088 chainsaw mill

joemarty · Feb 19, 2002

I have a brand new Stihl 088, I will be using on A alaskan mill.
WHAT CAN i DO TO THIS SAW TO MAKE IT LAST. Any good ideas? Remove choke, better air cleaner, port muffler, And where can i get parts, knn filter ,etc. And is 3/8 .063 the best chain to run on a bar 42 inch long? It has a 404 .063 chain know. I will be cutting 99% hardwoods. And if I go with 3/8 chain can I use my 404 bar .063 bar? P.s thanks John lambert

marty kreis aka joemarty

Rotax Robert · Feb 19, 2002

you can't use 3/8 chain on a .404 sprocket nose bar.

slabberman · Feb 19, 2002

G'day Marty,

Depending on where you are, you could get the saw Walkerised (check back through the posts here for heaps of info on this).
Madsens do K&N filters - http://www.madsens1.com/k&nacc.htm although the 088 is not listed. You may be able to modify a mount, I dont know. They also "Powertune" saws. All info on their website, with a huge amount of interesting info on saws and maintenance.
I would use the 404 chain and bar for ripping, thats my preference. It depends if your slabbing or wanting to cut dimension timber. For the latter, you will want the thinnest kerf possible.
Make sure you have an auxilary oiler for the 42" bar too!
Cheers
Charlie.

Gypo Logger · Feb 20, 2002

Hi Marty, I wouldnt suggest the 3/8" chain on the 088 unless you are running 25" bars or smaller, especially while milling since chain stretch can be a real factor. The only 3/8 stock bar that will fit the 088 is the 21" or 17"bar that fits the 08S. I talked to KD about your tip problem and it said this was quite common on those larger tips on the big mount bars.
Although a 3/8" tip can be fitted onto the 25" bar you have, I think the trouble is that the 3/8 drive tangs dont reach as deep as the 404 tangs that the bar was designed for, thus causing the bar groove and oil hole to fill up will sawdust. It has been my experience that what seems like tip failure right out of the box isnt, butt rather a temporary seizure due to impacted sawdust in the tip.
Ken Dunn has a replacement tip for you as we speak and will send it to you on my behalf if you contact him. I will reimberse Ken for the tip by sending a new Oregon roller nose.
John