which chainsaw for Specific wood milling?

[4x4American]

lamimartin- When I used my 461r for milling it oiled fine.  Of course, the R model gives the high output oiler.  I also made an auxiliary oiler which worked well. 

[Grandedog]

     Howdy,
   Whichever powerhead you choose for milling, use high octane fuel to help longevity.
Regards
Gregg

[arnoldr45]

I can only imagine how much wood you're gonna burn in the winter.  I wouldn't go there with just one saw for milling.  I'd bring one for milling and a 50cc saw for firewooding.

Well I'll have the old lady to keep me warm too  8)

I think you'll want the chainsaw for the firewood, it'll be worth the hassle to have some gas and oil brought out for it. I'd bring two identical saws out in your situation personally, because things just happen and you won't have easy access to parts. I'd rather take more time to mill the lumber for a one time project than to have to use an axe year after year for all my firewood. I had your same dream and just over 7 years ago actually bought some land there, right next door to the member plicketycat another mentioned. What I got from locals was it would be nothing to burn through 10 cords in a winter. It's mostly spruce as you know, not the nice sugar maple an oak I'm used to in the east. That would be a lot of time cutting with an axe when you will have other things to do as well. I do envy you though, I gave up for financial an other reasons and sold that land and bought some land in Vermont instead. I haven't entirely lost interest in it though. Have you walked your land on foot to see what you've got for timber?

As far as the survival, I've got a pretty good head on my shoulders when it comes to this kind of stuff, however I do hope to freeze to death or die out there someday, just not anytime soon!
I'm sorry to hear that you didn't make it. My wife keeps trying to talk me into other things, that to her credit actually make sense...but I just don't give a hoot. At 34 years old, I'm sick of putting my dreams off, I mean we get what, maybe 90 trips around the sun if we're lucky? I refuse to die wishing I had followed my dream, or spent more time doing it. IMO money and belongings have no value, they're just there for the kids and neighbors to fight over when we're gone. Don't give up on that dream.
I have not walked the property unfortunately! Just seen a lot of photos, I've checked army engineer maps, etc so I know the area is good.

Makes me wonder what happens to these "homesteads" when people just finally give up and move away... leaving the spoils they created behind.

Are there any AK requirements to clean up the mess... or is it just another part of the landscape forever?
(...)
A 50cc saw is light, and very versatile. Good to take in the truck\atv\snowmobile, wherever. Good to cut brush with all day, limb trees, some firewood. A 70cc saw is more heavy duty, will block firewood faster, and be able to handle large trees and felling duty.
Alternative, one good 60cc saw will do most everything. The premier 60cc's today are the Stihl 362, Husky 562xp\Jonsered 2260 and the Dolmar 6100.
But I'd prefer to have more than one saw, backups, just in case.

I have a 395xp I use for milling, with a 36" Granberg Alaskan. It does the job just fine. 24" spruce, you'd probably be fine with a 395, but you'll surely have no trouble selling a 3120 or 880 all set up for milling.

You know that's not a bad idea at all! As long as the big ones hold a decent resale value.

I use a Stihl MS660 (92cc) for milling white spruce, pine and larch up to 24" diameter with a 24" bar on my Logosol M8. I think picking a much smaller saw would be asking for trouble.  Frozen or green wood and large knots are quite demanding on a saw. Chainsaw milling is already a slow process. You don't want to make the process much slower, especially if you are using some milling equipment that requires lots of setting and adjustments (other than M7 or M8).

Keep in mind that a 24"x  12 feet long log weight is over 1000 lbs. It is hard to keep such logs free of dirt and sand without proper lifting equipment. Milling dirty logs requires that you peel off the bark and clean up before you start cutting. I've got a farm tractor with a loader... it really makes the operation quite easy with minimal chances of getting hurt lifting heavy logs.

