The ultimate milling saw?

[Fallguy1960]

There is a a lot of milling experience here so I thought this would be the place ask. If you could have any saw past or present for a dedicated milling saw which would you choose? Also what in your opinion is more important for a milling saw Rpm's or torque?

 

[mtngun]

what in your opinion is more important for a milling saw Rpm's or torque?

Both. You need RPMs for fast chain speed, and torque to avoid bogging.

I haven't found the ultimate milling saw yet, but probably any of the 120cc saws, set up with an unlimited carb, unlimited ignition, muffler mod, and perhaps a mild port job.

 

[huskyhank]

I agree with what mtngun wrote and will add that many of the older over 100cc saws will work real well if you have one and can find parts to keep it running. More power is better and more so for bigger wood.

In currently made saws the most powerful are the 3120 Husky and the 880 Stihl, followed by the 660 Stihl and 395 Husqvarna. All can be improved on but they all will work right out of the box.

I like 3120s. If I could pick the perfect milling saw it'd be a 3120 with an adjustable carb., unlimited coil and a modified muffler to direct the exhaust gas away from me.

 

[Adkpk]

I mill with an 066 and it's fine but my brother mills with a 395 and I would go with second time around. Similar power more torque better to mill with. Of coarse an 088 or 3120 but that's a lot of weight and money.

 

[smokinj]

I really like the 880 and its still stock. I like toqure over rpm's for milling.

 

[BIG JAKE]

Ultimate milling saw? Depends on what timber you'll be milling. For me it's an 066/660. That's because we don't have hardwoods around here. Additionally, the log diameters I typically mill which are douglas fir and pine, with diameters of 24" or less. I don't need an 880 for that. Where you live you have oak, maple, walnut, etc, and maybe hickory with potential diameters over 36" I'm assuming. In that case I'd say 880 or 3120, depending on what saw dealers you have near you.

 

[1947wdx]

A band mill...

I have both a 3120 and 394 and they are both good milling saws. The 3120 would be my pick if I had to choose a chainsaw for milling.

I also have a small band mill, and there's just no comparison between that and a CSM. My only problem with it is that I need more track! I can only get a 9 foot log milled with the 12 feet of track I have... Here's what I did with it today...

:arg:

Oh wait, we were talking about chainsaw milling... Sorry...

 

[BobL]

My definition of a milling saw is "any saw that mills" hence there are are endless possibilites of 4 stroke slabbers, swing mills and band saws. In that case my ultimate saw would be . . . . . . .humm . . . . I'm still thinking about it . . . . I think for Aussie hardwoods I'd go for a

However, I presume by milling saw you mean "production chain saw" and you want to retain one person portability through forest? Then I suppose the very limited run of 10 ci 090 would make a pretty mean milling saw but you'd have to run low rakers and a 9 pin sprocket to get the cutting speed in small wood.

In big wood, torque is essential whereas chain speed is a bonus. A 37cc saw can turn 15000 rpm but will bog down when more than a couple of cutters are cutting wood. As I mentioned above with appropriate gearing (sprocket size) and raker settings a high torque saw can cut very fast. At the risk of repeating myself, this post is about double ended saws but is relevant here.

 

[820wards]

There is a a lot of milling experience here so I thought this would be the place ask. If you could have any saw past or present for a dedicated milling saw which would you choose? Also what in your opinion is more important for a milling saw Rpm's or torque?

BobL is very correct in saying that any saw can mill. You just need to decide how big of a saw do you need for what you will for milling.

My mill is running an industrial 134cc 2-stroke motor. It's the same motor that came on some of the old Mongomery WARDS saw. There were other manufactures that used this motor. It is a 820 PowerBee motor. these motors went into production in the early 1960's and every part including electric ignitions are available today.

Here is a link to pictures of the mill. I'm running a 2" exhaust pipe and a 1" intake/carb. I have just installed a 8 x .404 drive rime which BobL figured out for me that I will be driving the chain 14 percent faster. Chain speed a torque will mill big hardwood (oak etc.) with ease.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=118268

Haven't been doing any mill as I pinched my sciatic nerve in my right leg building a wheelchair ramp for my Dad's house. It's getting better, but I'm not going to push it. The trees will be there waiting for me.

jerry-

 

[Fallguy1960]

I have a mixture of hardwoods and pine. Oak and maple up to 36" and a friend of mine has a White pine that the top blew out of that looks to be about 34" DBH. He wants to mill that tree when it dies. I have a Jonsred 2171 that I have used for milling on a different pine log seemed like it worked the saw pretty good. I have not got up the courage to do saw mods yet. My thought was what stock saw would be best. Thanks for the input.

 

[smokinj]

I have a mixture of hardwoods and pine. Oak and maple up to 36" and a friend of mine has a White pine that the top blew out of that looks to be about 34" DBH. He wants to mill that tree when it dies. I have a Jonsred 2171 that I have used for milling on a different pine log seemed like it worked the saw pretty good. I have not got up the courage to do saw mods yet. My thought was what stock saw would be best. Thanks for the input.

36 in wood The more cc's the better.

 

[gemniii]

My definition of a milling saw is "any saw that mills" hence there are are endless possibilites

Just installed my new b&c on my milling saw:

in time for Christmas

ain't it cute

Probably should switch to Canola oil.

