60cc chainsaw choice

[holeycow]

Give it better antivibe, a better powerband (like give it some top-end), fix the too-long pull choke, improve the balance overall, change the cheap air filter design and maybe a few other things I can't think of right now and the Echo might (might) even be considered a pro-saw by the pros.

Echo fanbois are even more over the top than stihl fanbois. Sheesh.

 

[LuDookie]

I was quite the Stihl fanboi for a good while.

 

[Hickahollar]

Congrats on the 620 I have the ms362 and milling anything over say 14 inches is just terrible. Wot. Goes slow rpms singing at 10000 to 11000 rpm for 8 to 10 plus feet. It is just hard on any saw. It's a great saw for felling and firewood. I've cut many 40 plus inch around trees but because I felt like I was killing my saw milling I spent around 1200 on a good used ms880 and chainsaw mill. Yeah it's lower rpm and mills alot faster and better than the 362 but it's so heavy. Another 800 and I could have a mill and it's far faster easier on you as a person down side is a cheap mill can only mill like 22 inches or something but in hind sight give me three 20 inch logs and the mill anyday over 1 42 inch round log and a Alaskan mill with my 880. The 880 makes slabs that you then cut into 2x4s with a skil saw. band saw can make multiple slabs into 2x4s so much better. 60cc saw equal great firewood getter.

 

[sliceoflife]

Congrats on the 620 I have the ms362 and milling anything over say 14 inches is just terrible. Wot. Goes slow rpms singing at 10000 to 11000 rpm for 8 to 10 plus feet. It is just hard on any saw. It's a great saw for felling and firewood. I've cut many 40 plus inch around trees but because I felt like I was killing my saw milling I spent around 1200 on a good used ms880 and chainsaw mill. Yeah it's lower rpm and mills alot faster and better than the 362 but it's so heavy. Another 800 and I could have a mill and it's far faster easier on you as a person down side is a cheap mill can only mill like 22 inches or something but in hind sight give me three 20 inch logs and the mill anyday over 1 42 inch round log and a Alaskan mill with my 880. The 880 makes slabs that you then cut into 2x4s with a skil saw. band saw can make multiple slabs into 2x4s so much better. 60cc saw equal great firewood getter.

Yeah, I mean I got into chainsaws almost exclusively for milling; mainly because I didn't want to have the storage/space requirements of a bandsaw mill; and I'm already into the chainsaws for nearly what a cheap bandsaw mill would have cost me; and often think "Shoulda just made the space for a mill".

That said; with the chainsaw mill I get a workout and I've already milled more lumber than I know what to do with; and when I call it quits with the milling; I'll still have a bunch of saws that are useful for OTHER stuff... so maybe the chainsaw was the right choice for me.

Also chainsaws gave me a new hobby poking at them and fixing them up... with the bandsaw mill; I guess maintenance would maybe fill that gap... but mainly I think it'd just take up space when I wasn't able to/in the mood to mill stuff.... I would be more inclined to do dimensional lumber with on though I guess... but frankly if I REALLY wanted to do dimensional lumber; probably should spring for a small swingblade mill.

 

[Doorfx]

Yeah, I mean I got into chainsaws almost exclusively for milling; mainly because I didn't want to have the storage/space requirements of a bandsaw mill; and I'm already into the chainsaws for nearly what a cheap bandsaw mill would have cost me; and often think "Shoulda just made the space for a mill".

That said; with the chainsaw mill I get a workout and I've already milled more lumber than I know what to do with; and when I call it quits with the milling; I'll still have a bunch of saws that are useful for OTHER stuff... so maybe the chainsaw was the right choice for me.

Also chainsaws gave me a new hobby poking at them and fixing them up... with the bandsaw mill; I guess maintenance would maybe fill that gap... but mainly I think it'd just take up space when I wasn't able to/in the mood to mill stuff.... I would be more inclined to do dimensional lumber with on though I guess... but frankly if I REALLY wanted to do dimensional lumber; probably should spring for a small swingblade mill.

