what's the best saw for milling?

[Captony]

Hi to all, I have taken an interest in milling my own lumber to make furniture and table tops. Unfortunately, I lost a beautiful pecan tree and I would like to mill it instead of turning it into firewood.
I have been considering the purchase of the Alaskan 111 sawmill. However, I'm due for a chainsaw upgrade to handle the project. Can I get a few opinions from the board of what type of saw i should consider to purchace. I was thinking about the Stihl 880 or the 660. What do you all think??

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Captony.  Adding your location to your profile helps with questions. 

[DDobbs]

Welcome aboard.

If you have the extra money there is one clear choice.
The 880 .

Dave

[cbla]

first thing to ask is how much milling are u going to do? is the saw going to be used for other work? I run a 390xp on a 36inch Alaskan mill and it is enough to suit my needs. I also use that saw for stumping bigger trees and that's it.  in my opinion its too big for regular bucking and felling here in NS. I have a friend that runs a 880 on a mill and it is clearly ahead of  the 390xp for milling. For Milling bigger trees you will need a big saw that is costly.

[Chuck White]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Captony!

[terrifictimbersllc]

If you're thinking about a bar longer than 36" probably the 880. Both for power and bar selection.

[Arkyrick]

Pretty much in the chainsaw business more money means better quality. Stihl is my favorite My friend works for a national tree removal company all they use is Stihl. I have had good luck with some other brands but Stihl is my favorite. smiley_clapping

[wesdor]

Welcome to the forum.  As Magicman says, filling in your location will help.

If you are looking for a reason to purchase a good chainsaw then the 880 is a good choice.  However with only 1 tree you might be better served to find a local sawyer with a mill who can turn the tree into lumber for you.  I'm guessing that you want to be a part of the process and just about any portable sawmill operator will be happy to let you participate

Good luck

[mad murdock]

Welcome Captony. I started with an Alaskan MkIII and still have it. I started with a 28" bar on my 372XPW, and now use a 32" bar and extende the rails on the mill for a max of 36" in case i have a big log to tackle and i switch to my 075. The Husky pretty much is full time on the Bumblebee mill now. I would get as much saw as you can afford as far as cc is concerned, and don't overlook the possibility of a good used saw, unless you are not inclined, you can save a bundle buying used.

[esteadle]

I bought a Stihl 880 earlier this year. It's a very powerful saw. It's also bulky, awkward, and heavy to work with. If you buy one for milling, you will probably not use it for anything else. I bought it with a 36" bar and is was around 2000 from a dealer, no discount. A 660 would be enough saw for your needs, and would be less of a pain to run, if you wanted to do something else with it.

Another 1000 or so for a good ALASKAN III mill will cost you a total of 3000. The log you plan to mill up is probably worth less than 1000, assuming you do it perfectly, dry it well, and have 2 years to wait for it to get down to a workable moisture content. So a 3000 investment to get 1000 worth of wood, 2 years in the future seems like a waste, unless you have further justification (like more big logs coming soon).

Just my little opinion.

ERX

[dboyt]

It would also help to know the size of the log, whether you plan on doing more milling in the future, and what your budget is.  I assume you are going after slabs for table tops.  I've run a 3' bar on a Husqvarna 372 with no problem.  You might consider a ripping chain if you're going to do much work with it.  For a once-in-a-while situation, your best bet is to hire someone to do the cutting.