281xp

[outinthewood]

Would do the job with the Hyper skip ripping chain, assuming the bar is 36" but the cut is 30" ish it would be fine.

[Stubby]

Is "  Hyper skip " no cutters  ( as apposed to semi skip and full skip ) ? ?

Edited April 12, 2019 by Stubby

[Rough Hewn]

Is "  Hyper skip " no cutters  ( as apposed to semi skip and full skip ) ? [emoji16]

Nearly.
It's about a pair of cutters to every ten or so links.
Apparently they work well.
Personally I'd go full comp, full chisel.
A 36" mill will only cut up to 30/31"
And that's maxing it out.
I've milled 20"+ s.chestnut with a 440(70cc). No problems.
Just be careful to keep the teeth sharp and don't drop the depth gauges too low.
Don't push it too hard, let the saw pull into the wood, listen to the engine and watch the sawdust fly out,
there's a sweet spot somewhere.
[emoji106]

[Stubby]

2 hours ago, Rough Hewn said:

Nearly.
It's about a pair of cutters to every ten or so links.
Apparently they work well.
Personally I'd go full comp, full chisel.
A 36" mill will only cut up to 30/31"
And that's maxing it out.
I've milled 20"+ s.chestnut with a 440(70cc). No problems.
Just be careful to keep the teeth sharp and don't drop the depth gauges too low.
Don't push it too hard, let the saw pull into the wood, listen to the engine and watch the sawdust fly out,
there's a sweet spot somewhere.

To honest I thought it was a joke , having never heard of or seen Hyper Skip chain .  Have you ever used a " full house " chain with cutters one behind the other and no gaps ? The polar opposite .

[outinthewood]

Why put the poor old girl under pressure ? The Hyper skip is a good chain, far less to sharpen and far easier on the saw. The finish is ok and it takes a beating with regards to nails etc. It's hard to believe it would cut anything when you see it for the first time but I've been running it on a twin 576 XP set up on 72" bar and it works well so a nice thumping 281 should do very well

Edited April 12, 2019 by outinthewood

[tomlt]

So I actually have a 181 and 281 XP on a 36" mill. I reworked both with new Meteor pot and pistons to bring them up to 88CC (a direct swap and well worth it for under £100). I use both of these saws running a 42" Sugihara solid bar on the 36" cheapo-alaskan clone as my "small" mill. I have an MS880 and 64" Panther Mill for the big stuff.

 

The 188/288's are fine for milling up to 30" or so, however they are significantly slower than the MS880. They have lots of torque, but not particularly high chain speeds, so you need to keep the rev's up and to be honest the best way is going to be a full-skip or hyper-skip chain. I've got hyperskip on the MS880 and it's awesome, makes milling so much easier and faster, the only down side is I don't think hyperskip is currently available for 3/8" pitch which is what these saws are running. I've got Oregon rip chain on mine currently which I believe is full complement chain and to be honest it's a bit much for the old girls - it's grabby and slow, so I could really do with finding a less aggressive chain, a 3/8" hyperskip would be awesome (@RobD).

 

To give an idea of speed, I recently milled a 28" diameter cherry tree approx 10ft long, this was taking around 4-5mins/cut through the widest parts of the tree, the saw bogged down a lot, so it was gently gently to get it through - I don't run a winch on my small mill and to be honest I think it would be "too much" for this set-up, light hand pressure to keep the forwards momentum is enough.

 

I'd say do the 88CC conversion, give her a re-tune and maybe a port and you'll have a decent milling saw for anything up to 30" regularly, maybe 36" occasionally (but it will be painfully slow). 

 

All the best, Tom.

[Dan Maynard]

Could also go 3/8 narrow gauge to reduce the strain, I've not done a huge amount but I put a 36" bar with Stihl ripping chain onto my 365 and it did fine on 24" cedar. RobD sells a nice kit with all the bits.

[huskykev]

He came in and collected it today, it’s gonna go on a 30” mill for the summer and he’ll hire a woodmiser for his bigger lumps. I’m not sure if he’s on here but if not I’ll keep the thread updated as he goes along.... the 288 piston and pot upgrade is looking to be very likely soon enough too!