milling chain 394xp

[jimc79]

Hi, I am about to start milling some eastern hemlock logs. Timbers for a small timber frame cabin. I got a pretty good deal on a husky 394xp off craigslist. The saw has a 37" bar with a 3/8 x .063 x 119 DL chain on it. I want to set it up with a 24" bar and a ripping chain. My question is what bar and what chain is best for milling, I have never milled with a saw. I'm not buying a mill, that is out! Also what gauge on the chain for this saw would be best, .050, .058, .063? .....Thanks, Jim

[flashhole]

I'm confused, if you are not buying a mill, how do you expect to be able to mill?

You can use your 37" bar in conjunction with a 30 Alaskan mill.  I picked up a ripping chain at the local shop and that's how I have mine set up.

[jimc79]

i am not buying a portable band saw mill is what i should have said. everytime  I ask about chainsaw milling the standard answer seems to be buy a band saw...ha. Sorry for the confusion. I do have an Alaskan chainsaw mill. I would like to go to a 24' bar for versatility more than anything. Easier to make both vertical and horizontal cuts with the shorter bar I think.....Thanks

[thecfarm]

jimc79,welcome to the forum. I suppose you mean a chainsaw mill. You can not buy a bandsawmill. By the time you get done,you might change your mind. Good luck with the timber frame.

[HolmenTree]

jimc79, just run 3/8 chisel chain round filed with the top plate angle at 10°, keep the depth gauges no lower then .025
I have tried those "special" ripping chains over the years and I found there was nothing to brag about them.

I have heard of a few veteran red wood chainsaw millers in northern California who go once step further and file their chisel square ground chain with a chisel bit file.
I run a Stihl 090AV- 36" 3/8 chisel on my Alaskan and rip my cants into lumber with a Husky 395XP -20" with Stihl 3/8 Picco chain. Just got a loop of the new Picco 63 chisel chain but haven't tried it out yet.
Looks very promising though ;)

[tolman_paul]

I'd suggest sticking with the 37" bar.  When you put a mill on a bar you loose several inches of cutting width and your 37" bar will be effectively closer to 30"   With a 24" bar you'd be effectively under 18" and turning round into square you might find that you don't want to be hambstrung with such a small setup.

There is no difference in the way a 050, 058 or 063 chain cut, just match the chain to the bar.

[thecfarm]

tolman_paul,welcome to the forum.

[tolman_paul]

Thanks for the warm welcome.  I'm an AS refugee  :-\

[jimc79]

Well, now i have the two bar set ups, the 37" and the 24", on the 24" i will be running the Oregon 72RD chain and the 37" will be 75RD. I am going to run them both next weekend and see how it goes. I have the 36" Alaskan mill so not sure if it will even accept the 37" bar. My next question will be on sharpening the chain, degree of angle and so forth??

[flashhole]

You will have to remove the bar guard to get the 36" mill to fit on your 37" bar.

Good luck.

[mad murdock]

Welcome jimc79. I will second what Holmentree said about the 63PMX (picco) chain (baileys is a good source to purchase)! I switched to the picco setup on my husky 372 XPW (Alaskan equipped), and could not be happier. Prior setup was 3/8" ripping chain which performed well, the picco is way better(smaller kerf, and faster milling).

[HolmenTree]

As I said earlier I run the little Picco chain on a 20" mill but I don't advise to run it on your 36" with a 394XP. Too much  stress on a long loop of Picco. I've tried it before and not good.
My 395XP mills with a Picco 20" b/c on a homemade Alaskan style mill permanently fixed at 1 9/16" just to rip 1 1/2" lumber off my precut cants. I allow 1/16" for shrinkage or planning. My Stihl 090AV -36" runs my 36" Alaskan and I switch between standard 3/8 chisel or Stihl 46RS .404 chisel, depending how big the logs are.

I also have a Stihl 066 -20" that I've run on the little Picco mill for years and it's equipped with a 3/8" Picco 7 Tooth spur sprocket drum setup. Years back I was lucky to find this standard bore Picco sprocket drum for the 066, I think Logosol still has a good supply of them and outfit them on their 660/650 mill units. The sprocket drum's part # is 1122 640 2006 if there are still some kicking around.
There is no Picco sprocket drum available for the big Huskies and I'm finding with my 395 that it is too hard on the little Picco chain with the standard 3/8 rim sprocket.The geometry of the 3/8" Picco extended pitch chain with it's different profile side links don't mesh properly with the teeth of  standard 3/8" drive and bar nose sprockets. I'd have to write a post to better explain the differences.
So I'm switching over to .325 chisel, either Stihl 26 RSC or Oregon 22LPX. I'll also try the Oregon 95VXL narrow kerf .325 and hope to get the mill cutting with a 1/4" kerf what the Picco does. Will have the 395XP running a 9 Tooth standard 7 spline bore .325 Oregon rim sprocket.

Here's a photo of my 36" mill's bar nose, I installed a old school 2 7/8" Oregon roller tip on a Stihl Rollomatic bar nose. With this configuration I can run both 3/8" or .404" chain. The chain in the photo is Stihl 46 RS .404 chisel.