You could buy a lot of 2x4’s for the price of one of those

 

[sliceoflife]

You could buy a lot of 2x4’s for the price of one of those

But a lot less 12x1 maple and cedar boards, etc.

 

[Hickahollar]

Alot of 2x4s for the price of a used 880 and Alaskan saw mill. $800 more and i could of had a cheap mill. I can find a use for 2 grand worth of 2x4s

 

[iowa_jim]

Update on the 620! I've got the ash tree limbed. I started some initial slabbing cuts on the trunk. I'm using a timber tuff saw guide. It's the style that holds the bar near the powerhead, and the sled rides on a 2x6 to guide the bar. More to the point, the 620 was bogging down with the 28" bar fully buried, and I had to take care to avoid stalling the chain. I switched to a skip tooth chain, and the saw wouldn't quit. I don't have anything to compare this to, but it was working its way through the wood with enough speed to keep me happy.

 

[Hickahollar]

I cut 4 15inch around 10 foot long logs a couple days ago and because it being 95 degrees here I decided to use the ms362 instead of the big heavy 880 I'm using archer milling chain and it was going ok about 2 inches a second just my best estimate but you have to keep it in its rpm range or it just falls off and bogs. That 880 just seems to holler a little louder and seems about twice as fast but it is about twice the motor...

 

[iowa_jim]

More Echo 620 updates!

I've put several gallons through the saw at this point (that's a big deal for me anyway). It's true that these saws continue to improve past 10 tanks of fuel. I can mill with the full sequence chain, 28" bar. I max out at about 20" of cut width in the Alaskan Mill with the 28" bar, mostly because I don't want to crowd the bar sprocket with the mounting mechanism. The process is not fast, but for my amateur needs it's good enough. I plan on upgrading the mill with a crank so I can apply more consistent pressure with a lot less effort, but I can't see paying what even the knockoffs want for this, so I'm fabbing it myself.

I haven't touched the carb adjustments yet, but I put a tach on the saw for testing. She idles at 2800, with a no-load top end of 12200. Buried in the cut, she's right around 10,000 RPM. The saw will occasionally 4-stroke until I push harder into the cut, but sometimes it doesn't 4-stroke at all. It definitely likes to be pushed hard. For the tuners out there, are those RPM readings good enough, or maybe should I tweak it to get the full throttle speed to 12,900, which is the spec?

The full chisel chain needs to be sharpened after every tank of gas, or more often. This is not fun when I can burn through a tank of gas in a single cut. I installed a semi-chisel chain for today's work. I read that the semi-chisel doesn't cut as fast at first, but it stays sharp longer resulting in an overall improvement in cutting. And they are easier to sharpen. I'll find out.

I cut slabs out of the trunk as well. This amounted to using a single-point bar guide to reach into the trunk as far as possible from one side, resulting in a roughly 24" deep cut. I then followed the kerf around to the back to cut it all the way through. This didn't work perfectly, as there wasn't enough overlap to adequately guide the bar through the back cut, but it worked and I have several slabs ready to dry.

At the end of the day, or season, I am very happy with the 620. A firewood saw with the 20" bar, and an occasional milling machine with the 28" bar.

 

[LuDookie]

More Echo 620 updates!

I've put several gallons through the saw at this point (that's a big deal for me anyway). It's true that these saws continue to improve past 10 tanks of fuel. I can mill with the full sequence chain, 28" bar. I max out at about 20" of cut width in the Alaskan Mill with the 28" bar, mostly because I don't want to crowd the bar sprocket with the mounting mechanism. The process is not fast, but for my amateur needs it's good enough. I plan on upgrading the mill with a crank so I can apply more consistent pressure with a lot less effort, but I can't see paying what even the knockoffs want for this, so I'm fabbing it myself.

I haven't touched the carb adjustments yet, but I put a tach on the saw for testing. She idles at 2800, with a no-load top end of 12200. Buried in the cut, she's right around 10,000 RPM. The saw will occasionally 4-stroke until I push harder into the cut, but sometimes it doesn't 4-stroke at all. It definitely likes to be pushed hard. For the tuners out there, are those RPM readings good enough, or maybe should I tweak it to get the full throttle speed to 12,900, which is the spec?

