660 with 50" bar in Hardwoods

[Wood.Neely]

I've been milling with an Alaskan setup using an MS660 and a 36" bar. Cuts just under 30" is the max i can achieve but i have some larger hardwood (specifically red oak) i would like to mill. The 42" bar will not be enough so i got a 50" bar, but having seen this thing and feeling how the saw works with the 36" bar making 30" cuts i am extremely concerned about putting the 50" bar on and milling 45" hardwood.

I got some advice on another thread but curious if anyone has done anything this large with an Alaskan (hopefully with a 600) and has some advice or warnings... thanks

Here is what i got so far, and a pictue of what i cut last weekend, sorry they are sideways:
will the saw 'pull' a 50" bar? yes but keep rakers to no more than .020...(maybe less?), figure out an aux oiler setup for the bar end, use a 7t sprocket and take it slow...don't force it! I would also suggest a muffler mod and re-tune as well as a little heavier mix ratio and synthetic 'race' oil suggested in several threads on the subject . (I go 32:1 on my saws) premium gas might help as well.

make a few $$s and then get a bigger saw

 

[groundup]

Why are you starting another thread about the same exact issue?

 

[Wood.Neely]

groundup: simple answer, because the first thread was about whether or not i could run a 50" bar on a 660, and i got one reply giving me some particulars, and no one confirmed or back-up that info... a good example of this would be: if one person told you that it was ok to put 83 octane gas in your ferrari, would you just jump on board and do it? Doubtful, and i'm not trying to ruin my setup by doing more than it can handle

this thread was asking if anyone has cut hardwoods this big with a CSM. and if they could shed some light on how it went, hopefully using a 660, but anything is fine. I spoke with mdavlee and he said he hadn't milled anything that large with a CSM and i wanted some more information. thanks for your response in this thread, noticing you had nothing to add to the previous thread and seemingly nothing here, go have a beer and relax. send me the bill, i'll buy your round tonight.

To anyone else, i apologize for making this seem like the same thread, i had different intentions

 

[VA-Sawyer]

It is the same question for the same problem. You have a bigger chunk of wood than you can safely mill with your saw. You can either take a chance and try to baby it through with the 660, or you use a bigger saw. We have no way of knowing your skill level at milling, so we can't advise you on if it will be ok or not.
Would I try it? Probably, but I have the experience to 'hear' the saw as it cuts, and adjust the feed. Do you? If you really knew, you wouldn't need to ask the question.
So, it sounds like you don't have the needed experience to do it safely, we don't know you all that well, but you still want us to tell you if it is ok or not. Can it be done? Yes, probably. Can you safely do it? I don't have a clue.
Will this repeat thread get you the answer you seek? Probably not, for the reasons stated above, and because it sounds like you might have an attitude.

 

[Wood.Neely]

I have apparently ruffled some feathers with a "repeat thread". I will happily apologize to everyone again, as i did previously in this post.

I would like to continue reading on this forum, learning as much as i can, and will from now on, continue more discussion in current threads instead of creating a new. The last thing i want to do is anger a bunch of people and get poor/no advice (this is why i am here).

To eleaborate on my "skill level at milling"

I believe know my saw, i am confident i know what it can and can't do in "hearing the saw"

This would only be my 5th log to mill, and i started with about a 20" cut and worked my way up to the max my 36" bar can handle with complete confidence, all while doing it safely.

Do i have a bigger "chunk of wood" than i can safely mill with my saw? Probably, if safely is referring to my saws safety.

Long story short, i think i need an 880 to do something like this instead of wasting $400 on a 50" bar and chain on a 660.

Hopefully if i ask enough questions and reach the coveted 700 messages mark, i will not have to defend myself and be accepted in the small but growing community of CSMilling

Cheers

 

[BIG JAKE]

Nice looking slabs Neely-keep up the good work. As a general rule(according to what I have read), the general limit for an 066 is 42" bar-so you are in un-explored territory. I know Woodshop milled with a 42 and he liked to cut a lot of oak and other hardwoods. Aggie Woodbutcher may have tried it a longer bar but I can't say. See how it goes, then let us know and post pics here. I've only milled softwoods/conifers so can't offer anything. Good luck milling in future endeavors and cut safe!

 

[rarefish383]

Ruffed feathers lay back down, no big deal. I've been around chainsaws my whole life. What can be done and what should be done, well you know how that goes. I was at a camp out with our Boy Scouts. Our camp site had just been logged and the boys were rolling logs up to our camp fire. To go them one better I grabbed my little 14" Echo 305, bolted a Haddon jig to it, found a 2X4 and ripped a Locust log in half. Notched the log out on the ends to fit between two stumps, and I had the coolest yellow bench in camp. It was real slow milling, so I just took it slow. That was at least 10 years ago, and I still use that little Echo. Moral of story: If I had the 50" bar I'd try it. But don't burn it up, Joe.

 

[Mad Professor]

If you square the log up to a cant you can get by with a MUCH shorter bar than log dia.

Take off some flitches, turn, take off some flitches , turn.........

Are you doing that or just flat sawing all the way through?

 

[JasonMS660]

I've been milling with an Alaskan setup using an MS660 and a 36" bar. Cuts just under 30" is the max i can achieve but i have some larger hardwood (specifically red oak) i would like to mill. The 42" bar will not be enough so i got a 50" bar, but having seen this thing and feeling how the saw works with the 36" bar making 30" cuts i am extremely concerned about putting the 50" bar on and milling 45" hardwood.

I got some advice on another thread but curious if anyone has done anything this large with an Alaskan (hopefully with a 600) and has some advice or warnings... thanks

Here is what i got so far, and a pictue of what i cut last weekend, sorry they are sideways:
will the saw 'pull' a 50" bar? yes but keep rakers to no more than .020...(maybe less?), figure out an aux oiler setup for the bar end, use a 7t sprocket and take it slow...don't force it! I would also suggest a muffler mod and re-tune as well as a little heavier mix ratio and synthetic 'race' oil suggested in several threads on the subject . (I go 32:1 on my saws) premium gas might help as well.

make a few $$s and then get a bigger saw [/quote
Hi I haven't milled oak, but in Australia a lot of our timber is Hardwood such as black wood, stringybark,red gum and iron bark. These are bloody hard and slow and hard on your saw. I've found that chain and saw set up are critical but it's still long and slow. I also mill with a MS600 and run a 36" bar which IMO for our wood would be the max I would consider running. Really TBH an 880 or 090 would be the choice for me now, but for a 660 in OZ at $1800-$2000 it's out of the question for the occasional user. My tip would be go bigger, cutting that size hardwoods takes the fun out of it not to mention the wear on the saw. When I have those bigger logs I get a Lucus mill in. cheers

 

[timbertim]

hi i have milled quite a few hardwood trunks (holly-oak, ash, beech mainly) of this kinda size with a 60" cannon on an 880, very rewarding but not fast or something to rush the saw with, even with 880. i have recently downgraded to a 660 (read my thread) and it really is worlds apart from 880. having said that i was milling ash (excelsior) which is very hard here in ireland, with 660 on 40" last week , it was about 34" and it didnt struggle too much, but like has already been mentioned if you gonna do it you really have to keep saw in the 'sweet spot' as i call it, you have to preempt it bogging down or even slowing with fast reactions. i wouldnt want to do it but yes it can be done
im lost without my 880 but apart from current thread issue i have, it is the best by a million miles !!