saw for chainsaw milling

[herm0016]

anyone have a larger Chinese saw? looking at the holzforma 388 $240 with 28 bar and chain.

looking for something to do some chainsaw milling and not spend a ton.

also, will a ms261 handle a 24 in bar?

or better to go used? anyone have something in that size range for sale

i have a 251 with an 18 and that is my trimming and cutting saw. its done everything i have tried, including an over 3 foot dia silver maple stump. cut lots of smaller stuff. have the logs from the silver maple, and from a 16 in Norway to make something out of. in the future i expect we will loose one of our large locusts as well.

 

[ericm979]

A 24" bar is too much for a 261.

Milling is slow cutting and hard on the saw.

Milling chain will cut a little faster than regular cross cut chain.

People on other forums have reported good results from the blue assembled MS660 clones.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

A 24" bar is too much for a 261.

Milling is slow cutting and hard on the saw.

Milling chain will cut a little faster than regular cross cut chain.

People on other forums have reported good results from the blue assembled MS660 clones.

Had to look up that one. I would have to go with a used bandsaw mill because free handing a 660 sounds painful in my case.

https://www.dhgate.com/product/2pcs...VHL4jgvvYlKIbGbtPXtj6DiW9RpCHI_xoCwhEQAvD_BwE

 

[ericm979]

For milling with a saw that large (or any saw if you want consistent thickness lumber) you'd use something like an alaskan chainsaw mill.
How An Alaskan Saw Mill Works

Not free hand, but it's still work.

 

[herm0016]

Had to look up that one. I would have to go with a used bandsaw mill because free handing a 660 sounds painful in my case.

no ****. would never try that... yes with a chainsaw mill.... I did not think I needed to say that I was using a chainsaw mill when talking about chainsaw milling... my friend has the 261, but he cant seem to get it running right, and thinks a 24 on it would be ok. i thought otherwise. confirmed.

a used band saw mill will be more than 10x the price of a Chinese saw and the attachment I think. i guess that goes with the "what tractor do i need" threads.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

no ****. would never try that... yes with a chainsaw mill.... I did not think I needed to say that I was using a chainsaw mill when talking about chainsaw milling... my friend has the 261, but he cant seem to get it running right, and thinks a 24 on it would be ok. i thought otherwise. confirmed.

a used band saw mill will be more than 10x the price of a Chinese saw and the attachment I think. i guess that goes with the "what tractor do i need" threads.

There is a video of some perhaps southeast Asian location where a guy shows up bare footed with a huge chainsaw and free hands the lumber for a new home out of logs he cuts onsite. Actually the lumber looked OK considering.

 

[s219]

For an Alaskan rig, I consider 70cc the absolute smallest you should go, 75-80cc is better (or even bigger if you can swing it). The saw should have good airflow, also good chip discharge, and good oiling capacity.

 

[yomax4]

For an Alaskan rig, I consider 70cc the absolute smallest you should go, 75-80cc is better (or even bigger if you can swing it). The saw should have good airflow, also good chip discharge, and good oiling capacity.

I agree. I was out to mill some cherry boards. A friend picked up an Alaskan Mill at a sale. I have an 044 with 28" bar and bought the proper chain for milling. I wasn't worth all the trouble and slow cut time. Saw got hot, used a ton of fuel and was more valuable than the wood so I aborted the project.

 

[herm0016]

For an Alaskan rig, I consider 70cc the absolute smallest you should go, 75-80cc is better (or even bigger if you can swing it). The saw should have good airflow, also good chip discharge, and good oiling capacity.

Thanks. this is exactly the kind of advice i was looking for.

 

[Toyboy]

That's a strenuous job for an appropriate name brand saw. And you want to try it with a chinese clone?
Good luck.

 

[hslogger]

That's a strenuous job for an appropriate name brand saw. And you want to try it with a chinese clone?
Good luck.

What he said!

 

[dfkrug]

Milling chain will cut a little faster than regular cross cut chain.

I work with a friend who does a lot of chainsaw milling.

He is 86, but he still works his saws really hard. When he does that during hot weather, he has seized up 2 large chainsaws, an early McCulloch 795 and a Stihl 084. I rebuilt them, but had to replace P&C on the Stihl. I don't do chainsaw milling myself, since I have a small Chinese bandsaw mill.

Anyway, ripping chain is a must for milling, even if you are only doing 12" logs. Sometimes you need a supplementary bar oil supply, provided with a thumb lever on old saws, or a separate reservoir at the end of the bar. Note that ripping chain is terrible at cross-cutting, as I found out with my bandsaw.

One of my chainsaws has a 24" bar, but is only 55cc, which is underpowered for that size. I think you need at least 60cc to properly power a 24" bar, fully embedding in the cut. Smaller saws or homeowner saws often do not put out the bar oil you need to run a long bar, or for chainsaw milling.

