# New MS880 milling for the first time..



## ppj690 (May 18, 2013)

After having my saws stolen, including my new (to me) 084 for milling, I recently purchased a new MS880.
I ran a few tanks through it before milling, but tried it for the first time yesterday on some Ash. Diameter was about 30", but seemed to cope with no problems at all.
There were a couple of issues I encountered throughout the day which you guys may be able to help me with...

I had to keep stopping to clean the HD air filter after every cut. At the end of the cut the saw would bog down and loose a little power. Does everyone else have the same problem with these HD filter systems...?

The second issue is that by the end of the session the rear handle assembly was very loose on the saw...Im guessing the AV mounts had obviously worn or come loose...Any ideas? Should they deteriorate so rapidly and are they easy to replace?

Anyway, all in all a good days milling. Will try and upload some pics!

View attachment 295983
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Thanks for any advice or comments

James


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## cityslicker (May 18, 2013)

I am not sure about the av mount, have you taken it apart and inspected it yet? Maybe a bolt is loose?
I clean my air filter after every cut while milling.


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## ppj690 (May 18, 2013)

Thats a little more reassuring... I guess its due to the finer chips created with a ripping chain too..?

Have taken the mount plugs out and nothing is loose, looks like one or more av mounts has split, are they easy enough to change?

James


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## BobL (May 18, 2013)

We have much harder wood here that you guys but I only clean my 880 filter about every once during a milling day and once at the end of the day. The filter is quite dusty but the saw seems to cope with it very easily. 

I've never had any trouble with my AV mounts.

Good looking wood too!


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## ppj690 (May 18, 2013)

Thanks Bob...
Does anyone know if the av mounts simply come out through the hole for the plastic plug or do I have to tear the saw apart to remove them..?

James


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## john taliaferro (May 18, 2013)

I clean the filter on 88 when i put it away , were using the exhaust to help blow the dust away it makes a difference even in a good breeze . Go to the bottom of Bobs post to the BIL mill the exh mods start on 26 or 27 for the 88 . Read up on progressive rippers and sharpen your chain you dont need to push so hard as to damage av mounts. Look for the picture of Bob sitting in a chair while mill cuts .


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## mtngun (May 18, 2013)

ppj690 said:


> I had to keep stopping to clean the HD air filter after every cut. At the end of the cut the saw would bog down and loose a little power. Does everyone else have the same problem with these HD filter systems...?


I clean my Stihl HD filters only at the end of the day. Plus, Stihl pro saws have an "intellicarb" that automatically compensates for a dirty filter.

On the other other hand, my Makita and Efco filters have to be cleaned several times a day when milling. They lack an intellicarb.

Is your carb tuned correctly ?


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## ppj690 (May 18, 2013)

Carb is fine... The saw runs perfectly with plenty of power until the end of the cut...Bang the filter out a few times and replace and its good to go again. Seems like this is a common problem when milling... Just need to keep it clean!

Anyone replaced av mounts on an MS880..?

Thanks

James


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## Trx250r180 (May 18, 2013)

try one of these covers for the hd2 filter ,it stops most of the stuff and no restriction View attachment 296006
View attachment 296007
is made by outerwears company ,order for a 441 off their site ,it will fit all hd2 filters


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## ppj690 (May 18, 2013)

Looks like a great idea..although to send it to the UK is gonna cost $23.00..!
may have to improvise.. !


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## Trx250r180 (May 18, 2013)

ppj690 said:


> Looks like a great idea..although to send it to the UK is gonna cost $23.00..!
> may have to improvise.. !


pantyhose used to work in our old mx days to cover the filter before these came out


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## Nato (May 19, 2013)

Check the clutch. Is your chain to tight. I have noticed this before on my 880 also. You might be miss diagnosing things if you stop to clean the filter out which will also let the clutch cool down just enough to grab better when you start back up. I use an oil type filter(maxflow...pia , not cheap,but cheaper in the long run.)


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## ShaneLogs (May 19, 2013)

R u using an Alaskan Mill to mill with ?


