Chainsaw milling with Husky 350

[larrypac]

I have about 15 cedar logs from 6" to 12" diameter and I want to make them 2 sided for some raised beds, so I'm just taking a slab off of 2 sides, leaving maybe a 5"-6" piece. A friend offered to loan me his chainsaw mill. Not sure what make but I assume it is not a cheapo since he has done a lot of milling with it. I'm wondering if my husky350 (50cc) will do the job if I take my time. This is a one time thing so I'm not inclined to invest a lot of money in a bigger saw. The one thing I might consider is taking a chance buying a china saw and hope it will last the few hours to get it done, but I'd rather not even do that. All constructive criticism appreciated. LP

 

[huskydave]

It will work but it will be slow going, cedar is very soft so it should do a ok job, that said milling is about the hardest thing you can do with a saw. I would take it easy on the feed and make sure the chain is sharp and give the saw some breaks between cuts and let it cool down. If you do that it should be fine imho. Listen to the saw and keep the rpms up and feed it slowly. Give it a break after a long cut.

 

[Chevboy0167]

A 350 will not be ideal for any milling. It has a plastic crankcase with an aluminum cylinder riser. Milling creates a bunch of heat... this heat can and does warp the mounting surfaces on the 2 dissimilar material mating surfaces.

I had to flat plate sand the riser on the 3 I rebuilt 2-3 yrs ago. Way out of flatness.

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

Same advice as seven weeks ago when this was asked before. Possible even with your smaller saws with 3/8LP chain and still easily doable in cedar that small with whatever bar you have on the 350 and .325 or 3/8 chain. Just get yourself a ripping chain and try it.

 

[larrypac]

Someone local has a Stihl 036 for $225 that looks pretty good in the pix. I assume this would be a better saw for milling and guessing I could resell it afterwards and consider any loss a rental fee. Other than the drop test and maybe pulling the muffler, anything else I can do to avoid a lemon?

 

[Seachaser]

Super sharp chain and slow and steady. Let it cool between cuts but also be prepared to destroy your saw.

 

[NSEric]

I wouldnt spend any more money on this project than need be, it's not like your milling a lot and they're small soft logs.
The saw will be fine if you take a break after every cut to let it cool off. Which you kinda have to do to set up the next cut lol.

 

[larrypac]

I wouldnt spend any more money on this project than need be, it's not like your milling a lot and they're small soft logs.
The saw will be fine if you take a break after every cut to let it cool off. Which you kinda have to do to set up the next cut lol.

Thanks. The 036 got sold this morning, so I'm stuck with the 025 I guess