New to chainsaw mills.

[Mad Professor]

Sorry for my slow responses to everyone. I am still in the market for a saw. Starting to look in earnest soon.

Go 90cc+. Sometimes I wish my 066/056M were bigger.

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

Go 90cc+. Sometimes I wish my 066/056M were bigger.

Found a Poulan 655 for a stellar price near where my father lives a few weeks ago. Was going to have my brother look into it but still hasn't sold and it's in an area know ones knows what it is or has need for it. So seems like it might hold til I can get there for a visit in a bit.

 

[Kurt Helgerson]

Would this scare you away or attract you for $800? “Husqvarna 385xp with a big bore oem husqvarna 390xp top end everything is brand new besides the plastics new bearing gaskets dukes ported muffler dukes carburetor full wrap handle and everything good saw only used it for a little bit since I had a guy at husqvarna put all new insides in it “

 

[J D]

Would this scare you away or attract you for $800? “Husqvarna 385xp with a big bore oem husqvarna 390xp top end everything is brand new besides the plastics new bearing gaskets dukes ported muffler dukes carburetor full wrap handle and everything good saw only used it for a little bit since I had a guy at husqvarna put all new insides in it “

The only difference between the 385 & 390 is the cylinder & piston, so (assuming all the replacement parts were indeed OEM) what you have is a 390 with 385 badges.
There were a few issues with the bottom ends on the earlier versions, later ones had an updated crank & possibly bearings too but I cant remember.
I'd be curious as to why it got a new top end on it, & who did it... especially as it hasn't done a lot of work since.
I've been milling with a stock 390 for a while now & it does ok, good for upto about 30" of cut in most types of wood & more under the right circumstances. I also have a ported 385 that would spank it any day of the week, that saw is a beast

 

[Kurt Helgerson]

I keep hearing about porting. Be gentle, I’m new to this. I’ve only had 3 little chainsaws in my life, maybe 4 if you count two electric ones. So who does this porting? How is it done? What does it cost?

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

Would this scare you away or attract you for $800? “Husqvarna 385xp with a big bore oem husqvarna 390xp top end everything is brand new besides the plastics new bearing gaskets dukes ported muffler dukes carburetor full wrap handle and everything good saw only used it for a little bit since I had a guy at husqvarna put all new insides in it “

Kinda neither. There's a good condition original 390xp around here for 850. Someone listed an allegedly new 592xp for $1000. A rebuilt upgraded 385 to 390 seems neither here nor there at $800 especially not knowing who did the complete rebuild as JD said. For that price I'd hold out for a 91-95cc saw for milling.

Here's how someone explained porting on another forum - "When a saw builder ports a saw's engine they are modifying the intake/transfer/exhaust ports then advancing the timing... etc. They have earned their target porting "numbers" by experience which includes porting some saws too far. Then, they can really make out with a particular model of saw, aka build it for torque, or build it for RPMs, or best yet, achieve the perfect combination." When people talk about ported mufflers they've just added a second opening to the muffler or modded it in some way to have greater flow. The whole thing is just like hot rodding a car engine - you're making the engine eat more fuel to produce more power. I can see the benefits for firewood sawing and felling to power through quick cuts faster. But I've never had any interest in it for milling, which is a long, slow, steady cut. I chase faster cutting speed through more efficient bar and chain combos, I don't chase it through horsepower.

 

[Kurt Helgerson]

My looking in earnest has landed me on the Husky 592 xp. It isn’t purchased yet, but it’s heading towards the finish line. Husky says the 36” bar is the largest for it, but they aren’t thinking of milling I bet. Does anyone run a Husky 592 xp with a 48” bar on a mill here? What is your observation?

 

[pioneerguy600]

Oiling capability is usually the limiting factor on longer bars, if one was to add an auxillary oil tank on the milling setup a bigger powerhead like a 592 can utilize a longer bar than the recommended bar that would be used without an aux oiler. I run a 48" on a 90 cc powerhead with an aux oil tank and lines, it does really well milling 30" spruce.

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

You can, with everything Pioneer said. More important question is do you need to? I’ve milled a lot of wood and have almost never needed more than a 42” bar (36” max milling cut). They’re also much cheaper than anything bigger. Most common thing I see is people milling w way more bar than they need, just to handle extra wide parts like crotch cuts. Just makes for slower milling. On big slabs I trim off any parts 3” or more wider than the waist of the wood. Live edge or not, no one I know wants tables 10” wider in one part of it than the rest of it.

 

[pioneerguy600]

You can, with everything Pioneer said. More important question is do you need to? I’ve milled a lot of wood and have almost never needed more than a 42” bar (36” max milling cut). They’re also much cheaper than anything bigger. Most common thing I see is people milling w way more bar than they need, just to handle extra wide parts like crotch cuts. Just makes for slower milling. On big slabs I trim off any parts 3” or more wider than the waist of the wood. Live edge or not, no one I know wants tables 10” wider in one part of it than the rest of it.

