A couple o' milling questions

[bplust]

Hi all,

I have a couple of quick (hopefully) milling questions:

1. I mill with my 80cc Efco primarily, and my McCulloch 125 (when I need to). Last year, I built an earth-sheltered post & beam, just a little house, 12'x20'; 2x boards for retaining walls and roof, 1x for non retaining walls. It worked great.
Right now, I run Oregon Ripping Chain, but was considering running full-skip, since I've heard that it dramatically increases speed, though it does make for less "finished" cuts (which, though I've never seen just HOW unfinished these cuts are, I could live with). Opinions? If I were to go the full-skip route, would I angle the teeth just like the ripping chain? I've tried a few varieties of ripping chain (Granberg, Oregon), and I go with the Oregon for simplicity's sake.

2. I thought intuitively that higher chain speed would be desirable, and was about to throw an 8 tooth sprocket on my saw, but local saw shop guy who does a lot of milling recommended actually going with a 6 tooth for torque. Opinions?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[mtngun]

was considering running full-skip, since I've heard that it dramatically increases speed

I've never seen any data to suggest that skip cuts faster than full comp. Skip does let the saw spin a little faster and easier. But so does Granberg ripping chain.

was about to throw an 8 tooth sprocket on my saw, but local saw shop guy who does a lot of milling recommended actually going with a 6 tooth for torque.

Even 120cc saws don't pull an 8 tooth well. Never heard of a 6 tooth. I'd say you're stuck with 7.