Milling bar size suggestions for Stihl 044

[bbaley]

Hi,
I recently acquired an 044 that runs great, appears to have been treated well - I haven't broken it down but what I can see of the piston, etc. looks good.
I got the saw hoping to do a bit of light/occasional milling of some logs on my property with my Granberg MKIII mill and mini mill.

My question is how big of a bar should I limit myself to so as to limit the stress on the saw ?
Is a 32" bar too much for it ?
I have some Douglas Fir logs that are 26" so I'd either have to have a 32" bar or use the mini mill to skinny op the logs first.

But most of the time I would be working on stuff that is under 20" - and so I'll likely also get a 25" or ? bar for smaller stuff.
Also I intend to produce mostly large beam sized timbers and lumber and not making 1" boards so it wouldn't be very many cuts per log.

Anyway your thoughts and ideas greatly appreciated.

[HolmenTree]

25 " b/c max is all you ever want to run on a stock 044.
For milling 20" max.

[Canadiana]

Would you recommend a modification or more that works well for this saw? Ive heard others say the 046 top end does well but doesn't fit on all the 044s. Or do you prefer them stock? Dual port muffler change things much?

[HolmenTree]

Yes depending if it's a early 10mm 044AV or newer for big bore conversion.
A muffler mod on a 044 would be a good decision  to help relieve cylinder heat during tough going milling.

But all taken with a grain of salt,   the 044AV was designed for the professional market with an operator of good filing and saw handling skills.

The main decision on whether a smaller mid range saw is capable for milling,  all revolves how skilled the operator is able to keep the saw sharp with correct angles and depth gauge setting.

[Canadiana]

That sounds about right

[bbaley]

Yes depending if it's a early 10mm 044AV or newer for big bore conversion.
A muffler mod on a 044 would be a good decision  to help relieve cylinder heat during tough going milling.

It is an 044C ser no 140434489
haven't researched it much yet
apparently it is an "auto choke" variation ?