I do more milling with a 36" bar as it covers most of the wood found around these parts, my 090 will mill with a 60" bar but I don`t come across wood big enough to use it, a 090 on a 36" bar is kind of overkill but it really eats its way through even 16 foot long stems. I built a big picnic table last summer with top planks wider on one end than the other, just reversed the wide end and fitted it up to the narrower end plank and the table came out with parallel sides.

 

[djg james]

@Coralillo Lo Pro, you promote Lo Pro chain and I've never quite understood the rationale for some of the chains. No disrespect intended. I'm fairly inexperienced with saws and mostly only cut firewood for myself. My Stihl 038 came with a 20" 0.063 B&C. Don't know why and I've always stuck with that.

Is Lo Pro the same as Pico? I had that on my MS170. I was breaking teeth all the time. But you use a similar chain on long bars to mill with?

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

Is Lo Pro the same as Pico? I had that on my MS170. I was breaking teeth all the time. But you use a similar chain on long bars to mill with?

Lo pro same as picco, yes. No disrespect taken. I've explained the rationale on a number of posts, but for me it's mostly to do with wood hardness. If you've done any work with extremely dense hardwoods (most of what I mill and woodwork with) you know router bits and blades have an exponentially harder time cutting them than they do average hardwoods and softwoods. Reduce the side to side oscillation of chainsaw chain while milling by reducing the chain profile (the height) and you already are requiring much less power to cut and getting a cleaner more efficient cut. Add to that smaller tooth cutting width and your power needs diminish greatly plus your cut speeds up. I just feel like in milling, to get anything close to bandsaw speed with chainsaw chains you need 15-20hp, which no saws have. So you need more efficient chains than standard 3/8 or .404 to get really good cutting speeds. Other lo pro milling devotees tell me the advantages hold up the same in softwood, but I switched to it mainly for its extreme hardwood advantages. The speed and scallop-free smooth cuts have been what really got me addicted to it.

I've never broken a tooth. Snapped a couple of chains from pushing them beyond reason (chains a little dull and rock hard dried 30" wide red oak w full comp lo pro) but otherwise no problems. Firewood/cross cutting is a whole different business, where I wouldn't use lo pro much except for pole saws. Chains/bars get pinched too often, chain contact is often more abrupt, just a whole different dynamic than milling.

There are times I'm sure lo pro isn't the best solution, and the light touch and care required with it isn't for everyone. For me it's only been limited by log size, when too many teeth are engaged and it's not clearing chips very well and the cutting teeth get clogged. Until I can grind a style of custom lo pro skip chain that doesn't have too many teeth in contact on big slab cuts, I'll keep switching to my bigger saws and chain for 30"+ slabs.

 

[HumBurner]

Would this scare you away or attract you for $800? “Husqvarna 385xp with a big bore oem husqvarna 390xp top end everything is brand new besides the plastics new bearing gaskets dukes ported muffler dukes carburetor full wrap handle and everything good saw only used it for a little bit since I had a guy at husqvarna put all new insides in it “

Not worth it, as others have said.

Outboard clutch and increased power of a 395 may suit you better for milling.

I milled a little bit of fir with a 390 and 372. Bigger is better, even if the bar stays small. Outboard clutch spreads heat better than inboard.

 

[Kurt Helgerson]

You can, with everything Pioneer said. More important question is do you need to? I’ve milled a lot of wood and have almost never needed more than a 42” bar (36” max milling cut). They’re also much cheaper than anything bigger. Most common thing I see is people milling w way more bar than they need, just to handle extra wide parts like crotch cuts. Just makes for slower milling. On big slabs I trim off any parts 3” or more wider than the waist of the wood. Live edge or not, no one I know wants tables 10” wider in one part of it than the rest of it.

Thank you, point taken. 42” would no doubt do it.

 

[Kurt Helgerson]

Lo pro same as picco, yes. No disrespect taken. I've explained the rationale on a number of posts, but for me it's mostly to do with wood hardness. If you've done any work with extremely dense hardwoods (most of what I mill and woodwork with) you know router bits and blades have an exponentially harder time cutting them than they do average hardwoods and softwoods. Reduce the side to side oscillation of chainsaw chain while milling by reducing the chain profile (the height) and you already are requiring much less power to cut and getting a cleaner more efficient cut. Add to that smaller tooth cutting width and your power needs diminish greatly plus your cut speeds up. I just feel like in milling, to get anything close to bandsaw speed with chainsaw chains you need 15-20hp, which no saws have. So you need more efficient chains than standard 3/8 or .404 to get really good cutting speeds. Other lo pro milling devotees tell me the advantages hold up the same in softwood, but I switched to it mainly for its extreme hardwood advantages. The speed and scallop-free smooth cuts have been what really got me addicted to it.

