Certain saws are better at a task,,,,,

[nquyahh]

Moved from Arborist 101.

I have purchased the Boardmaster from Hud-Son Forest Equipment in New York state. Should be here in a couple of days. Called the nearest Husky dealer and he has talked me into getting the 346 professional It is $479.00 plus tax. Will go buy it tomorrow. Will try to get him to throw in a ripping chain. I suppose over the ear protection is best but Oklahoma is due for 100 degree plus in July, August and Sept. hate to sweat in the muffs. ha!

The Husky guy said there is no advantage to using a thinner kerf on a ripping chain as opposed to standard ripping chain but I am not convinced. It seems to me if you put a thinner rippng chain on a blade it will cut faster which is my goal. Am I off base here? Am not concerned about making boards. I want to slab as quickly as it can be done and I think thinner is faster. Comments?

 

[Husky137]

The 346xp is one of the worst possible choices for chainsaw milling. Inadequate displacement, high revs,low torque, all the opposites of what you need for slabbing.

Narrow kerf will not even be a factor in your choice of saw for the given task.

 

[nquyahh]

OK. I got the downside. It is a terrible choice. Care to explain? It is entirely possible a saw will be purchased with your input Husky,,. clarification is needed. Please.

 

[BobL]

High chain speed is actually a good thing but I'd be looking to reduce the high end revs a bit to protect the saw, the remainder depends on what you want to slab. The 346 is a tough little saw but you shouldn't expect to run a 36" bar with it. I'd be looking at a 20" bar with a max 16" cut on logs no longer than 6-8 ft. Anything more than this is and it will just overload the saw and eventually kill it.

I have a small mill on which I use 050, pico chain with an plastic 340 Homelite (see the baby milling rig in my signature) and it works fine for occasional use - but I'm not slabbing anything bigger than 17" wide and about 6ft long. I think small kerf is quite effective so as not to waste wood, especially on small logs.

Before deciding on a saw you really need to think about what it is you want to mill.

 

[BobL]

I suppose over the ear protection is best but Oklahoma is due for 100 degree plus in July, August and Sept. hate to sweat in the muffs. ha!

As far as ear protection goes, speaking as someone whose father went deaf from chain saw use and who is legally deaf in the 4kHz band (too much rock music in the 1970s!) and wants to protect what little hearing I have left, I would not buy any ear protection that cannot provide octave band specifications and with something like the specs shown in this image ie about 40 dB protection across the higher end of the frequency range.

Watch out for muffs that claim 85dB - physically impossible unless you wear something a diving helmet - if you look at the fine print you will see that they will achieve 85 dB for a 110 dB noise (ie they are only 25 dB muffs).

The above specs are for the Peltor H10 Range. I have both the A and B muffs. I find the B (behind the head) more comfortable because I wear a full face shield while milling

 

[Trigger-Time]

JIMO. 346 is to small for any thing over 10" wide, even with
narrow kerf chain and even then, I would not cut anything
over 8' long. Narrow kerf chain dose make a difference.

 

[guitarborist]

Sounds like your husky guy is a sales person only not someone with much experience using a saw for milling. Get the biggest saw you can afford for the mill. I bought my Stihl 075 (111 cc's) for $315 got a 42" bar for $20 and now I am changing over to 3/8 pitch from .404. The 075 will mill all day long in big logs and not die (so far). It operated at close to 1/2 the rpm of many of the modern saws, which means longevity when using it for milling. IMO you would be better off getting an old husky or Stihl with 100+ cc's, and running the smaller pitch chain. You can always mill small stuff with a big saw but you can't mill big stuff with a small saw.

 

[nquyahh]

certain saws,,,,,

Thanks BobL, Trigger Time, and guitarborist. Each of you have confirmed what I suspected. Great input. I will knot get the saw too hot. Any log over 6 or 7 feet I will cut off with another saw. Most of what is cut will be trading material anyway. I will leave the tax issue up to Uncle Sam if he can determine the value and trades. The Stilh is a great saw and my choice but the cost of my endeavor is already over my $ limit.
I grew up on a sawmill, (50's - 60's) and pop had a "Mono" brand chainsaw dealership. I don't think think Mono is in business anymore but we cut lots of trees with those saws. I think I have a hearing problem because of standing between the strait 8 Buick engine and the 52" blade singing in my ears for months and years.
OK. Will go get the 346 with 20" blade. I think the idea of the thin kerf chain is a go at this point, even though there is opinion to the opposite. However safety is an issue also.
Thanks again loggers.

 

[Brushwacker]

Moved from Arborist 101.

I have purchased the Boardmaster from Hud-Son Forest Equipment in New York state. Should be here in a couple of days. Called the nearest Husky dealer and he has talked me into getting the 346 professional It is $479.00 plus tax. Will go buy it tomorrow. Will try to get him to throw in a ripping chain. I suppose over the ear protection is best but Oklahoma is due for 100 degree plus in July, August and Sept. hate to sweat in the muffs. ha!

Comments?

You may want to check out the Makita dcs 6401's on ebay. 64 cc pro quality for less then $400 new.

 

[Zodiac45]

You may want to check out the Makita dcs 6401's on ebay. 64 cc pro quality for less then $400 new.

Then for $200 you can turn it into a 7900/7901. Bailey's sells the piston and cyl set.

The key for the slabbing saw question is quite simply, the biggest saw you can afford. I've been using my 120si and it's performed admirably for a 70cc class saw. That said, I would not use it on hardwood period. It's been fine in cedar and norway pine with a 24" bar, but even moving up too Tamerack (Eastern Larch) it gets iffy. I'm looking for a 394/395xp, 066/660, or bigger for my next saw. 90cc minimum.

 

[Taxmantoo]

I've been using my 120si and it's performed admirably for a 70cc class saw...I'm looking for a 394/395xp, 066/660, or bigger for my next saw. 90cc minimum.

PS-9000. If you bid it up, you can save me from buying it.:greenchainsaw:

 

[Zodiac45]

PS-9000. If you bid it up, you can save me from buying it.:greenchainsaw:

Ha,ha,ha yep I been looking at that too! The problem is it doesn't run and when I asked the guy what was wrong, if he had any clue, he sent me a two word answer (No idea). So.....could be seized, could have bearings gone, could be nothing more then a spark plug and a carb kit too? Just risky I guess.