the largest farm boss... good saw no wukkers! :2tsup: ...just I want to make a mill then I can start to milling the mess of logs out the back until slabi or Bob can turn up to give me a hand... so I was thinking someone had said that this saw was probably going to be too underpowered to make one with enough "meat" in the power department to run a larger bar.

So anyways in I went and Im lookin at some of the larger powered units... they put the big boys out the back :roll: ...so the bloke comes over and asks what Im interested in so I tell him I need a longer bar to make a mill and probably a bit more grunt than the existing one so whats his recommendation

Now this is were I ended up looking like a stunned chook in a meat factory... this bloke starts telling me I would have to get the 5 FOOT bar and that even with that size bar Id be lucky to mill logs bigger than 2 FOOT as Id loose the rest in the mill... mind boggling I thought!!

Soooo not havin the goods to hand or the collective brain packets along side me to refute his words I sorta went "YOU BLOODY WHAT?" and this fella swore black and blue that Id not be able to mill anything larger than 2ft with a 5ft bar and chain... but not only that but that the farm boss I have should have no worries doing the job "ON ANYTHING" yeah friggin right I thought... so I wandered out and decided to ask me brain trust here for their insights into what I need

So...
1) what size power plant do I require?

2) what is the best "average" size mill bar (I was thinkin about 36in would be about right)

3) how much do I loose with the mill?

4) Which is better for the purpose a husky (which one) or a stihl (again which one)

5) What chain is the best for mill work?

I will wait upon the answers from the collective brain trust before I go back or forward with this

Cheers

[BobL]

I started out with a 36" GB lumber mill running a Stihl MS660 it would give you a maximum slab width of 29.5 " when I got the 44" rails I fitted a Stihl 090 to it thinking that it would be the go but I found that not having the chain speed of the 66 that it was slower in the dry red gum and not near as fuel efficient so I have gone back to the MS660 with a 42" roller tip bar running 3/8 semi chisel skip tooth chain and a 8 tooth sprocket on the saw, has been a fantastic combination highly recomend
:2tsup:

I agree it's a good combo but what can be done to make up for the lack of chain speed with the 090 is to drop the rakers on a new chain to something like 0.045 or 0.050". (Finish won't be as good of course). Don't do this on your 660 of you will just bog the saw. In the same way if you try cutting a 50" wide log, the 660 will just bog down a lot easier than the 090. The alternative is an 880 or a 3120

[nifty]

It saddens me to hear that a stihl dealer so close to me could be such a 5star f...wit although the old one here in bsn once told me id seized my saw when in fact I could turn it over and the problem was water in the fuel.It is unfortunate to say that there can tend to be small engine shop owners that only have enough knowledge to look after the firewood bandits so here is the trick, DONT talk to the clown at the front counter, ask to speek to the technicians out the back. THEY are the ones that attend the seminars etc and know all the ccs hps fuel mixes, tuning and all that. Unfortunately 9 times out of ten the guy out the front only knows the serial numbers and if its in stock! If you have time, take a trip at to Bensons chainsaws in Donnybrook, He has both brands on the shelf, hell take you out the back and let you try them and give you the pros n cons. Hes an old school small engine man