Affordable milling saw recomendations

[bplust]

So I own a chunk of property that isn't conducive (and a wallet that is similar) to owning a skidder, so my lumber producing options are limited to very mobile milling, and I've found chainsaw milling to be my best option.

I was wondering what saws people recommend. I figure bigger is better, as I started on an 80cc Efco mt8200, moved up to a Jonsered 920 (87cc), and just milled 20,000 board feet with the 100cc McCulloch 1000/Partnet p100.

I'm sure it would be swell to mill with one of the new 120+cc Stihls or Huskys, but that's well out of my budget. I have no problem working on old saws, and have been considering a McCulloch 125, as it seems that they are available, reviews are good, and so far, I like pre-1980's McCulloch. I also have no problem with a heavy saw, at least for now, as I'm in my 20's. Any recommendations for a good, but affordable, milling saw are greatly appreciated.

 

[imagineero]

what are you milling species and log diameter? Older saws can be had cheap but they are slow. They go ok on large diameter logs because they've got the grunt to keep the chain moving, but on smaller stuff a smaller more modern high revving saw will out perform them. 100cc is a good place to start, but used versions of 100cc+ saws are pricey and often have been used for milling which we know destroys saws. I'd never buy a saw that had been used for milling ;-)

Shaun

 

[BlueRider]

I mill with a stihl 075 which is a 111cc saw they were made from 1974 up through the late 80's and some parts are still available. if you can find one of these for $350 or less and in good condition it would be worth considering.

The husky 2100 is 99cc and a good saw but parts are scarce. if some one tosses one at you for a scary good price it would be worth considering but know that when it dies it may be hard and expensive to rebuild.

One of the best choices might be any one of the Chrysler 820 powered saws. Chyrsler produced the 134cc motor for a wide range of industrial applications and sold the motors to other chainsaw manufacturers in addition t using it in their own brand of saws. These motors were the main commpetition to the mcculloch powered karts and the track layout determined which would dominate, the 820 had more top end power and dominated tracks with long straights while the Macs reved faster and dominated tracks with tighter turns and short straights. There are a lot of performance parts for the 820 like bigger carbs, dual carbs quad carbs, tuned pipes carbon reeds. It is one of those "how fa$t do you want to go?" sort of things.

You will need to do sime research over on Mike Acres web site to find all the models of which brands used the 820 but I do know that Wards(as in Montgomery Wards), Partner, and Titian all made a saws with 820 motors.

Don't be to discouraged from using the older saws by people that say they don't rev as high. My 075 will rev up close to 10k rpm vs the newer saws running at 12k rpm. the biggest difference is that the older saws have a lot of torque at all rpm while the newer saws have to be running at full rpm to have any torque. add in that the bigger saws have the grunt to pull an chain where each tooth is making a deeper cut and you can still mill just as fast or faster with an older saw.

For a real treat take a look at the mill Jerry made, his user name is wards820. he scratch built an 820 powered mill that is a power monster, I don't think he has had it up past 3/4 throttle yet but now that he has a 50" bar he might find a reason to give it full throttle.

 

[BobL]

Don't be to discouraged from using the older saws by people that say they don't rev as high. My 075 will rev up close to 10k rpm vs the newer saws running at 12k rpm. the biggest difference is that the older saws have a lot of torque at all rpm while the newer saws have to be running at full rpm to have any torque. add in that the bigger saws have the grunt to pull an chain where each tooth is making a deeper cut and you can still mill just as fast or faster with an older saw.

Using the same chain and sprocket, on a 30" cut my 076 seems to cutting fastest around 2 krpm above its max torque rpm (6.8 Nm at 5 k rpm) at 7.5 krpm which is the same for the 880 (8 Nm at 6 krpm) and in practice that's about the cutting speed difference between the two saws. Dropping the rakers on the chain doesn't make much of a difference. The shorter the raker the more grabby the chain and the 880 is more likely to bog down a bit more than the 076 but by finessing the pressure on the 880 overall it still cuts faster than the 076. One has to bear in mind that the 076 has 9 cc fewer than the 880.

Now that I have two big mills I need to get the 076 fixed so I can time some cuts.

 

[mtngun]

just milled 20,000 board feet with the 100cc McCulloch 1000/Partnet p100.

Then we should be asking you for advice. :msp_tongue:

 

[pwoller]

The 2100 is a great milling saw and pretty cheap. As far as parts I just buy up broken ones any chance I get.

 

[MHouse1028]

find a ebay stihl 084 buy the one that is the ugliest(cheaper) and parts are still available...i have 20,000 bf clocked on mine original top end..i mill 30"wide and up maple...synthetic oil 93 octane and clean air filter and a razor sharp chain is all i can say...hope this helps

 

[bplust]

Then we should be asking you for advice. :msp_tongue:

Don't get me wrong, I'm not disappointed with that saw, I just know I can go at least 20% bigger, and wanted to hear what people thought about the saws that "run with the tall dogs". As great as milling is, I am always looking to spend less time doing it!