New here and I'm looking for a little help. I've bought property in north central Idaho and it needs cleaned up. I'm new to chainsaws (brother-in-law will be my mentor) and looking to buy a chainsaw for a chainsaw mill. My brother-in-law has a chainsaw for felling and trimming. I was looking at the Husky 460 Rancher with the 24" bar. I've seen in other reviews that the 24 may be to big for the saw. Any thoughts?
Newbie looking for a good chainsaw mill chainsaw
- Thread starter spayson84
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earlthegoat2
ArboristSite Guru
The Rancher 460 is not up to the task of milling for very long unless it is very small soft wood.
A pro constructed saw is a must IMO, as they have better porting and as such can be tuned better.
Once again, my opinion but milling saws start with a 70-75cc class saws like 372xp or MS460 or similar. I wouldn’t do too much with them though as they will be strained out over a 20” cut which usually requires a 24-28” bar with typical Alaskan style mills.
My milling saw is an MS660 (90cc class) and hasn’t failed me yet cutting large wet southern pine up to 30”. I bought it used many years ago and have put 20-25 hrs on it milling.
Good deals seem to be able to be had on Husky 385, 390, and 395s around me. Might be something to look into.
A pro constructed saw is a must IMO, as they have better porting and as such can be tuned better.
Once again, my opinion but milling saws start with a 70-75cc class saws like 372xp or MS460 or similar. I wouldn’t do too much with them though as they will be strained out over a 20” cut which usually requires a 24-28” bar with typical Alaskan style mills.
My milling saw is an MS660 (90cc class) and hasn’t failed me yet cutting large wet southern pine up to 30”. I bought it used many years ago and have put 20-25 hrs on it milling.
Good deals seem to be able to be had on Husky 385, 390, and 395s around me. Might be something to look into.
Check the Boise Craigslist. A 395xp with 2 bars/chains for a great price.
And, no, that little Husky will not work for milling.
The saw is in Caldwell.
And, no, that little Husky will not work for milling.
The saw is in Caldwell.
zord1995
ArboristSite Lurker
if you’re milling, you should look for a 90 cc saw, DM me if you want need informations regarding stihl saws, stihl employee here.
The posts above are all very good information.
To give you a reasonable idea of what should work we need to know what you're planning on milling, what equipment you already have, & what you are prepared to spend.
To give you a reasonable idea of what should work we need to know what you're planning on milling, what equipment you already have, & what you are prepared to spend.
The trees are typical north Idaho pine and cedar. I'll be using a Granberg style Alaskan mill. Not Granberg brand, but an Amazon knock off. Also I might be using a Timber Tuff vertical mill. I had an area cleared for the shed/cabins earlier this year and now I have a pile of logs I'd like to use instead of bucking them all for firewood. We will eventually be putting a deck around the two cabins. I could get some of the decking out of these logs. If I need a 90 cc class saw, I guess I'll have to be willing to put out about $1200.
I bought a Stihl 051AV (89cc) that came with an Alaskan mill, 20” and 36” bars. Heavy saw, but I like it on large diameter trees. I have not used it for milling, and don’t really plan to as I just don’t have the spare time. If you are clearing a lot, have you thought about cutting and stacking the logs, then rent or hire a portable mill to do the milling? Might save some time and energy. I’m all for DIYing if have the time.
Making that much lumber with a chainsaw mill is a long process…very slow going, even with the right saw. Might be an idea to find someone local to you with a portable band mill.
You will need at least 2 saws, ideally 3 if you're working with decent size logs.
(Small saw for limbing & trimming, medium saw for bucking larger logs & removing larger branches & flares, & a saw for milling)
For what you are milling a Husky 385/390 or a Stihl 660/661 should allow you to cut slabs upto almost 3' wide using a 42" bar & mill frame (you will loose ~6" of bar length to the mill).
If you only need to cut half that then as stated above, something like a 372 or 460 would likely do (& a second saw for trimming etc)
Unless you are only toying with the idea, or making a 1 off cut, a professional grade chainsaw tuned slightly rich & setup for milling is important if you want it to last.
You will also need PPE, wedges, files, log moving equipment, etc. Unless you are extremely proficient at hand filing a chain grinder is probably going to be a requirement too.
Check out the csmilling101 thread here, it's a gold mine of information
Thank you all for your replies and insights. It is highly appreciated! I was able to find a 395xp at D7B on closeout for $1295.99. Their website shows another available at their Mountain Home Id. store. Good deal at $144 off. Again thanks all. Will hang around, but probably won't post much till this summer when the work starts.
395 will make an excellent milling saw. With the tensioner on the front & an outboard clutch it's not one you'd want to be taking on & off the mill too regularly though.
Break it in first... tune it ~500RPM rich & run it at 32:1, then continue to run it that way for milling.
If you get a chinese mill frame replace the U clamps from the get go as they will strip out in short order. Check the depth markings too as they are often out by a fair margin & different at each end
Break it in first... tune it ~500RPM rich & run it at 32:1, then continue to run it that way for milling.
If you get a chinese mill frame replace the U clamps from the get go as they will strip out in short order. Check the depth markings too as they are often out by a fair margin & different at each end
earlthegoat2
ArboristSite Guru
It is better to learn to hand file with the saw on the mill.
Removing the chain, if you were to use a grinder requires dismounting from the mill. You can use the chain grinder after you have swapped the chain after you get done with a set amount of work or are done for the day.
Chainsaw milling is extremely tough work also. Most are not up to it and I can’t say I blame them.
Removing the chain, if you were to use a grinder requires dismounting from the mill. You can use the chain grinder after you have swapped the chain after you get done with a set amount of work or are done for the day.
Chainsaw milling is extremely tough work also. Most are not up to it and I can’t say I blame them.
Hand filing on the mill may be preferable, but unless you are proficient at doing so you will find things start to go "sideways" after a few touch ups.
You can get grinders that mount on the bar,
Or you can drill the bar & bolt it to the mill posts rather than clamp it (so you can eadily remove the chain)
You can get grinders that mount on the bar,
Or you can drill the bar & bolt it to the mill posts rather than clamp it (so you can eadily remove the chain)
Drilling the bar is fine, you will need a drill press & ideally a carbide bit. You can get away with using a sharpened masonry bit or even a regular drill bit in some cases. Go slow, use lube, press firmly... if its not cutting stop or you'll heat treat the area & make it even harder.
It's important that any pressure from mounting is even & would be on the solid portion of the bar so drill accordingly. It is also possible to drill through the centre of the nose sprocket which can gain you a few inches of cutting... if you go that route it helps to understand how the sprocket works first & I'd suggest drilling a slightly smaller hole & then filing/grinding it out to match the internal spacer
It's important that any pressure from mounting is even & would be on the solid portion of the bar so drill accordingly. It is also possible to drill through the centre of the nose sprocket which can gain you a few inches of cutting... if you go that route it helps to understand how the sprocket works first & I'd suggest drilling a slightly smaller hole & then filing/grinding it out to match the internal spacer