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## ppj690 (May 20, 2013)

Yep.. A 36" Alaskan mill. Clutch is fine and don't think the chain is overtight... Not got an aux oiler on the nose, so that would help.
Its certainly the air filter as results when knocked out are instantly better...

Just need to sort out the AV mounts now, are they hard to replace..?

Cheers

James


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## JS929 (Feb 13, 2015)

That 880 throws out oil in amounts that are excessively sufficient to lube a 36" bar while milling. I am only saying that because mine will have oil running down the sides of the bar when crosscutting with a 36" bar. I changed my 660 oil pump to the Aussie/high flow version,many it will dang near empty the oil tank before you run out of gas of it is turned all the way up. I hope you're enjoying the 880, but I do have a question. Did you buy the saw new? I'm guessing no with shot AV mounts. I ask this because I was curious when you broke the saw in, did you notice a ridiculous increase in power after the fifth or sixth tank? I was bucking a 34" white oak with .404x.063 on a 36" bar with a 404-7 sprocket. In the beginning of that job it acted like a dog. I was completely unimpressed with that saw for a while, and I was on the verge of getting rid of it to get a 3120. Well, I got to the 4th cut of the day, and I tell you what, that thing came to life. It will cut stink off a turd now.


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## BobL (Feb 13, 2015)

JS929 said:


> That 880 throws out oil in amounts that are excessively sufficient to lube a 36" bar while milling .



That depends whats being milled. In Aussie hardwoods I still use an auxilliary oiler right down to 24" cuts.


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## ppj690 (Feb 13, 2015)

Yes, the saw was new, so surprised the AV mounts went in such a short time... I ran a couple of tanks through it "gently" before I started using it for milling. I can honestly say that I have now put about 15-20 tanks through it and it hasn't really changed too much. I did, however just finish a DP muffler mod on it but haven't had a chance to mill with it since so hopefully with a little tuning I can extract a little more grunt. It has decent power but expect it will improve with a few more tanks.


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## Haywire Haywood (Feb 13, 2015)

Did you end up changing the mounts and have they lasted better than the first set?


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## ppj690 (Feb 13, 2015)

Yes, changed the mounts for OEM Stihl mounts and they haven't been an issue since... My first milling with the saw was a rather large Ash trunk so probably not very fair on the old girl straight out of the box..!


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## JS929 (Feb 13, 2015)

BobL said:


> That depends whats being milled. In Aussie hardwoods I still use an auxilliary oiler right down to 24" cuts.




I hope to one day mill those legendary hardwoods found in Australia. Our hardwoods are soft compared to what y'all deal with. I agree though. In hardwood like that, you need all the oil you can get on that chain. 

Are there any tricks y'all use to mill that stuff? Does it cause excessive amounts of pitch and saw dust to build up on the chain? 

I've only been milling for around three years now. I will always appreciate any insight or knowledge that you are willing to share.


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## JS929 (Feb 13, 2015)

ppj690 said:


> Yes, the saw was new, so surprised the AV mounts went in such a short time... I ran a couple of tanks through it "gently" before I started using it for milling. I can honestly say that I have now put about 15-20 tanks through it and it hasn't really changed too much. I did, however just finish a DP muffler mod on it but haven't had a chance to mill with it since so hopefully with a little tuning I can extract a little more grunt. It has decent power but expect it will improve with a few more tanks.




Which muffler do you have on your 880? Stainless or aluminum?

I would hope that the 880 would respond like the 660 does with a muff mod. There is a clear cut difference in my 660 since I put a dual port on her. I honestly thought about just putting another hole on the side of the 880 muffler and piping it down in a way similar to what a fellow on here did. I'm very eager to hear how your 880 responds to the muff mod though. 

Does your saw have the rev limited coil in it? If so, Brad says that a coil for a 441 will fix that. He said that the rev limiter on the stock coil on the new 880's keeps the rpm too low. I think that is a general interpretation of what he said. He would be happy to tell you though. If your saw doesn't have the cast aluminum muffler, then you definitely have that newer rev limited coil that isn't worth a crap. I for one think that the EPA needs to quit passing measures that are messing up perfectly good saws.