 

[Grandedog]

     Howdy,
   "There is no Picco sprocket drum available for the big Huskies and I'm finding with my 395 that it is too hard on the little Picco chain with the standard 3/8 rim sprocket. The geometry of the 3/8" Picco extended pitch chain with it's different profile side links don't mesh properly with the teeth of  standard 3/8" drive and bar nose sprockets. I'd have to write a post to better explain the differences."
   A .404 x 8 rim will drive picco quite nicely. The pitch is a wreck of course but, due to the outside diameter of the rim, and the length of the radial slots of the rim, it works.

Regards
Gregg

[HolmenTree]

Thanks Gregg, I'll have to give that a try....I have a couple of 8T .404 rims .

[tolman_paul]

You will have to remove the bar guard to get the 36" mill to fit on your 37" bar.

Good luck.

I'm not sure if my Alaskan mill is truly 36" as I was told it is, but if I was to put the bar support as far apart as possible I could fit a 42" bar to the mill and still have the guard around the tip.

[tolman_paul]

You will have to remove the bar guard to get the 36" mill to fit on your 37" bar.

Good luck.

I'm not sure if my Alaskan mill is truly 36" as I was told it is, but if I was to put the bar support as far apart as possible I could fit a 42" bar to the mill and still have the guard around the tip.

[HolmenTree]

     Howdy,
      A .404 x 8 rim will drive picco quite nicely. The pitch is a wreck of course but, due to the outside diameter of the rim, and the length of the radial slots of the rim, it works.

Regards
Gregg

No dis-respect Greg, but I don't know where you get your information from.....maybe a little history of armchair coaching :D
Here's a pic of my Stihl Picco 63PS chisel sawchain wrapped around a Oregon .404 8 tooth rim sprocket which as you can see doesn't mesh worth the hoot, also the same chain around a small spline 7 tooth 3/8 standard rim, a standard 8T 3/8 rim and lastly a 13 tooth 3/8 standard which mesh fine.


  

  

  

  

[Grandedog]

Howdy,
The chain only has to go around the rim 180 degrees while in operation. Try it, if it wears out your rim or chain prematurely, I'll replace it.
Regards
Gregg

[HolmenTree]

Howdy,
The chain only has to go around the rim 180 degrees while in operation. Try it, if it wears out your rim or chain prematurely, I'll replace it.
Regards
Gregg

Well Gregg the Picco chain barely makes 180°onto the rim sitting still  and at WOT the downward wrap of the chain onto the top of the bar's tail  would go well past the 180° radius. I'll give it a try though

Here's the missing photo from my #11 post of a  2 7/8" Oregon roller nose I fabricated onto a Stihl sprocket nose bar.
Here on the 090Av I'm running 46RS .404 skip tooth chisel
I was digging around in my old milling bars and chains and found this 36" .058 double ended bar I made out of a solid nose bar. I used to run a 10mm 044 and 066 Mag together on it pulling a Stihl .325 25RM .058 chain. Here in the last pic I got 2 Husky 550XPs on the b/c . Should work real nice for breaking down cants into lumber, will have to try a 95VPX .325 Narrow Kerf chain to get that Picco wide cut.


  

  

 

[flashhole]

Holmen Tree - I like your posts.  Always helpful.

[HolmenTree]

Holmen Tree - I like your posts.  Always helpful.

Thanks, I always like to help someone out who has the same interests as I have. I spend a lot of time alone in my shop when I'm not cutting wood, but feel I'm never alone when I can share it here.

[mmartone]

And the pictures are nice too... 8)

[mikeb1079]

Holmen Tree - I like your posts.  Always helpful.

i'll second that   

[HolmenTree]

     Howdy,
      A .404 x 8 rim will drive picco quite nicely. The pitch is a wreck of course but, due to the outside diameter of the rim, and the length of the radial slots of the rim, it works.

Regards
Gregg

No dis-respect Greg, but I don't know where you get your information from.....maybe a little history of armchair coaching :D

It's all good Gregg ;)
I stuck an old [brand new] Homelite 16" hardnose .050 bar on my 372XP today and mounted a 8T .404 rim with a 63 PMC Picco chain.
I left a little extra space between the bar tail and rim sprocket to allow the chain to droop lower then normal and the setup worked great bucking a 10"X10" with no ill effects. After the Christmas holidays I have to mill up some 16' 10"X10"s for my annual powersaw speed cutting competition and I'll have a little better idea how the setup holds up. But from what I saw under the magnifying glass after the test, the chain and rim showed no extra wear from those 1/2 dozen cuts.

Thanks for the advice and I apologize for my rant . I know what it's like to be a tech guy, I was a Stihl tech services manager for a short while 24 years ago and I didn't get a lot of appreciation for my services from some certain folk who were set in their ways. 


  

  

        

[Grandedog]

Howdy,
No worries! I think you'll like the way it mills.
Regards
Gregg