36" Bar on PS-7900?

[tsk]

I've got a Granville 36" mill, and a Dolmar PS-7900 (upgraded PS-6400).

I'm thinking about getting a 36" bar so I can use the max capacity of my mill (on occassion, not all the time). Based on my research, the 36" bar is a bit long for a PS-7900 in general, but I'm wondering if it's ok to use as a general milling blade provided I get an auxiliary oiler?

Also, I'm not planning on milling 34" logs all the time, but would like the option to go up into the 30's on occasion.

Or is that just too much? If so, any suggestions on max milling blade for that saw?

Thanks in advance.

 

[cuinrearview]

That's asking a lot for a saw that size, and I've heard pretty much unanimously from 7900 owners that the oiler will not lube a bar that big.

 

[andy]

A 36” bar won’t get you 30” on a 36” mill with a sprocket tip unless you drill it out and bolt the bar on.
The clamp takes 6” off the nose and another couple off the tail end even if you remove the dawgs.
I’ve discovered this myself and now have to decide which bar gets drilled or do I buy a 44” to use the full 34”capacity of a 36” granberg.

Auxillary oiler is a must with any milling over 20” imo.
The oil the saw can pump just disappears in a wide rip cut.
Even if your saw can pump it, who wants their oil to run out before their fuel?
Cheers!

 

[Rosss]

I have run a 36 inch bar on a husky 61 slabbing with a chainsaw mill.
It worked quite well on willow with a granberg style ripping chain and ok on spruce with a regular chain.

Both times I used the max I could get out of the 36 inch bar.
It oiled ok with the oiler turned up to max using canola oil for bar lube. That canola is thinner might explain why it oiled ok.

A 79 cc saw should do fine with a 36 inch bar if you take your time and let the saw dictate the pace, have your chain sharp and your rakers on the shallow side.

I tried milling with a stihl ms 271 and after a couple feet in a 10 inch cedar log stopped as I was concerned I might kill the saw.

I had been milling some 8 to 10 inch cedar with the 61 using a 20 inch bar. I put that bar on a jonsered 2095 and tried the same size log and could just push down the log, no touch required. I then tried increasing raker depth until the 2095 stopped cutting and was more kind of ripping wood out and was no longer very functional. It would still cross cut at a reasonable rate but didn;t really cut the wood more kind of ripped it out and left an odd surface, not smooth at all but with bent over fibers and small holes where the fibers had ripped out. Raker height is important.

I can't speak to physically hard woods. I would think that it would require rakers set up to take less bite.

So a decent size saw, patience, attention to your set up and a gentle hand and you should be able to mill quite well.