skip tooth ripping chain

[plantman]

I'm new to chainsaw milling and need to purchase a skip tooth ripping chain for a 880 stihl. Wondering if anyone knows a good source for chains and has opinion on brand ?

[Jesper Jepsen]

Normally I would go with Stihl chains but I don't know if they make skip ripping chain. Another possibility is the Granberg ripping chain which is a modified ripping chain with the with of every second cutter cut down to keep chain speed up. Im running it at my 36" bar with a MS661 an even in oak it have no problem chewing though.
https://granberg.com/product/g730-3-404-pitch-063-gauge/

Jesper

[HolmenTree]

All the ripping chains that I know of on the market are modified semi chisel chain. In Oregon .404 is the 27 series, Stihl 46RM series.
I prefer chisel chain and I do mill with a Stihl full skip .404 (46RSF) chisel chain. I file the top plate at 10° angle, but when the cutters are new I don't file the whole 30° top back to 10° wasting alot of cutter. You only have the file the working corner to 10° within only about half the width of the cutting edge to mill effectively .
Better yet find some Stihl 46RSFL chisel bit ground chain which is already pre ground at approximately 15° top plate angle which would only take a little filing to get it to 10° with a 7/32" round file.
Ideally if you can accurately file this chisel bit with its intended file that's the best way to go.
Square ground chisel chain mills much better then round filed.


  

 

[plantman]

Thanks for your opinions. What sort of bar are you using there ? Oregon ? My 880 came with a 59" bar but I might purchase a larger bar for larger logs. Is there a brand you would recommend ? I am considering a GB Forestry bar. Cannon is sold out for months. Also , is that a Granberg Alaskan mill in your picture ? I've seen many videos of people using these but it seems odd to me that the bar wouldn't bend without having anything to support the powerhead (especially on a 880). I am considering constructing my own style of Alaskan mill in which the powerhead would be supported on a bracket which would run down the length of a board running the length of the log.

[HolmenTree]

The big roller nose in the top photo is a .063 36" Stihl ES bar with a Oregon 2 7/8" roller I attached to it .
This bar is on my 090AV. The reason for the roller is I can run .375 or .404 on it.
Bottom bar is a 36" Oregon on my Husqvarna 395XP running .404 AL chisel bit chain.
The weight of the powerhead does not in any way warp or bend the bar between the mill supports in the cut. You can push down all you want on the powerhead and it may bend the bar up to the first support. But the bar and chain which is cutting clamped between the 2 supports is always running flat and true.

I hear of guys building their own version of the Alaskan MK mill, but they can never copy the perfect design of the Grandberg.  Grandberg has perfected this mill over the last 50 years.

[plantman]

Holmen, Is there a reason why you recommend a square tooth chain over a round tooth ? I called Stihl and the tech guy said it would be easier to use the round tooth chain because a chainsaw shop could grind it for me on their bench grinder down to 10 degrees. The only way to file the square tooth chain is by hand.

[HolmenTree]

There are chisel grinders and discs/wheels out there, but primarily in the PNW regions .
The chisel bit mills smoother, more effectively with higher speed and I find it stays sharper longer if in clean barked logs.
Thats why I use the Alaskan mill where I mill the tree where it is felled and I always have clean wood.
There are filing guides on the market for chisel bit chain

[plantman]

Yes, I was only concerned about bending the the portion of the bar that enters the powerhead because that powerhead the 880 is so very heavy. But I suppose that my worries are unfounded if people have been using these Alaskan mills for years without any such problems.
With regard to the flat or square tooth chain. Do you think the edge will stay sharp longer when it is used in trees with the bark on ? I'm sort of wondering if it makes sense to start using two different types of chain . Perhaps the square or flat edge chain would be easier to sharpen with a inexpensive air cut off tool that I currently own or simply easier to sharpen in general with any file system. If that were the case I would change all my saws over to the square chain.

[Jesper Jepsen]

With a disclaimer that Stihl don't sell every type of chain everywhere in the world ( We can't easy get skip chains in Europe) the chain pusher I use from the UK do have the Stihl ripping chain both the 3/8 as I use and the .404 for the 880. The Stihl factory grind ripping chain are ground at 10° and are a RS chain meaning it's a chisel chain.
I would not use a semi chisel chain for milling, you need the sharpest chain posible and if the bark are removed or clean from dirt you are cutting clean wood and they hold very well.

@HolmenTree how low do you set your depth gauge? For milling I like to make a little deeper cut so instead of the standard 0.025" i run the ripping chain set to 0.030-0.035.

Jesper

[plantman]

Oddly enough when I called Stihl they said that they make the skip chain but they don't file it to 10 degrees just to 30 degrees. The tech support guy said I could do that myself. So basically what they are saying is that they are not producing the chain for ripping perhaps for liability reasons. In the US lawyers make money suing everyone for everything and they get away with it because they have lobbyists in government. That's one thing that ruins our economy. Shoot all the lawyers !

[HolmenTree]

Jesper, yes my milling chain takes a lower depth gauge. In spruce, pine I run my .404 chisel d.g. at around .040.

Plantman, just stick with the round filed chisel chain for now. Yes your dealer was specifying 46RSF .404 full skip chain with a round file grind at 30°. Just bring it back to 10° on about half width of the top plate cutting edge to get going milling. In near time after touch ups with the file you will have the whole width at 10°

[Kbeitz]

Yes, I was only concerned about bending the the portion of the bar that enters the powerhead because that powerhead the 880 is so very heavy. But I suppose that my worries are unfounded if people have been using these Alaskan mills for years without any such problems.
With regard to the flat or square tooth chain. Do you think the edge will stay sharp longer when it is used in trees with the bark on ? I'm sort of wondering if it makes sense to start using two different types of chain . Perhaps the square or flat edge chain would be easier to sharpen with a inexpensive air cut off tool that I currently own or simply easier to sharpen in general with any file system. If that were the case I would change all my saws over to the square chain.

Our junkyard gets 100's of used bars in. Some are ditched because somehow
they got bent. I take the best ones home to see if I can unbend them.
About nine out of ten I can get flat again. It takes a 20 ton press to get them
flat again. I have no idea how that anyone could even bend one.

[richhiway]

I recently started using the Granberg ripping chain and it does seem to cut with less effort. It might be a little hard to keep tuned up as it wears but so far I have sharpened it with a file guide and it is working good. I just use a ez sharp diamond grinder to keep it tuned up on the mill.

All my other chains are 10 degree 3/8ths Oregon chains.