Have to go with a husky.

[Steve Fryar]

The quotes are in for my prospective mill and the Husqvarna 3120XP wins over the Stihl880.I know it's a bit like Ford vs Holden,but from what I gathered their performance and reliabity are the same.What mattered to me was that the Husky quoted on a 28" bar and a 60" bar,whereas Mr Stihl quoted on the big bar only.Mr Husky by $220.Cool.
I did a search on bench mounted chain sharpeners and an Oregon seems to be the go.Are there better/cheaper ones out there?The Oregon is priced at $615.I may be thankfull of Mr husky's discount.
Cheers.

[BobL]

The quotes are in for my prospective mill and the Husqvarna 3120XP wins over the Stihl880.I know it's a bit like Ford vs Holden,but from what I gathered their performance and reliabity are the same.What mattered to me was that the Husky quoted on a 28" bar and a 60" bar,whereas Mr Stihl quoted on the big bar only.Mr Husky by $220.Cool.
.

What size chain/bar groove are you planning on running? You can get better cutting performance and a smaller kerf running 0.058 / 0.375 chain especially on a big saw. Some dealers will want to sell you 0.063/0.404 chain because they know you will have less breakage/problems, but 0.058 / 0.375 chain is fine provided you are careful and set up a good aux oiler .

[Steve Fryar]

Hi Bob,the .058/.375 chain.The business I am getting the saw from is local and the guy knows exactly what i will be milling and how.Some of the other locals put my ideas in the too hard basket and were'nt interested in what I wanted to do.Not this guy,he's been there,done that.He is even willing to show me some tricks.You just can't beat that type of service,so husqky it is.Thanks for your input.I am very much a beginner but determined that I will succeed.
Steve.

[BUNTA]

Hi Steve
i have a lucas mill & use a cheap $80 electric sharpener & it works fine .....as you can see in one of my posts we slabbed a large redgum about 2 weeks ago & while we did not use my sharpener we used one exactly the same (justins) & when combined with a $100 GMC generator makes it a fair bit cheaper than the $600 job...

[BobL]

OK - don't forget to post pics of your set up and anything u mill.

[Steve Fryar]

Thanks Bob and Bunta.I fly back to the oilfields shortly.I will definitely post pictures.Still working on the minister of war and finance though.I will win! I'll bet my life on it!!

[elmoticus]

Another advantage of using .058" / .375 chain is that when the bar wears, as they invariably do, you can often fit an .063" chain to take up the slack in the bar. Good luck with the Husqvarna, they are great saws.

[bobsreturn2003]

you might try some of the round diamond file sharpeners really hone the teeth and dont remove a lot material . the disc sharpeners are great after you have hit something ,check they will sharpen at 10degrees -ripping chain . good cutting bob

[Sigidi]

The quotes are in for my prospective mill and the Husqvarna 3120XP wins over the Stihl880.I know it's a bit like Ford vs Holden,but from what I gathered their performance and reliabity are the same.What mattered to me was that the Husky quoted on a 28" bar and a 60" bar,whereas Mr Stihl quoted on the big bar only.Mr Husky by $220.Cool.
I did a search on bench mounted chain sharpeners and an Oregon seems to be the go.Are there better/cheaper ones out there?The Oregon is priced at $615.I may be thankfull of Mr husky's discount.
Cheers.

Absolutely nothing wrong with a 3120, a great saw for ripping, just don't try lugging around the bush for felling:D

As mentioned you can do the same job with a sharpener, but with less cost. I just use a hand file in a jig on the slabbing chain, works great for me and no big expense.

[Ironwood]

You wont be disapointed with your 3120, they are a great saw.

I've had mine for, not real sure, must be at least 8 or 9 years.
The only complaint I have with mine is the air filter, too small (clogs up pretty quick - when cutting Cooktown Ironwood anyway, sawdust is like talcom powder) probably not as bad with softer woods which produce a bigger chip when cutting. And the glue they were using to hold the filter together with didnt last long.
Maybe the new filters are better now (hopefully they sorted the glue problem out ), not sure as I havent done any milling for a couple of years now, just too busy (and I was sick for a while as well).

Anyway I like my Husky over my 2 Stihl's anyday.

[BUNTA]

What price were you quoted for the 3120xp Steve ??

[Steve Fryar]

$2399 With 28" Bar And Chain.

[Calm]

In my opinion the stihl has a better aircleaner system and more torque than the Husky.

I was a husky man and then bought the 660 stihl and now i am converted. I think for a slabbbing saw the stihl is my preferreed option. I would have thought if you shopped around the 880 stihl would match oif not beat the price. Also for slabbing i also found the skip tooth 10deg chain was the better option.

Just my 2 bobs worth.

[Steve Fryar]

I have tried to get quotes on an 880 in Adelaide and they (various) where upto $500 more than in SE South Aust.Trust me on this,I have rung around and my local guy is winning hands down.The added bonus is that he knows his sh#t and is willing to give me some tips.I reckon that alone has to be be worth a few $$.I am looking at a saw on ebay at the moment (3120XP),but my gut feeling is to go new,even if this is a hobby.
Cheers again,steve.

[Calm]

I have tried to get quotes on an 880 in Adelaide and they (various) where upto $500 more than in SE South Aust.Trust me on this,I have rung around and my local guy is winning hands down.The added bonus is that he knows his sh#t and is willing to give me some tips.I reckon that alone has to be be worth a few $$.I am looking at a saw on ebay at the moment (3120XP),but my gut feeling is to go new,even if this is a hobby.
Cheers again,steve.

I bought my 660 on Ebay in Qld and had it sent to Ballarat. I took it into my mate (stihl dealer) he checked it out and apart from wear on the bottom from riding on the chequer plate ute floor all the time it was a riper. I had asked if the motor had ever been run on straight petrol or had any work done on it and was told no. I told the guy that not describing the wear was not acceptable but it is still a good saw.

I couldnt be happier and it cost me $800 delivered instead of about $1800 new.

[Sigidi]

Steve,

it's your coin for the saw, but if the seller states the saw has always been run with the proper fuel mixture and it is in good working order, you should be right to go with it.

My thoughts would be a big saw like this may be almost 4 years old, but how often would someone throw one of these around?

Initially there is a big difference between $900 and $2400, although having said this, there is nothing better than having the confidence of warranty behind you with a new saw. In 'business' terms 10 good forest red gum slabs will pay for the purchase price of the new saw, or even two good sized slab tables would pay for it. Do you think you could make/sell two slab tables in a year? You could even do some split posts on the side if you can get hold of some timber. Even going steady you could get $400 for a day of ripping posts. So one week of split posts would pay for the saw and your expenses for the week??

hope it helps