Stihl 051

[TPA]

I put together my alaskan mill today and tried it out on a 12" sugar maple log that was about 3 feet long.

Just for perspective, I started out using my 455 Rancher, freshly sharpened the chain and started cutting. I went 6" down the log in 5 minutes.

I put the 051 in the mill, and cut 3 boards off the log in the next 5 minutes.

Night and Day difference.

 

[qbilder]

Where you at in Texas that you're milling sugar maple? NE Texas?

 

[TPA]

East, East Texas. Sam Rayburn Lake area.

It's southern sugar maple

Acer floridanum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't see it all that frequently, and the biggest one I've seen is about 24" diameter. This is the first time I've seen boards made from it.

 

[qbilder]

Well never got either one. The pawn shop guy was being sketchy about the 044, and my saw shop guy talked me out of it. The 051 went without a single bid. I had been watching it for a week or more, planning to grab it if cheap enough, but still $275 for an old saw with no bar or chain is a little steep. Back to the drawing board I guess.

 

[TPA]

I've been watching 051s for some time now. Here's a couple of observations.

$275 is a bit much for any 051. The ranges I've seen lately are:

$200-$250 running with a large bar and chain...more if in good cosmetic condition (collectors)
$150-200 for a running saw with no bar or chain depending on appearance
$100-170 not running but probably easy to repair (like carb rebuild) a little more with a bar
$90-120 not running, hard to fix, parts missing

You would be best off getting one with a bar that is not running but all the parts are there. They are very easy to work on unless you have to split the case.

If you are not comfortable working on it, get one that is running with the bar. The bar will set you back some if you have to buy it separately. Baileys sells a 33" carlton on ebay for $48 shipped brand new if you have to get one without the bar.

 

[BlueRider]

The 051/075 are easy to work on and things like carb kits are easy to find and not too expensive. same for rings and most of the nuts and bolts. Pistons and cylinders are not hard to find but they can get a bit pricy.

Something to look out for on a high millage 051/075 is the oil pump can get worn out and they are hard to find parts and expensive. I paid just over $100 plust shipping for the pump and iil seal and that was 10 years ago. An auxilary oiler is a work around for milling but if you ever want to buck logs it will be without oil.

If you end up with a saw that needs work I have a late model 051 piston & cylinder with good rings that I would let go for a very reasonable price to someone building a milling saw.

 

[qbilder]

Thanks fellas! I'll keep that stuff in mind. I'd like to have something less than the 084 so that I can have two mills set up, one big one not so big.