As for the Hutzl or Holtzforma MS660 copies, I know a guy who bought one and he says it works, but I have not seen it myself. Utube has videos of assembling and testing this clone saw from a kit, which is quite inexpensive.

This vid is an 090 struggling to do a crosscut on an old piece of redwood.
Stihl chainsaw milling - YouTube

 

[oosik]

1976 . We built a two story log cabin in AK. Used an Alaskan Mill and a big red Homelite chainsaw. It had a 24" blade. Rotated the bar every day to even out the wear. At the dealers recommendation we doubled up on the two cycle oil in the gas. At the time it was a real blast. Wouldn't want to try it now.

The cabin is still standing and in use. The most difficult part - the abuse my knees took as I moved the saw down the logs. Never figured out knee pads.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

When you factor in ALL the cost of chainsaw milling, you may as well buy a used BSM and get it over with...

CSMilling really isn't much cheaper when you consider the kerf difference, cost of fuel/oil difference, buying/rebuilding the chainsaw once or twice, and then there's all the money you recoup when/if you sell the BSM, (MUCH easier to sell) plus you can mill so much faster that selling some lumber to pay for the mill is fairly easy too.

Then there's all the wear on your body that you DON'T experience with a BSM, and you WILL pay for that big time when you get older... Like I said, you have to consider EVERYTHING when you compare the cost of the two.

I've done both, and it's no secret that I didn't CSM for long, before I saw the real cost of CSMilling!!

SR

 

[dfkrug]

Then there's all the wear on your body that you DON'T experience with a BSM, and you WILL pay for that big time when you get older...

Indeed. And running a small bandsaw mill that has no power feed/load/rotate is also very hard work.

I can use my tractor with forks to load a log, but I still have to turn it, and pushing the carriage is also quite tiring.

Around here, the cost of hiring out a BSM to cut logs for lumber can easily exceed the cost to just buy the wood at the lumber yard. Unless it is redwood for decks or fences. A 6x6 heart RW post can cost over $100 at a yard.

 

[herm0016]

Indeed. And running a small bandsaw mill that has no power feed/load/rotate is also very hard work.

I can use my tractor with forks to load a log, but I still have to turn it, and pushing the carriage is also quite tiring.

Around here, the cost of hiring out a BSM to cut logs for lumber can easily exceed the cost to just buy the wood at the lumber yard. Unless it is redwood for decks or fences. A 6x6 heart RW post can cost over $100 at a yard.

i got a quote from someone i know that has a band saw mill, and he charges 90 per hr to cut logs you bring to his property with the hauling on my trailer and gas, i figure i could make up the money on the largest of the blue saws in about 3 or 4 hours.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Indeed. And running a small bandsaw mill that has no power feed/load/rotate is also very hard work.

I can use my tractor with forks to load a log, but I still have to turn it, and pushing the carriage is also quite tiring.

I use my log loading/turning winch to turn logs, it makes it VERY easy...

As for pushing the carriage, I don't find that to be all that much work either... In fact, I like the way I can feel what's going on as I push it. Not sure why yours would be so hard to push?

SR

 

[Gale Hawkins]

When you factor in ALL the cost of chainsaw milling, you may as well buy a used BSM and get it over with...

CSMilling really isn't much cheaper when you consider the kerf difference, cost of fuel/oil difference, buying/rebuilding the chainsaw once or twice, and then there's all the money you recoup when/if you sell the BSM, (MUCH easier to sell) plus you can mill so much faster that selling some lumber to pay for the mill is fairly easy too.

Then there's all the wear on your body that you DON'T experience with a BSM, and you WILL pay for that big time when you get older... Like I said, you have to consider EVERYTHING when you compare the cost of the two.

I've done both, and it's no secret that I didn't CSM for long, before I saw the real cost of CSMilling!!

SR

That is nice and will handle huge logs. A few years ago I could have picked up a nice used Wood Miser (?) for $10K that was all hydraulic powered so little manual labor. It had always been under roof but it just did not make sense. It was a want not a need.

 

[dfkrug]

I use my log loading/turning winch to turn logs, it makes it VERY easy...

As for pushing the carriage, I don't find that to be all that much work either... In fact, I like the way I can feel what's going on as I push it. Not sure why yours would be so hard to push?

The smallest, least costly WoodMizer is the LX55, formerly LT10. It runs over double the cost of the HF saw, and it also has no log turner or loader. Raising the carriage is manual, with a crank winch. What I find to be the most tiring when cutting is raising the carriage. The crank winch on the HF is not very ergonomic. Pushing thru the wood is not too bad. I do cut a lot of 7/8" x 18" laurel and maple planks.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

No doubt what mill you choose makes a big difference in how easy they run, even in manual mills...

I'm not a bit Mizer fan, there are many mills that are just as good or even better, that are cheaper to buy.

HF is about the least money you can spend, but I don't think it would be fair to expect it to be any where near in the same category of even a LT10, let alone something far superior, like a used Lumbermate 2000...

SR