The full chisel chain needs to be sharpened after every tank of gas, or more often. This is not fun when I can burn through a tank of gas in a single cut. I installed a semi-chisel chain for today's work. I read that the semi-chisel doesn't cut as fast at first, but it stays sharp longer resulting in an overall improvement in cutting. And they are easier to sharpen. I'll find out.

I cut slabs out of the trunk as well. This amounted to using a single-point bar guide to reach into the trunk as far as possible from one side, resulting in a roughly 24" deep cut. I then followed the kerf around to the back to cut it all the way through. This didn't work perfectly, as there wasn't enough overlap to adequately guide the bar through the back cut, but it worked and I have several slabs ready to dry.

At the end of the day, or season, I am very happy with the 620. A firewood saw with the 20" bar, and an occasional milling machine with the 28" bar.

Good that you are enjoying the 620. They are definitely good, hard working saws.

My opinion on the RPM question is, you shouldn’t lean it out any to raise the RPM. I would actually try to bring it down closer to 12 as long as it still pulls well, or just leave it where it’s at. I have a couple of saws that call for 12,500-13,000 WOT and I run them closer to 12 even for regular cutting with a richer oil mixture, approximately 40:1. These saws see many hours cutting and the pistons look fantastic. I never have excessive carbon build up, and never change plugs, nor needed to.

As far as chains, I tried switching to semi for a couple of loops and the edge holding advantage seems negligible, if any to me. I did notice they cut slower, so I’ve pretty much gone to using full chisel for everything unless I’m doing really dirty cutting. During milling you’ll already be doing a fair amount of filling. I’ve trained myself to enjoy it. Wasn’t always the case.

 

[Hickahollar]

More Echo 620 updates!

I've put several gallons through the saw at this point (that's a big deal for me anyway). It's true that these saws continue to improve past 10 tanks of fuel. I can mill with the full sequence chain, 28" bar. I max out at about 20" of cut width in the Alaskan Mill with the 28" bar, mostly because I don't want to crowd the bar sprocket with the mounting mechanism. The process is not fast, but for my amateur needs it's good enough. I plan on upgrading the mill with a crank so I can apply more consistent pressure with a lot less effort, but I can't see paying what even the knockoffs want for this, so I'm fabbing it myself.

I haven't touched the carb adjustments yet, but I put a tach on the saw for testing. She idles at 2800, with a no-load top end of 12200. Buried in the cut, she's right around 10,000 RPM. The saw will occasionally 4-stroke until I push harder into the cut, but sometimes it doesn't 4-stroke at all. It definitely likes to be pushed hard. For the tuners out there, are those RPM readings good enough, or maybe should I tweak it to get the full throttle speed to 12,900, which is the spec?

The full chisel chain needs to be sharpened after every tank of gas, or more often. This is not fun when I can burn through a tank of gas in a single cut. I installed a semi-chisel chain for today's work. I read that the semi-chisel doesn't cut as fast at first, but it stays sharp longer resulting in an overall improvement in cutting. And they are easier to sharpen. I'll find out.

I cut slabs out of the trunk as well. This amounted to using a single-point bar guide to reach into the trunk as far as possible from one side, resulting in a roughly 24" deep cut. I then followed the kerf around to the back to cut it all the way through. This didn't work perfectly, as there wasn't enough overlap to adequately guide the bar through the back cut, but it worked and I have several slabs ready to dry.

At the end of the day, or season, I am very happy with the 620. A firewood saw with the 20" bar, and an occasional milling machine with the 28" bar.

When I first started milling I was only getting about 2 planks of wood before having to file then I decided to buy a milling chain. That helped a little bit but I was still disappointed at having to sharpen so often. Ultimately I decided to debark them and well it made a world of difference 6 slabs per tank with a sharp chain just depends on speed 362 is a little slow compared to the 880 but I can get 6 slabs with each 362 has a tendency to mill 4 to 6 slabs 9 foot long the 880 is 5 to 7 slabs. Cheapest milling chain I have found is archer brand. Maybe not the best but it's done good for me.