I've never broken a tooth. Snapped a couple of chains from pushing them beyond reason (chains a little dull and rock hard dried 30" wide red oak w full comp lo pro) but otherwise no problems. Firewood/cross cutting is a whole different business, where I wouldn't use lo pro much except for pole saws. Chains/bars get pinched too often, chain contact is often more abrupt, just a whole different dynamic than milling.

There are time I'm sure lo pro isn't the best solution, and the light touch and care required with it isn't for everyone. For me it's only been limited by log size, when too many teeth are engaged and it's not clearing chips very well and the cutting teeth get clogged. Until I can grind a style of custom lo pro skip chain that doesn't have too many teeth in contact on big slab cuts, I'll keep switching to my bigger saws and chain for 30"+ slabs.

Is there a particular lo pro 42” bar and chain that you would recommend for the 592 xp? I might as well hurt the bank account all at once.

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

Is there a particular lo pro 42” bar and chain that you would recommend for the 592 xp? I might as well hurt the bank account all at once.

I’m leery of recommending it too much without more availability. I’ve been talking to the US distributor of GB, the lone company that makes lo pro bars over 20”, about selling their bars but they haven’t responded to my last inquiries about pricing. Otherwise the only seller for complete packages of chains, bars, and drive sprockets is in the UK. And then you need to switch back to a regular 3/8 sprocket and bar to use the saw for cross-cutting. To keep life simple and inexpensive, a new 42” Oregon 3/8” .063 bar off Amazon - 423RND009 - for $99 is a good way to go, w ripping skip chain if you can find skip.

 

[J D]

w ripping skip chain if you can find skip.

Or make yourself a Granberg style chain from full comp

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

Or make yourself a Granberg style chain from full comp

Come to think of it, maybe just get full comp because it's available from many more manufacturers and it will be fine as it is with that saw for most sub-30" logs. I've never been all that sold on regular skip myself, I prefer my own custom skip grinds. Also, if you happen to use the Stihl/Pferd 2 in 1 hand file for sharpening, the spacing doesn't match up with skip.

 

[djg james]

Lo pro same as picco, yes. No disrespect taken. I've explained the rationale on a number of posts, but for me it's mostly to do with wood hardness. If you've done any work with extremely dense hardwoods (most of what I mill and woodwork with) you know router bits and blades have an exponentially harder time cutting them than they do average hardwoods and softwoods. Reduce the side to side oscillation of chainsaw chain while milling by reducing the chain profile (the height) and you already are requiring much less power to cut and getting a cleaner more efficient cut. Add to that smaller tooth cutting width and your power needs diminish greatly plus your cut speeds up. I just feel like in milling, to get anything close to bandsaw speed with chainsaw chains you need 15-20hp, which no saws have. So you need more efficient chains than standard 3/8 or .404 to get really good cutting speeds. Other lo pro milling devotees tell me the advantages hold up the same in softwood, but I switched to it mainly for its extreme hardwood advantages. The speed and scallop-free smooth cuts have been what really got me addicted to it.

I've never broken a tooth. Snapped a couple of chains from pushing them beyond reason (chains a little dull and rock hard dried 30" wide red oak w full comp lo pro) but otherwise no problems. Firewood/cross cutting is a whole different business, where I wouldn't use lo pro much except for pole saws. Chains/bars get pinched too often, chain contact is often more abrupt, just a whole different dynamic than milling.

There are times I'm sure lo pro isn't the best solution, and the light touch and care required with it isn't for everyone. For me it's only been limited by log size, when too many teeth are engaged and it's not clearing chips very well and the cutting teeth get clogged. Until I can grind a style of custom lo pro skip chain that doesn't have too many teeth in contact on big slab cuts, I'll keep switching to my bigger saws and chain for 30"+ slabs.

Thanks for explaining it again. I understood the smaller width/profile is easier on the engine than a larger chain. Like a thin kerf blade on a table saw. And a smoother cut because less tipping sideways. I just wouldn't think lopro could handle the larger saws and torque. Not questioning your experience, just hard for me to wrap my head around it.
I did a quick search and found some skip lopro chain in 0.050 gauge. My old chain was 0.043. I'm guessing you use 0.050 gauge?
My firewood saw has a 20" 0.063 bar on it and that's what I've always used. I'm planning on getting a longer (28") bar for my bigger saw. That way I could mill a few slabs when I run into a small log I can't move. Widest cut would probably 16" so my HP should work. If I down size the new bar to 0.050 gauge, could I run a "regular" chain for firewood and lopro for milling?

 

[user 188535]

Get a Stihl. An 881 or maybe an MS 661 would work well.