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## Haywire Haywood (Feb 13, 2015)

I plan on putting a 24" bar and an 8 pin rim on that 395 in my sig and cutting about 10 tanks worth of firewood before it sees a mill. I'd like to get some decent 20" pine logs to play with too.


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## BobL (Feb 13, 2015)

JS929 said:


> I hope to one day mill those legendary hardwoods found in Australia. Our hardwoods are soft compared to what y'all deal with. I agree though. In hardwood like that, you need all the oil you can get on that chain.
> 
> Are there any tricks y'all use to mill that stuff? Does it cause excessive amounts of pitch and saw dust to build up on the chain?



Yes some are notorious for pitch buildup. A near extinct species of Eucalypt called Tuart can choke a chain in about 10 minutes if the oil slow is too low. Old timers like my dad used to carry around a can of diesel to tip onto the B&C but on an CSM just using a bit more oils helps keep it in check. If it does gum up then running the power head for a few minutes to oil up the chain will soften the gum and it comes up on the next cut.[/QUOTE]


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## Haywire Haywood (Feb 13, 2015)

Keep a bucket of kerosene handy to slow idle the bar in between cuts?


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## ppj690 (Feb 14, 2015)

Mine has the stainless muffler and yes, a limited coil.. I took apart the muffler, opened everything out inside and added an extra port and deflector plate, sounds really good now! Will use it over the next week or so and see if there is any noticeable difference. I really hope this wakes it up a little in the mill. Cross cutting or stumping seems so much better but then that's expected I suppose...


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## BobL (Feb 14, 2015)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Keep a bucket of kerosene handy to slow idle the bar in between cuts?


It would need to be a very large bucket to be able to dunk the whole mill/bar in 



ppj690 said:


> Mine has the stainless muffler and yes, a limited coil.. I took apart the muffler, opened everything out inside and added an extra port and deflector plate, sounds really good now! Will use it over the next week or so and see if there is any noticeable difference. I really hope this wakes it up a little in the mill. Cross cutting or stumping seems so much better but then that's expected I suppose...



Don't expect too much from this. I found it quite difficult to see any differences in milling speed with a basic 880 muffler mod. I tried a few timed cuts alternating between with and without the muffler mods (which is why I made my mods reversible) but found it very hard to control all the variables (same sharpness of chain, same width of cut etc, as the exact same kerf can only be cut once) and it was a right PITA having to retune the saw every time Some cuts were quicker with the mod some without. In the end I gave up convincing myself that there was any "major" improvement in cutting speed with this mod. What I could say was the power head definitely ran cooler so from that point of view it was worth doing but otherwise I'm skeptical regarding claims of major major improvements in cutting speed with a large grain of salt. 

More power in the cut is one thing but this has to be translated into physically being able to remove wood. Like many mechanical processes, chainsaw milling doesn't respond linearly to power increases. Doubling the horsepower will not double the cutting speed same as doubling the HP on a car won't double the top speed or the acceleration. If this was the case a stock 880 should cut 25% faster than a 660 but especially in narrower cuts the difference will be much smaller than this.


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## Haywire Haywood (Feb 14, 2015)

Well all other things being equal, more chain speed equals more wood moving, whether the tooth is actually cutting or just raking powder out. If more power keeps the chain from bogging, it means faster cutting speed up to a point. There are always diminishing returns of course and if your power bump is minimal, the result will not be noticeable with all the variables in play.


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## ppj690 (Mar 3, 2015)

Just a little update... Milled a reasonable sized Oak with the saw yesterday since doing the muffler mod..
I'm not sure what has made the difference, the mod or the fact that the saw has now had a few more tanks through it since new, but it really has woken up, it 's now like a different saw! Would like to think the muffler mod and retune has helped a little, but perhaps it is now just run in..?!
Since doing the muffler I also now have a cheap and easy hand warmer when milling!


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