Ms 462 for chainsaw milling?

[HemlockKing]

Since I'm waiting awhile for the bandsaw mill I would like to really put this chainsaw mill attachment I have to good use, perhaps milling with a chainsaw will make me appreciate the bandsaw mill all the much more when it finally arrives. I would be mostly milling spruce and pine, nothing over 24" really. Thoughts on running the 462 for chainsaw milling? Or should I be looking else where

[sawguy21]

That is probably the bare minimum for milling, it will work as long as the chain is properly sharpened and you are patient. The saw will overheat if pushed too hard.

[HemlockKing]

That is probably the bare minimum for milling, it will work as long as the chain is properly sharpened and you are patient. The saw will overheat if pushed too hard.

So I should probably also look into a 661 

[stanmillnc]

I burned up an 880 pushing it too hard. As mentioned many times here in the Forum - horsepower is king when chainsaw milling.

[sawguy21]

How much milling do you plan with it? Do you have other uses that would justify that much money or is it going to sit once the bandmill arrives?

[HemlockKing]

How much milling do you plan with it? Do you have other uses that would justify that much money or is it going to sit once the bandmill arrives?

It will get used but not everyday or perhaps every week after the bandsaw mill arrives. I have the odd monster pine that needs to come down and it would be nice for those. I plan to mill a fair amount with it, I'm needing lumber to make a deck and livestock shed/barn amongst other things, I certainly won't pay what they are asking in the lumber yards so It may end up paying for itself in the sense that if I bought lumber now it would end up costing much more than just the saw 

[ehp]

Its just me but the 500i would make alot better saw then the 462 for milling . 500 is alot more torque and stands more pressure than a 462

[Greenhighlander]

As has been said when milling it is far better to have " overkill " power wise then enough or just enough .   
I have been very happy with my 395xp for milling .

[lxskllr]

I'll take the contrary view and say it'll be fine. If you can crosscut 24" wood(you can), I don't know what changes by turning it 90°. The saw's running hard without break, but any saw of any size will. If anything, I'd say it's easier than crosscutting since it isn't getting big bites.

[JohnW]

Right, as GreenHighLander says, a 395 does well for milling.  But also, pine is about twice as easy to mill as most hard wood.  You would be pleased with a 395 in pine, I mean like it's not even work.  A 661 must be about the same since it's about the same size.

[HemlockKing]

Thanks for the info folks, I believe I've made a choice to get the 661, I certainly can't justify a 880 but also doesn't make sense to get the "bare minimum" output for CM, I think a 661 will be that happy medium. Anyone got specific chain recommendations? I'm going to probably get a 32 " bar, nothing really bigger than that I'd mill anyway.

[lxskllr]

I have a 661 for milling. I use regular semichisel chain I reprofiled for milling, and I use a 36" bar. A 36" bar is the biggest officially supported by Stihl, and it'll give you a 30"-32" effective cut once you factor in the mill mount. I use an auxillary oiler with that bar.

[HemlockKing]

I have a 661 for milling. I use regular semichisel chain I reprofiled for milling, and I use a 36" bar. A 36" bar is the biggest officially supported by Stihl, and it'll give you a 30"-32" effective cut once you factor in the mill mount. I use an auxillary oiler with that bar.

I will definitely be looking into additional bar oilling, did you purchase this or was it a home made device? 

[lxskllr]

Purchased. It's the Granberg Alaskan. I'm sorry I didn't get a bigger mill to get a full 36" cut. Maybe get a 42" bar, and account for 36" in the cut. I had to cut off the size somewhere while ordering, but cut it at the wrong place. Live and learn...

[ehp]

if your going to buy a 661 I would buy a 395 husky first . Its a better saw for milling in my books , has a carb you can set rich enough so it does not burn up . 

[Greenhighlander]

if your going to buy a 661 I would buy a 395 husky first . Its a better saw for milling in my books , has a carb you can set rich enough so it does not burn up .

This is one of the reasons I went with the 395 . It also costs less and I have read lots about its airs filtration being possibly better .   Keep in mind most of my info for comparing the 395 vs 661 did come from a lot of online forum feedback . But for milling that did seem to be a fairly consistent agreement .  
From my own experience with not quite 70 hours of milling 12' , 18"-20" white spruce it is everything I had hoped for. I am only running a 24" canon bar with grandberg ripping chain on a jobber j100 .  It mills as fast as I want it to . Especially now with the canon and zero bar flex.  It oils the 24" heavily with the oiler set halfway .  

[teakwood]

perhaps milling with a chainsaw will make me appreciate the bandsaw mill

you can bet your live on it! you will never touch your CM again, just for quartering big logs

[sumpnz]

FWIW, I used a 461 for milling alder, maple and birch.  Some were right at the outside limits of cut capacity for that setup.  The birch was definitely the toughest to mill.  With a 36" bar it worked.  Did make sure I dribbled some extra oil on the bar occasionally.  The extra hp of a 661 would have been nice.

[HemlockKing]

Decided on the 500i. 

[HemlockKing]

Just picked it up will post picture and my thoughts on it after testing it

[Skeans1]

@HemlockKing 
That's a great falling, limbing, bucking saw but it's not a great saw for milling the oiling will be lacking for that task.

[HemlockKing]

@HemlockKing
That's a great falling, limbing, bucking saw but it's not a great saw for milling the oiling will be lacking for that task.

Thanks for input skeans, I plan on rigging up a Oiler system for the bar, I do plan on using it to buck some
Bigger stuff as well. It's surprisingly light for its size 

[HemlockKing]

Probably worth noting as well I won't be milling anything much more than 24 inch

[ehp]

make sure you read up on the 500i oiler on setting it, there is a pin you can tap in where the adjusting screw for the oil pump is that once you tap the pin in it allows you to turn the oil pump screw out part more of a turn to give the bar more oil . I feel you made a very good choice 

[HemlockKing]

Burned 2 tanks so far. It's super light for how much saw it is, the 20" bar feels good on it. I ordered a 32 with a ripping chain for the milling. I can tell you guys now this saw will get more use than I had anticipated, it's very easy to operate, feels like my 026. 

Throttle response is super quick, It's also really easy to start. Nothing bad to say about it yet.