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Electric chainsaw for milling?

Started by massmanute, November 09, 2018, 03:39:34 PM

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massmanute

Are there any electric chainsaws with enough power for milling?

I have a Logosol m8 and an MS660 chainsaw for milling. The chainsaw is pretty loud for my suburban location, and it uses a lot of gas. I would like to find an electric chainsaw to replace the MS660. I am aware that Logosol makes an electric chainsaw for milling, but I can't afford the thousands of dollars they charge for their solution.

I would still keep the gas powered chainsaw for when I mill away from my home, but I wuld like to use an electric for use at home. Three phase power is not a show stopper, but single phase would be a bit better because of the logistics of providing 3 phase power.

Thanks.

P.S. Battery power would also be OK, but I suspect it is even less likely that a battery powered chainsaw wold have enough power.

lxskllr

Wonder if you couldn't hack something together? Not needing portability frees up a lot of options. An electric motor, probably some sort of speed control, and an interface to a saw sprocket. Add bar and chain, and you have a milling saw.

mike_belben

Weld a stihl clutch drum to a vee belt sheave with a keyed shaft hub that fits whatever motor you want to run.  then put a rim sprocket over that, the chain tension will hold it on.

 You could use an old becket oil burner pump via belt drive to oil the bar.  Just plug the spray nozzle hole and run a hose or tube off the air bleeder port. Id attempt to pressurize the bar kerf but i guess you could drip feed it where the drivers are exposed at the bar heel. 

A variable frequency drive would help dial in the chain speed. 
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Chop Shop

Quote from: mike_belben on November 09, 2018, 04:16:50 PM
Weld a stihl clutch drum to a vee belt sheave with a keyed shaft hub that fits whatever motor you want to run.  then put a rim sprocket over that, the chain tension will hold it on.

You could use an old becket oil burner pump via belt drive to oil the bar.  Just plug the spray nozzle hole and run a hose or tube off the air bleeder port. Id attempt to pressurize the bar kerf but i guess you could drip feed it where the drivers are exposed at the bar heel.

A variable frequency drive would help dial in the chain speed.
Drip feed is fine, no need to run a pump.  My Lucas is a drip feed and oils fine.

Ianab

The Logosol electric saw is a bit of a beast, with a 6kw 3 phase motor. It cuts WAY better than a gas saw, but yes it's a bit pricey.

No reason you couldn't fabricate something similar with the best motor you can find / power. Run the chain sprocket on a jack shaft, and power that with pulleys off the motor to get the chain speed right. Average electric motor spins at 3600 rpm (60hz) and you want your chain sprocket doing more like 9,000? Work out the pulley sizes to suit. 2-3kw motor should be enough to cut OK, and maybe use a skip chain for the wider cuts. Make sure the motor is rated continuous duty, then it can hum away all day without overheating. 

There were some old school industrial strength electrics saws that they would use in sawmills for breaking down big logs, but finding one of those would be like hens teeth. 

You can buy big slabbing mills like the Peterson with a 15kw electric, but that's powering a ~5ft bar. You likely don't need that much power.  :D
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

DelawhereJoe

With the price of electric motors, wouldn't it be more cost effective to just use a +5.5 hp lawnmower engine that puts out alot less noise and be self powered ?
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Ianab

Some people have a knack for finding useful things, for next to nothing.  ;) :D

If you had to buy a new motor for it, then sure it would be a bit expensive. But if you came across a usable one cheap, then you can build around that. 

But you are right that a 4 stroke engine is another option, probably go a bit bigger though, like the 13hp that my mill uses, so you have more power than the chainsaw option.
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

massmanute

The four stroke engine is a good idea. If using a four stroke engine, what about including a continuously variable transmission (CVT) in the system, so it will deliver the maximum horsepower to the load, regardless of the load? (The Kart people call these devices "torque converters", not to be confused with the hydraulic torque converters in an automotive automatic transmission.)

A cheap  vertical shaft gas engine can be bought for well under $200, or maybe I could sacrifice used lawnmower (cost, maybe $50) for its engine, and a CVT can be bought for under $100.

I'll have to give some thought about whether I have the skills to tackle this kind of project.

Ianab

I don't think you need the complication of a CVT. A lawnmower style engine is usually governed to about 3600 rpm and is happy running at that all day. When you load it up, the governor opens up a but to keep the revs up.  So like the electric, just use the right size pulleys in your drive system to get the chain speed you need.
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Hilltop366

I tried to get chainsaw speed (feet per min not rpm) with a csm with a 16 hp lawn tractor engine and found thing were going crazy fast and didn't think the bearings were going to last so I slowed things down and went with lowering the rakers a bit at a time, also the larger the drive sprocket the slower the required shaft speed as long as your sprocket is not larger than the width of your bar.


Southside

I don't know the speed but the harvester chain on my processor bar saw is no where near power saw speed. 3/4" chain, but it has a ton of hydraulic torque behind it and it cuts faster than my 372 can, so with enough of an engine behind it maybe you don't need the speed. 
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massmanute

What are the specifications of the standard 7-tooth sprocket on the Stihl ms660? I get the part about 3/8" pitch, but what about the other specifications? For example, is it equivalent to a type 35 standard chain? This information would help in designing a home-brew power head, such as a four stroke motor or an electric motor.

Maybe the more relevant question would be if a standard 3/8" chainsaw chain would mate properly to a standard type 35 roller chain sprocket.

mike_belben

Chainsaws run 10k because they cant run 3k and have the torque to cut.  A 4 stroke can.  


Find a throw away craftsman/et al rider with a vertical shaft belt drive twin kohker, briggs, kawasaki etc.  Itll have a B belt double sheave (one big one small) usually if its an all belt machine.   Cut the mower frame up and keep the mount area so you dont have to build another.  If multiple speeds are desired, dead harbor freight/craftsman/delta drill presses get scrapped all the time.  Pull the pair of 3 sheave pyramid pulleys and you got a 3 speed jackshaft trans.  
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mike_belben

You can gut a sprocket tip to get the right idler sprocket or use an oregon rim for the drive end.  But mixing roller sprockets and saw chain never happen.  The roller sprockets are males and the saw drive sprocket is female. 
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Hilltop366


massmanute

From the answers given, plus what I learned from looking at my saw, I can see now that the answer to my question about sprockets was obvious. Of course, some things are obvious only after they become obvious.

Thanks for all of the input so far.

mike_belben

My 7 yr old can outfox me on an iphone or tv.  If you dont fool with something much, youre not gonna be proficient at it.  My wife is terrible at starting the stove and i can barely remember how to do laundry. 
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