 

[liftaddict]

best milling saw

Ok sounds like the pros have all weighted in. As an rookie I have milled about 900 board feet of oak with a my stihl 076 av 21in bar. If i manage to keep it sharp i can mill 2 feet per minute in red oak 1.5 ft per minute in white oak or hickory. I started with the stihl 026 and a granberg milling chain. Used an alaskan small log mill. The 026 is too small the 076 is perfect for my wood. Getting good at keeping the teeth and rakers setup is critical. The 026 has a top speed around 13000 rpm the 076 is around 8000. I think it mills best around ( i quess 5000). I had a local stihl shop set up a ripping chain for the 076 i didn't try the granberg chain with it. If I was doing it for a living I would use a portable mill. If you want to mill some fallen trees get a used 111cc saw( or something in that size ) like the 076 and sell it when you are done. The 076 and small log mill are very portable but do weigh about 40lbs. Great for working on a cliff .

 

[BobL]

Ok sounds like the pros have all weighted in. As an rookie I have milled about 900 board feet of oak with a my stihl 076 av 21in bar. If i manage to keep it sharp i can mill 2 feet per minute in red oak 1.5 ft per minute in white oak or hickory. I started with the stihl 026 and a granberg milling chain. Used an alaskan small log mill. The 026 is too small the 076 is perfect for my wood. Getting good at keeping the teeth and rakers setup is critical. The 026 has a top speed around 13000 rpm the 076 is around 8000. I think it mills best around ( i quess 5000). I had a local stihl shop set up a ripping chain for the 076 i didn't try the granberg chain with it. If I was doing it for a living I would use a portable mill. If you want to mill some fallen trees get a used 111cc saw( or something in that size ) like the 076 and sell it when you are done. The 076 and small log mill are very portable but do weigh about 40lbs. Great for working on a cliff .

RE: Getting good at keeping the teeth and rakers setup is critical.
Yep - I agree.

The 076 is carby governor limited to a max 9500 rpm. It is such a tough SOB that it is one of the few saws that can mill in very hard, big wood for long periods without needing to be set on the rich side (although it's probably a good idea to do so). This means I tune mine for ~9250. In a 20" cut with 3/8 chain set on a 6º cutting angle with light milling pressure mine will pull ~7500 rpm. If I push it harder it will cut faster for a while but it then drops off a little and then bogs down so I have to back it out of the cut. At that raker setting I find it easier to apply just enough pressure so that it sits at around 7500. In 40" wood I like the sound and cutting speed of it @ 7000 rpm. At cutting angles of around 4.5º I find I have to push it harder to get it to cut as fast as the 6º cutting angle and it runs hotter.

 

[WoodChuck'r]

My 7900 and 681 are pretty good. They aren't the fastest - ESPECIALLY when I'm milling locust.

But they seem to do a pretty decent job.

 

[liftaddict]

I think my cutters are set at 10 deg. I do not touch my mixture but if it is cutting well I can get 30 to 40 board feet (18 in wide ). When it isn't cutting well i only get about 15 ft per tank. How much lower than the cutters do you set the rakers? I could try for 6deg. Do you use a skip tooth chain?Do you have the narrow left and right cutter like granberg's ripping chain? Sure would appreciate any input so I can get cutting faster again.

 

[mtngun]

Liftaddict, it sounds like you are doing a good job of paying attention to details, like noting the cutting speed and how much you can cut on a tank of gas.

2 feet per minute is 0.4 inch/sec, not bad for an old saw with 3/8" chain (I presume ?). You don't state how wide, though ?

There is no right or wrong answer for raker height, as it has to be fine tuned for a particular powerhead/bar/chain/log. But I'd listen to what BobL has to say about it, since he used to mill with an 076.

A good starting point is to file the rakers with a progressive guide like the Carlton file-o-plate.

If you want to get fancier, you could do like BobL and buy a digital angle finder to dial in a particular raker angle.

 

[Stihlman441]

I really like the 880 and its still stock. I like toqure over rpm's for milling.

Just wondering with your 880 do you mill w/o throtlle or part off,if part off do you know what rpm.

 

[BobL]

I think my cutters are set at 10 deg. I do not touch my mixture but if it is cutting well I can get 30 to 40 board feet (18 in wide ). When it isn't cutting well i only get about 15 ft per tank. How much lower than the cutters do you set the rakers? I could try for 6deg. Do you use a skip tooth chain?Do you have the narrow left and right cutter like granberg's ripping chain? Sure would appreciate any input so I can get cutting faster again.

Most CS users I run across who find their cutting speeds decreasing as their chain wears are not using progressive raker depth setting. This involves filing the raker to a "constant cutting angle" and not a constant raker depth.

The cutting angle I'm referring to is this angle

and is discussed here. This angle determines the raker depth and is quite different from top plate filing angles. If you trawl thru that thread you will see how I set my rakers. I have tried most types of chains and now just use full comp semi chisel chain since it suits our hardwoods.

 

[liftaddict]

currently I use a dremel with a oregon 7/32 stone to sharpen the chain on my 076 . What is the best way to use this tool to sharpen the saw. I am doing something wrong . I am not sure what it is. I think my angle on the cutters is 10 deg. Would changing it to 6deg make a big difference?