For firewood I use a MS261 (50cc) with a 16" bar because it is much lighter than my 660 and it has plenty of power for most jobs. The longer the bar and the bigger the saw, the faster you will get exhausted triming limbs on a fallen tree. Trimming limbs is easier and safer with a bar no longer than 18". One thing for sure, I woul NOT even think using a 50cc or even 70cc saw for milling. They are simply not designed for such load and  may not provide the extra amount of oil required on a longer bar at heavy load.  Husky 395xp or MS660 are the recommended saw size for Logosol M8 sawmill kit. There is a reason.

Yeah I think I've decided on the MS661, I'll take some spare parts, probably 3 ripper chains and a few normal ones along with a few spare bars just in case. I'm looking at an ATV and the log kit but I'm not sure I can get it out there reasonably priced, I'm definitely looking at a nice chain hoist for the logs during building though. I figure dragging or rolling a 12" wide log is a lot easier than getting it up where it needs to be.

Welcome arnoldr45. I would suggest as pre iously mentioned, a larger sized saw like the Stihl 660 or 394/395 Husky. That coupled with a Logosol M8 or Farmers M8 and you will be real good to go. If you want a setup for slabbimg, a Granberg Alaskan is a good setup. If you are planning on milling a lot of stuff for construction, Logsol is the way to get it done, especially if you set your milling saw up as they recommend using the stihl 63PMX milling chain. I use that setup whether I am milling with my Bumblebee (1980's vintage CSM kind of like a Logosol), or using my Alaskan mill, i really like the performance of the picco milling chain vs anything else I have used. White spruce mills pretty easy, black spruce would be similar with mayb a little slower going as the growth rings are real tight on black spruce on account of its very slow growth rate. What part of the Great Land are you looking at?  We lived in remote Alaska before for a while, though we were in the villiages (Aniak, Kotzebue, Nome). If access is a premium, you can certainly do all your milling with an Alaskan mill, just that the Logosol is loads faster. You can speed up production with an alaskan style mill, if you use 2 saws, one with the Alaskan on it and another of smaller size for edging, say a 441 or 372 sized saw with a 20-24" bar/chain on it and a mini mill bolted on. Using 2 saws that way, you split up the work and give one a rest, and you aren't fiddling ng around having to change settings every other cut. A good complement of files is a must, along with a good bowsaw or 2 a couple high grade axes, (council tool, or good swedish steel), and you will want some log handling tools( see Logrite), a peavy, and if you are taking an ATV, a logrite arch. To move your wood from stump to mill, or even for gathering firewood faster. An arch is a time saver. Unless you are doing heavy slabbing, the expense of a 3120 or 880 is not too practical, IMHO. Though they are great saws for that purpose. A notch smaller and you can use the 660 sized saw for both milling and other chores, but you will want to hage separate bar/chain setups for each task. Milling and firewood cutting cannot be done effectively using the same chain. It can be done, but eiher your milling performance will suffer or your firewood cutting performance will, depending on what chain you have and how it is sharpened. It is easier just to keep one for each purpose and you will want several spare drive rims, some spare pull starter rope, at least enough tools to remove and install a piston/cylinder a spare carb kit or 2, some spar clutch drum bearings, extra bar sprocket tips, a chain breaker/spinner to fix your own saw chain, and maybe some extra links and rivets to go with your saw kit. If mail order is not too far away from where you will be, there are good sources within the sponsors of this forum to send you anything you may need by way of saw support items too. Good luck with your adventure. 

I used to have a good friend that worked out in Nome, my god all she ever did was complain about it! Although I have to admit I wouldn't want to live in Nome either. We're going to be out in the brooks mountain range. I'm actually helping my father re open the gunshop and get the farm kicking off again pretty soon this year so I'm hoping I'll have a good chunk of extra cash to freight supplies out if all goes well, I'll definitely keep an eye on those parts though.

     Howdy,
   Whichever powerhead you choose for milling, use high octane fuel to help longevity.
Regards
Gregg

Good tip, thank you! And to everyone else thank you very much for your help in the matter.

[beenthere]

Doesn't sound like your wife has the same dream.

