chainsaw milling/older saws better? searching for advice&knowledge

[ry597]

Hello, i have a few questions that i simply cannot get a answer. Ive been interested in chainsaw milling for a while. the time finally came! ordered a brand new alaskan sawmill and a beam cutter. i am still very unsure of what to use for a powerhead. since im not going to be milling alot of "hardwood slabs* i will mostly cut lumber in softer wood. i bought a brand new jonsered 2166 but ended up using it for other task, its kind of a nice saw to use for milling. so i went and bought an older jonsered 630 (61.5cc). not sure if its the right size? i would appericate if someone could help me! also planning on modding/rebuilding the 630 to make it more friendly for milling. not sure what to look on a saw that would make it better for milling? i am also not certain if i need a ripping chain? i heard you can file a stock chain differently... i am pretty much a newby so feel free to leave as much feedback as you want! 

[DelawhereJoe]

I don't mill but reading what others write you can't have to much hp/cc's for milling, the bigger the bar the more hp/cc's you need. Most mill with a 90+ cc saw stihl 066,660, 660 or Husqvarna 390, 395 or larger. Not that some don't mill with smaller but its really hard on the saws. The bigger saws also put out more oil and that will help keep the bars and chains from over heating.

[ry597]

thats also what i have read. since im not going to be milling stuff over 2 feet wide id like to know what saw would be good for milling, if the older saws would be better or if i could mod my jred630/husky61. i don't know if more compression would help or what should i do? i will only be milling softwood to build a shed and a barn for my sawmill. mostly softwood in the range of 10-16 inches. i will me making beam that i will cut into lumber with a tablesaw&skillsaw. 

[sawguy21]

Milling will work you and the saw, the saws you mention are marginal for this kind of work. Step up to at least 70cc, the more the better. Try ripping a 2x6 with a table saw vs cross cutting, you will see the difference. As far as chain goes a standard cross cut will rip, it won't leave as nice a finish.

[ry597]

my 2166 was 72cc but i don't have it anymore. i was using it to cut big cottonwood and then it just sat there until someone made me a really good offer.. i don't mind working hard, aslong as the saw can hold up to its task. whats the difference between a ripoing chain and a cross cutting chain? ive been told if you file a crosscut at 5° it will do much better as it would've done at 20-30°?

[sawguy21]

That is correct to a point, ripping chain also uses a different cutter sequence.

[cbla]

Chainsaw milling is hard on a saw, you will be running the saw wide open most of the time. I run a 390 xp and I would not want to mill with anything smaller than that. Its hard, dirty work. Before investing too much into a csm setup ask your self what is the use? If you have a lot of logs or if they are easy to get at, find someone local with a portable band saw mill. My use is occasional, hard to get at logs and logs/stumps that would otherwise be cut into firewood. I have paid for my investment and managed to make some money.

[ry597]

i talked to a local guy that owns a farm. he had big aspen that he converted into beams with a beam cutter. he said that he used a stihl ms250 with a normal crosscutting chain. i couldn't believe him until he showed me. i think a 390xp would be overkill the wood here is not big enough to worry about displacement. most if the guys here run a 15-16 inch bars and can cut 98% of the wood out there. even if im planning on using aspen/softwood you are recommending me to have that big of a saw?

[lxskllr]

So far, I've yet to put a saw in wood for milling, so take the following for what it's worth, but if I could could mill softwood with a 20" bar, I'd be comfortable using a 60cc saw.

[btulloh]

Nothing wrong with giving it a go with what you've got. You'll know more after your first log and then go from there. We all work with what we've got and move up as we can.

[ry597]

Thats my insight also, 60 cc's should be good enough. maybe not optimal but aslong as im not milling red oak slabs, i should be able to get away with it. the older style saws seem to have less compression but more torque. im curious to know if theres any difference? you see alot of people running new ms880 and 3120xp but ive never heard of someone runing an older saw.

[Al_Smith]

Well I have used older saws ,namely a Stihl 048 and a McCulloch SP 125C .Of course the big McCulloch will cut circles over the  Stihl it's still a very slow process . The cut using a standard round tooth chisel chain will be smoother than a circular saw which on finished lumber shouldn't be a big deal because it will be planned any way .Ripping chain is slow as a snail .This is my least favorite use of a chain saw .It's a lot of work .

[sawguy21]

All you can do is try and see if it works for you. Cutting with the grain takes a lot of effort even in softer woods, the saw is working hard.

[DelawhereJoe]

There are videos on YouTube of people milling with the holzfforma g660 and 070 both are clones of stihl chainsaws....but they are Chinese clone saws so you could have problems right out of the box.

[ry597]

im curently rebuilding the old 630 that i bought. new ring,base gasket delete, freshly honed cylinder, ported exhaust. will see how that turns out. i will be setting it rich and crank out the oiler all the way. not going with a ripping chain because they are slower. the lumber will be planned and cut with a tablesaw. will post results after trying it out!

[ehp]

you want saw that has bigger torque for milling , rpm type saws donot last long doing milling . Milling produces a lot of engine heat so a lower rpm torque band with bigger torque works best . Lots of guys around here mill with saws and most common saw are the husky 395 , You can adjust the high side on the carb rich to handle the engine heat . I just sold a brandnew 3120 last night that's going for a mill saw . Will something like a 661 stihl handle milling with Mtronic . I have never been around anyone milling with one so I cannot tell you , what I would want to know is will the mtronic richen up as the engine gains heat , a 5 minute full throttle run will produce a lot more engine heat than normally cutting trees or firewood

[mredden]

I run a 390xp (88ccs). Love the saw but wish I had gotten the 395 with 6 more ccs. Bigger is better for milling and I find myself using the 42" bar all too frequently.

Too many big Hurricane Michael blowdowns around here. The small stuff got hauled off and ground up.

As to your chain questions. My suggestion is use skip chain. It clear chips/dust better. Get it from your local guy. Try it - as it is - at 30 to 35 degree angle. Milling chain doesn't cut any better than regular chain. The reduced angle of the milling chain gives a smoother cut but is a bit less aggressive. You can file the angle down if you don't like the smoothness of the cut of the regular chain.

Indeed, I would recommend cutting a couple of boards with the 30/35 degree chain, then filing it back to 25 degrees and cutting a couple more, then cut it back to 25 degrees - etc., etc. until you get down to about 5 degrees. Find the angle that you like best that balances cutting and smoothness.

During all of this angle reduction you are also going to be adjusting your rakers - whatever saw you use, you will want to find a raker setting that will cut a bit more aggressively than a normal cross-cutting chain - but not to the point of snatching the saw into the log and causing your engine to bog.

As others say repeatedly, sharpening is the key to milling. I thought I was a decent filer before I started milling. I wasn't. I'm still no master.

A 661 is a great milling saw - or at least the old 660s were/are. Can't answer on the M-tronic issues though

[HolmenTree]

Here's one idea for you guys, how about "stoning " the cutter's  side plates for milling. Timbersports speed bucking trick.
I've never tried it for milling and have long sold off my milling stuff.
But may work ok.