bar length recommendations

[Rob D]

Max bar for an MS460 is 20" if I'm right.

 

Your sort of in between mills there as although the small log mill will take a 20" bar it's not extendable.

 

A 24" Alaskan will fit but due to the flat clamping mechanism you have to clamp at both ends of the bar. You can't really get away with using the 24" Alaskan with one clamp to maximise a 20" bar as it doesn't pinch the bar like the mini mill and small log mill.... so there's a chance of it slipping.

 

But even if you buy a small log mill you'll still use it in the future for smaller logs as it is so easy to put on and off.

 

Milling all comes down to correct chain sharpness pure and simple. And to a lesser extent a well maintained bar.

 

A normal cross cut chain perfectly sharpened will be far better milling than a ripping chain averagely sharpened. A well sharpened chain stays sharper for longer, means less strain on the saw. It has a bearing on what bar lengths you can get away with.

 

Tooth length, tooth shape, depth guage height and shape are all critical.

 

I've spent a great deal of time researching chain sharpening and learnt that I still had a lot to learn (and am still learning) It is all about the chain.

 

Am I getting boring yet ho ho!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Matthew Burton]

Thanks for all the replys chaps! I'm planning on getting an 18 and 25 inch bar for it, so if people think 25 inch will be ok, I'll probably go down that route to give me the versatility. Sounds like its all down to my sharpening...

[firewood]

Thanks for all the replys chaps! I'm planning on getting an 18 and 25 inch bar for it, so if people think 25 inch will be ok, I'll probably go down that route to give me the versatility. Sounds like its all down to my sharpening...

 

Also, remember what it feels like to mill for the first time with a fresh chain and bar. the speed and smoothness you achieve then will be the benchmark for your sharpening later. you will know when you've got it right.

[agg221]

Max bar for an MS460 is 20" if I'm right.

 

Stihl quote a max bar length for the MS440 and MS460 as 32" ?

 

If you have a 25" bar buried in a tree you're using about 23" by the time you account for the dogs. If you run a mill on it though, by the time you lose the 3" for the sprocket end, and the 1.5" for the bar clamp at each end, this comes down to only about 17" max cut width. You can lengthen that out to 19" if you take the dogs off, but if you're only running one saw it's a bit of a pain to keep taking them on and off.

 

If you run a 30" bar you should get a 24" max. cut, i.e. much the same as the 25" bar would give you normally.

 

Alec

[Rob D]

Stihl quote a max bar length for the MS440 and MS460 as 32" ?

 

If you have a 25" bar buried in a tree you're using about 23" by the time you account for the dogs. If you run a mill on it though, by the time you lose the 3" for the sprocket end, and the 1.5" for the bar clamp at each end, this comes down to only about 17" max cut width. You can lengthen that out to 19" if you take the dogs off, but if you're only running one saw it's a bit of a pain to keep taking them on and off.

 

If you run a 30" bar you should get a 24" max. cut, i.e. much the same as the 25" bar would give you normally.

 

Alec

 

 

Just looked it up and Stihl UK seems to say it'll take a 25" bar. Strangely the US Stihl site does say 32"...

[armchairarborist]

Just looked it up and Stihl UK seems to say it'll take a 25" bar. Strangely the US Stihl site does say 32"...

 

thats for the magnum i think, just means it has the dual exhaust mod from the factory iirc:001_smile:

[agg221]

thats for the magnum i think, just means it has the dual exhaust mod from the factory iirc:001_smile:

 

So far as I can tell, it's not just for the Magnum. I can't find a US manual, but a couple of places in the US and in New Zealand list the basic MS460 (with the right power output) as up to 32" on the bar. This would be consistent with the spec. for the old 044, which was the same.

 

It suggests that it may have been 'downrated' for the UK market? No sign of why though.

 

Alec

[agg221]

Further to the above, I did a bit of digging on the Stihl website, by country. The MS460 (non-Magnum) is not currently available in many countries, but Stihl Mexico still have a 2009-2010 catalogue up, and it gives the maximum bar length as 36" !

 

So it looks like the change in recommendation may be after a certain date - still no clue as to why though.

 

Alec

[armchairarborist]

i really wouldn't like cutting 36'' timber with a 460, unless i was sat down:thumbup:

[agg221]

i really wouldn't like cutting 36'' timber with a 460, unless i was sat down:thumbup:

 

Yeah, but when milling you usually are

 

Alec