bar length recommendations

[Matthew Burton]

I'm shortly to be the owner of an ms460 mainly for arb work. I do however have access to some (more than i could use) 14+ inch diameter ash, pine and sycamore trunks. I'd like to have a go at milling some up for a range of uses.

 

What length of bar would a 460 run well with ripping chain and consequently what size of alaskan mill am i after, producing what size of boards?

 

Matt

[armchairarborist]

i had a go recently, the 460 is a bit underpowered to run a 25'' bar for milling, to be honest it struggled with 14'' spruce. it'll do it but not fast. Ed.

[Gareth Dalzell]

i had a go recently, the 460 is a bit underpowered to run a 25'' bar for milling, to be honest it struggled with 14'' spruce. it'll do it but not fast. Ed.

 

That's interesting. I got a new Stihl 460 last month as a new mid saw. We were cutting along 3ft diameter beech and ash with it to reduce the weight of the rings and it was flying through them at full depth with a 20" guide bar. I was wondering about putting our Alaskan onto it - but now I'm, not sure. Surely it would handle a 20" bar for milling?

[armchairarborist]

i just hate waiting.. was considering doubleheading a pair of 880's

[Samuel]

get it ported, then put a 25 inch bar on it, then should have no problem what so ever:thumbup:

[bob]

are you using proper ripping chain

makes more of a difference than i thought

[armchairarborist]

no just filed to 10degrees like stihl tech guys told me. the 065 runs the same setup sweet

[bob]

no just filed to 10degrees like stihl tech guys told me. the 065 runs the same setup sweet

 

would highly recomend getting a proper ripping chain

there is a lot more differences

feel free to pop round

but when you see the differences you will see it is obviously better and will cut faster

[Gray git]

Have got the older 046 and use it for most of my mid size milling (up to 18") with a 24" bar<milling chain from rob D and it works fine, put my mates ms660 in to test it and didnot notice much diffence if any in cutting speed the trick is keeping the chain speed up and not pushing too hard and borking the chain so you hav to back off as this takes longer than a stedy smooth cut.

top tip off all keep the chain SHARP.

[agg221]

I normally run an 066M on a 36in bar, but it's currently being fixed, so I had to fit the 044 for a bit.

 

I was running it through 20in oak, with no real problems. It's slower, but OK.

 

Your question suggests this is a bit of a hobby. Therefore, personally, I would fit a 30in bar on a 36in mill with proper ripping chain. This would give a cutting width of up to about 2ft (I wouldn't bother removing the dogs for the extra width) without slowing it down too much with bar drag. It should then run nicely on the smaller stuff. This would give the maximum flexibility to handle the odd wider bit without risking saw damage.

 

Don't forget that ash is particularly hard work!

 

Alec