And FYI... no need to quote everything that is in the thread.   ;)

[4x4American]

Well good luck!  I just saw a video in another thread of a guy csming (chainsawmilling) with a Stihl 390, and it seemed to be doing okay.  Just remember, a 661 is still fairly new and might not have all of the kinks worked out, and if anything goes wrong with that computer, you're dead in the water until you can get it to a dealer.  I still recommend a 461 with no computer while you can still get them.  There's enough power for pulling that rip chain through the softwood logs you'll encounter out there, plus it won't kill you doing firewood.  I have an 066, 660, and a 461, and the 461 gets used the most, my favorite saw.

[Kingmt]

I'm no chainsaw expert by any means but I can offer you my point of view from owning a few through the years. My most used saws were Stihl 038 & & a MS290. Mostly felling small trees, bucking for fire wood, & brushing. I got tried carrying the MS290 around the woods so I bought a MS180. I loved the saw except for the .043 bar & chain that the dealer put on it. So that saw didn't get used much. I recently bought a new .050 bar & chain & fell in love with this saw. I have a 14" bar on it & it cuts very fast for it's tiny size. It is easy to hold over my head to do limbs & I don't mind walking the fence line & climbing the straight up & down hills I have with it. It has never been used for felling anything over 6" & I'm sure it never will but to cut a 12 limb it is my first pick. It is much safer to use these small saws for doing limbs(IMO). Also from what I've seen in the Stihl recommended bar lengths is that your good as long as you don't intend on burring the bar up to the chain but if you are you need to drop 2-4" off the bar length.

If it were me there is no way I'd go with only one saw & try to do what you are saying. The 660 sounds like a good plan but I'd get it with a 36" bar & chain. I'd also get a 18" & 24" to fit it. Then find someway to get a MS180 or something like it with a 14" bar to do limbs & it would probably also do most of your bucking for firewood & be your go to saw for trails. You will probably find the most use for a small saw but While you can cut small trees with a small saw you can't cut big trees with a small saw(Well you can but it isn't much fun or very safe).

Have you bothered to ask the local dealer in AK how much they are to buy from him? Take into account the price of you having it shipped & the fact that the local guy might be a good friend to make by spending a little money in his shop. It is always good to have advice from someone local & someone that is thankful for your business. If your leaving your local area now why would it make since to spend your money there where you will probably never see these people again.

Another bit of advice is to use more then one fuel can keeping one only for your Stihl equipment that ALWAYS has the gas mixed in it & is NEVER set aside to do later. Sounds like you already have plans for a axe(I rarely use) but wedges & a good Kukri can be handy. My Kukri saves me some gas & by the end of the day that means something. I don't want to carry anymore gas then I need but I really sucks to be out in the middle of a cut.

[4x4American]

Not sure how you're getting there, but if you're driving and happen to be going up the coast, stop in to Madsen's they have really good prices on saws, they have a large inventory, and know what they're talking about.  www.madsens1.com is their site they're in Centralia, WA.

[4x4American]

You gonna get satellite internet so that you can keep us updated on life in the Alaskan bush?   ;D

[Real1shepherd]

I like the advice of the band saw mill that's more purpose built than a CSM.

Go up with a smaller saw that's easier to handle for a novice than a big pro.....something Husky.

I would think portable mills in Alaska would have no trouble selling when used, if kept well.

Kevin

[mike_belben]

Its been 5 years.  He may have had a heart attack lugging a 3120 out into the wilderness by now.

[Tacotodd]

I know it's been 5 years since this thread got going but, this might be a good time for the update, ESPECIALLY if more people were interested in the details and specifics. I understand the OP was only saying "1" saw, but what about 2 powerheads and a doubleheaded bar? This way he could have plenty of ponies and a less weighty option for toting around for the smaller jobs that inevitably come up. Say for example: 1 261cm + 661cm: = roughly 141CC. That should be more than enough to do whatever milling might be done. He could set up and start the other PH and ready it for "go time" for his partner in crime to help him get through whatever he might want done. Plus, spare parts if necessary, if correct shopping prior to the purchase is done. These are just thoughts and take it for what you will. My $0.02. Thought over.

[Real1shepherd]

Yeah, I got confused on the old thread date and put in a post....my bad. Although it would be really cool to hear from this guy again about his epic adventure.

Kevin