MS881 chainsaw mill- .404 or Low Pro?

[doobin]

1 hour ago, AJStrees said:

Yes. What bar did you get with your 881? The Stihl rollomatic bars have replaceable sprocket noses. Otherwise sugi hara solid are good or yes 54” gb bar are also good. 
 

 

Currently it has a 36" Stihl Rollomatic, mainly for removing excessive butt flare and crosscutting milling logs prior to placing on the bandsaw mill.

 

I'm thinking a 54" bar/mill would be the best setup. 48" of cut is a fairly chunky butt, and apparently the same Panther mill will take a 64" bar if needed?

[AJStrees]

15 minutes ago, doobin said:

Currently it has a 36" Stihl Rollomatic, mainly for removing excessive butt flare and crosscutting milling logs prior to placing on the bandsaw mill.

 

I'm thinking a 54" bar/mill would be the best setup. 48" of cut is a fairly chunky butt, and apparently the same Panther mill will take a 64" bar if needed?

Sounds good. Hope you get what you need and have fun with it. Though I can imagine bandsaw milling gets things cut up a lot faster. 👍

[doobin]

1 minute ago, AJStrees said:

Sounds good. Hope you get what you need and have fun with it. Though I can imagine bandsaw milling gets things cut up a lot faster. 👍

If I'm honest I'm not looking forward to chainsaw milling, but it's a means to an end!

[Puffingbilly413]

Would agree with what everyone has posted above.

 

Will only add that in my experience a lo-pro set up works great on my 48" panther mill with a full house chain (using both 661 and 881) but have stuck to .404 (mix of hyper skip and skip chain depending) on my larger panther with a 6' GB bar.  The thing to watch out for here is bar sag and the weight and/or power of the saw can pull the mill slightly out of alignment making adjustments between cuts a bit more fiddly - this is further compounded when doing deeper cuts. I have the extra long uprights that allow a 24" cut for milling from the bottom up. Definitely worth doing despite having to take your time and be much more careful. After a few sessions cutting larger and deeper stuff you do get used to it.

 

If you haven't already watched them check out all Rob D's videos on YouTube - I found them invaluable.  Perhaps also check out the panther intersect videos. I have one of these too but haven't really used it in anger yet but @doobin you might find that useful for what you're after?

[Bob_z_l]

1 hour ago, doobin said:

Currently it has a 36" Stihl Rollomatic, mainly for removing excessive butt flare and crosscutting milling logs prior to placing on the bandsaw mill.

 

I'm thinking a 54" bar/mill would be the best setup. 48" of cut is a fairly chunky butt, and apparently the same Panther mill will take a 64" bar if needed?

Have a think about an auxiliary oiler too. 54" is a lot of bar to oil. Even with the 881 at max flow. 

 

 

And enjoy!

Edited April 6, 2023 by Bob_z_l
spelling

[AHPP]

48 minutes ago, doobin said:

If I'm honest I'm not looking forward to chainsaw milling, but it's a means to an end!

I promise you, you’ll hate it. 

[Puffingbilly413]

2 minutes ago, AHPP said:

I promise you, you’ll hate it. 

Interesting - I genuinely love it. Occasionally frustrating but more often than not that's down to my rushing.

 

Find the whole process quite cathartic.

[AJStrees]

1 hour ago, doobin said:

If I'm honest I'm not looking forward to chainsaw milling, but it's a means to an end!

I find it quite satisfying to be fair. Yes its hard graft if you are moving the boards on your own without any machines, etc.... But the process of doing the milling IMHO is quite rewarding, especially when you are getting through a big old log. 👍

[AJStrees]

25 minutes ago, Bob_z_l said:

Have a think about an auxiliary oiler too. 54" is a lot of bar to oil. Even with the 881 at max flow. 

 

 

And enjoy!

I tried the oiler but don't think it made much difference on the 881, but that's just me. 👍

[AHPP]

4 minutes ago, Puffingbilly413 said:

Interesting - I genuinely love it. Occasionally frustrating but more often than not that's down to my rushing.

 

Find the whole process quite cathartic.

Everything’s heavy, the process is loud and slow, you’re constantly sharpening and the setting up to cut nice 90s is an abominable fiddle. Happy for you if you like it. It annoys the hell out of me and I sense doobin will feel the same pain.