Ideal small milling saw

[TrollSpiel]

Bob, I'd say as big as you can afford.

 

Recently cutting some oak, which wasn't that big, But I needed about 10mm more than I could get out of a 36" bar + ,mill - luckily I had the 48" with me - woulda been a waste to lose that nice feature by buzzing it off cos my setup couldnt accomodate.

 

big as you can afford mr!

[harvey b davison]

I'm still thinking about getting the makita 7901 for milling. I only want to mill up to a max of 24 inch for now, and i could use the saw for other work. Would this saw take something like a 28" bar or am i barking mad. I can only afford something in this price bracket and it must be a duel purpose saw, also i'm not keen on buying used as i'm the worst mechanic on planet.

 

thanks.

[agg221]

The Makita 7901 is 79cc so should take a 28" bar. You lose the nose and unless you want to swap the spikes on and off you'll realistically have a capacity of around 20", which fits with a 24" mill. It should cope, but may be a bit slow milling though.

 

Have you ever been out for the day with someone using an Alaskan with a big powerhead? If not, I'd do this first, to get an idea of how a larger set-up will run. That way, if you go ahead with the set-up you're proposing, at least you'll have an idea as to what can be achieved to compare it with. Nothing worse than assuming that milling is always like your own set up achieves (speaking from experience, having started out milling 2ft oak with an 064).

 

Alec

[RobArb]

Would you get away with using a 440 or similar for smaller milling stuff?

[agg221]

Would you get away with using a 440 or similar for smaller milling stuff?

 

Yes, I used mine a bit last year at one point when the other saws were unavailable. It was very slow on 20" or above and I can't say as either I or the saw enjoyed the experience.

 

Alec

[Rob D]

I'm still thinking about getting the makita 7901 for milling. I only want to mill up to a max of 24 inch for now, and i could use the saw for other work. Would this saw take something like a 28" bar or am i barking mad. I can only afford something in this price bracket and it must be a duel purpose saw, also i'm not keen on buying used as i'm the worst mechanic on planet.

 

thanks.

 

 

I know what you mean but I'd still try and find the extra cash for a 90cc saw... i..e Stihl MS660, Husky 390 or 395... as you will find a log of 24" has knobbles and slight bends - you always need about 6" more than you think!

[agg221]

I know what you mean but I'd still try and find the extra cash for a 90cc saw... i..e Stihl MS660, Husky 390 or 395... as you will find a log of 24" has knobbles and slight bends - you always need about 6" more than you think!

 

Yes, but the problem is you then think "I've got a 30" mill, so I'll try milling a 30" log", only of course it's not quite big enough, and so the cycle continues. I don't reckon a mill is big enough to overcome this problem until it's got a 72" bar on it!

 

Alec

[harvey b davison]

what type of realistic capacity am i looking at then with the 7900, sorry for all the dumb questions. Its just that i'd rather stay small until i know if i'm going to get any work with it, (if any at all). If i went bigger i'm scared the machine will just sit in the shed not earning for me.

[MattyF]

I have tried a 70cc 24" bar on a mill mainly for the weight .... Found it a waste of time a good all rounder has to be the 36" mill as Rob said there is always going to be bits sticking out and most timer worth milling this will happily cope with but that means you will need a bigger makita or a 660 or 395 to power it .... I would seriously recommend looking in to it as I think you will regret it later if you purchase all this gear and some decent timber comes up that you can't touch.... Plus it's so much faster!

[MattyF]

Dcs9010 looks like it would fit the bill