Thread: Mill Purchase

Originally Posted by Greg Henderson

I'm looking at a fully reconditioned Stihl090 mounted in a 800mm cut Sperber mill. The owner wants $2800 for this set up. The mill is in fair condition. Chain and bar are good. What should I be paying?
Cheers for any info.
Hendo

Got a picture for us to look at?

Cheers BobL
No pic available at the moment. Thanks for interest. Will attempt to get visuals for posting.
Hendo

I looked up this mill and this is what it looks like.


This roller based design and variants thereof have been around since the mid-1980s but are no longer made. There was an English guy selling these roller based mills but his website vaporised about 12 months ago.

I looked at a number of similar designs before I made mine. Here is a summary of what I found.

Pros
1 - rollers on top and on the inboard side
2 - good depth adjustment using all thread screws/rods
3 - can take two powerheads - but that rules it out as a one person mill
4 - verticals bolt direct to bar - can change chain without removing saw from mill.

Cons
5 - limited to one bar length - eg I want to be able to switch between 30, 42 and 60" bars
6 - Expensive - it cost ~AUS$1000 in 1986 - ie definitely not worth that amount.
7 - lacks suitable height operator handles requiring operator to bend over way more than necessary! - easy to fit although forking out a heap of money and having to retrofit basics would give me the pips.
8 - verticals bolt direct to bar - limits cutting length compared to Granberg style mill.

Point 5) ruled it out for me. The main advantage of the rollers can be obtained by using suitably slippery skid material, like high density polyethylene, on the mill rails.

Another problem with the roller setup is that if any sawdust or woodchips build up on the top of the slab, the rollers will climb over them and ruin the straightness of your cut. A square bar would tend to scrape along the top of the slab or rails and push any sawdust ahead of it.
I must mention, I just read about this today in Chainsaw Lumbermaking, by Will Malloff. Really informative book.

Originally Posted by Ravvin71

Another problem with the roller setup is that if any sawdust or woodchips build up on the top of the slab, the rollers will climb over them and ruin the straightness of your cut. A square bar would tend to scrape along the top of the slab or rails and push any sawdust ahead of it.
I must mention, I just read about this today in Chainsaw Lumbermaking, by Will Malloff. Really informative book.

Better still use the log rails all the time, Square rails can also climb up onto sawdust if it builds up enough, whereas the mill rails can easily sweep the reduced area of the log rails of sawdust.

not worth the amount they are asking unless teh saw is in good order.

I bought an 090 a year ago for $900, but it included ONE CUBE OF BLACKWOOD. It also included a 5ft bar and three chains. Because the saw is in need of reconditioning, I'm not sure how good a deal I got. One thing I know is that nothing powers through timber like an 090 (120cc or so)!. I'm not sure what the mill itself is worth, but I doubt more than a couple of hundred. What bar comes with it and how many chains?

seems a little dear , what does reconditioned mean? new barrel and piston . crank , or just rings ? bar and chains , condition? slabbing is about the hardest work for a saw, so be carefull your not buying some one elses problems ? or it may be a good buy but its too much for our local market around $1500 if very good . cheers bob

Originally Posted by Greg Henderson

I'm looking at a fully reconditioned Stihl090 mounted in a 800mm cut Sperber mill. The owner wants $2800 for this set up. The mill is in fair condition. Chain and bar are good. What should I be paying?
Cheers for any info.
Hendo

Because the Sperber mill cost a lot of money when it was new, it's component of this deal is probably over inflated. What it needs to be racked up against is the cost of used GB mill which at 800 mm of cut is probably a 36" mill and that would probably be worth $250. This makes the cost of the 090 $2550. It would have to be near mint condition as a semi collectors item to be worth that much. If it is a collectors item condition CS, using it on the mill would then devalue it pretty quickly as it would become non-mint.

Yes, you could buy a BRAND NEW Husky 3120 or Stihl 880 AND mill for around that money. Why buy a saw 25 years old and twice the weight (with minimum safety features) unless you are a collector? In the USA they pay a lot for an 090, I think cause its a kind of status symbol!

Originally Posted by timbertalk

Yes, you could buy a BRAND NEW Husky 3120 or Stihl 880 AND mill for around that money. Why buy a saw 25 years old and twice the weight (with minimum safety features) unless you are a collector? In the USA they pay a lot for an 090, I think cause its a kind of status symbol!

Not quite.
2 months ago when I priced the 3120 I got 2 quotes and they were both around $2800.
A 36" basic granberg also retails at ~ $500.
The 090 is 30% heavier than the 3120 but I agree that it can feel like twice the weight when lifting that mill on and off the log.

Whatever the case, unless you are collecting and that saw is close to mint that deal is still over priced in my book.

I have an 088, FIL has an 090.

I pumped a heap of money into his saw to recon it about 5 years ago, $1400 rings a bell, new clutch, piston & rings the whole works, mechanics stuffed up and that cost them a brand new crank shaft but that's another story.

Sure, the 090 weighs a heap and you do feel it after awhile BUT, in my humble opinion it is the saw to have for slabbing. It leaves my 088 in it's wake. I notice posters here comparing Husky 3120 vs Stihl MS880, I've never used the Husky but if the 880 is it's rival then the 090 is it's master. It drives his 5ft bar with ease where my 088 has to be nursed more on his 5ft bar.

Incidentally, my local dealer still has a new recomended retail on the MS 880 and 090. I think the 090 is $3600. They seem to think you can still get them, I would question that though.

As for the price, offer them $1800 and I would think that's generous considering Bob's thoughts on the slabbing apparatus.

Originally Posted by Ali G

Sure, the 090 weighs a heap and you do feel it after awhile BUT, in my humble opinion it is the saw to have for slabbing. It leaves my 088 in it's wake. I notice posters here comparing Husky 3120 vs Stihl MS880, I've never used the Husky but if the 880 is it's rival then the 090 is it's master. It drives his 5ft bar with ease where my 088 has to be nursed more on his 5ft bar.

I'd be interested to know what you are cutting, as my 076 (111cc) seems to handle a 5 ft bar OK even in relatively hard stuff like lemon scented gum. My week long experience with a 3120 showed it handled a 5 ft bar very easily through stuff like Jarrah and Marri, and the 880 has more grunt than either of those saws. I guess the proof will be in the cutting times

Incidentally, my local dealer still has a new recomended retail on the MS 880 and 090. I think the 090 is $3600. They seem to think you can still get them, I would question that though.

New 090's are available from Brazil and China. The Chinese bought a complete production line of 090/070 from Stihl - the alloy parts are cast with the original labels - some even say made in Italy! The $3600 is completely over priced as you can get them from China for a lot less than that. Quality control is an issue some are Ok but others are duds - maybe that's why dealers charge $3600. That's another thing to watch out for - is it the real thing or a copy?

I hear ya Bob.
My local dealer only sell the big brand stuff like Stihl, Honda (motor bikes) & John Deere, god bless their souls. I couldn't see them buying in the cheap rubbish out of China, not worth it in a small town, reputation and word of mouth can make or break you.

From memory, they said they haven't sold an 090 recently but they did mention it was on their Stihl price list. This discussion with them was approx 12 months ago.