Quick ? about Mini Mill and Chain Brake

[Holy Mackerel]

Good Morning,

I received my 48" csm and Mini Mill in the mail.
While I wait for for my new bars to arrive I wanted to get my hands dirty with the mini. I have a few logs all ready to go for a test drive.


My question in regards to the chain brake on my saw. Do you guys ever take the chain brake off?
Because currently my saw has a short bar on it I was thinking about taking of the c.b. to maximize my cut.

Thanks,
Wes

 

[rarefish383]

I hope the safety police don't come and lock me up, but if you can get a couple more inches, why not. When chain brakes first came out I would take the side plates from older models that would fit and replaced all of them. Only in the past few years have I started to get used to, and actually use, the chain brakes. Happy milling, Joe.

 

[mtngun]

If you remove the pexiglass shield, the chainbrake won't be in the way.

Chain brakes are good things. I wouldn't want to run a saw without one.

 

[gemniii]

Having just read of a guy who was recently saved by his chain brake I'd advise against it. Release the dogs, but keep the brake.

Bad things can happen.

 

[Holy Mackerel]

I elected to play it safe. Just a thought.

Eager to get to work with my new goods.

Thanks for replies. I look forward to using this site more as I get my hands dirty.

Wes

 

[Kicker_92]

If it's a dual purpose saw, I agree with the above.

However, when your using the saw on a mini-mill, that chain break really serves no purpose. If you have the saw mounted all the way down, the plexiglass gaurd will stop the chain brake from functioning anyways.

 

[BobL]

I think it depends on how the chain brake set up on the saw.

On saws where the chain brake is embedded in the sprocket cover and it is easy to remove and put back then it should be ok provided the operator resists the temptation to use the saw for a quick bit of trimming or cutting while the saw out of the mill. This is what I do for my 076 since I don't use the clutch cover anyway when milling l. That saw cannot be used off the mill without the clutch cover and it takes 30 seconds to reattach the handle so it's no big deal.

On saws where the chain brake is embedded in the saw body and it is al lot harder to remove and replace I reckon leaving the brake on the saw is inherently safer. This is what I do for the 66/41/88 saws.