milling saws

[burrell_]

iv seen this Q's pop up quite a lot

what saw do I need for milling, what's the best saw for milling , what saw do I need for milling and will this saw take this mill

so thought to help some people out I would try and start a what saw do u use for milling and what do u like about the saw u use

 

some people on here may have used a number of saws for milling so there in put would be great

this may not be a great idea but if your new to milling or want to upgrade ur saw this may help

 

I will start iv used a stihl 441 ,460,660,076,070,088 and a 084

and a husq 298 for milling

soon to add a jonsered 2094 to the gang

seen 090 working

the saw I most enjoy milling with is the 660 with a 30inch bar its got enough power it don't bog and rips at a good speed

I will write a report on saws iv used but first we will see is this takes off

[spudulike]

Good luck with the thread Martin, for those that don't know him, you couldn't wish for a nicer bloke - he does swear a bit though!!

[burrell_]

:lol: **************** cheers Steve

[burrell_]

for the first report the 076 its a great saw everyone iv contracted my self out to it has work well for cut big timber ( cross cutting )

its just a saw u have to be quite fit /strong with ,if your a small bloke u may struggle to use it

right as a milling saw the 076 is great so much power I use a 36,42 and 48 inch bars for milling it will take a bigger bar but I think these bars are the best bars to fit to this saw

the main bar I use on the 076 is a 42inch bar for cross cut and mill

it just really seams to likes this bar its not to small not to big just rite

this saw is a great milling saw only 1 thing wrong with it witch does not make it the best saw I have for milling

when u get to the last 2-4 cut depending what size boards your cutting is the exhaust point down wards witch means all the saw dust that is on sprocket side starts to get thrown up in your face

witch u don't get on a stihl 441-460-660 -084-088

husq 298 etc

but a fantastic saw for milling big wood to 48inch bar and to be fair if it was the only saw I had for milling I would be happy

[Boaty]

Howdo, iv got a few questions. Iv just bought myself an 076a with a 36 inch bar, would it be a good idea to buy a 48 inch for milling as well? To be fair I won't have to much timber that big... Also who do you sell th milled timber to? Cheers. And I don't mind the ******* swearing

[agg221]

OK, I started with an 064, then moved to an 066 Magnum, more recently 076, 070 and 090. I mostly mill oak.

 

I found the 064 and the 066 were too slow for my liking in 2ft oak. They get there, but trying to mill 20ft long butts into 2in thick planks was tedious, to the point where I gave up, collected up butts and hired in a bandmill.

 

Having gained access to more timber that couldn't reasonably be extracted whole I started again and quickly remembered what the problem was.

 

I bought an 076 and it made a massive difference. It was fast to the point of being a pleasure. This is also about the point where I realised that I needed a better way to keep the chain sharp and even.

 

For several reasons I have ended up with 070/090s too. The 070 (it's mine in Burrell's picture) has been given some serious work to do and copes fine. It's a bit slower than the 076 but keeps going with wide cuts. The 090 doesn't add much if anything to milling speed on anything up to about 2ft6in, but above that it starts to help and really comes into its own above 3ft or so, as it just doesn't slow down.

 

Bars make a big difference too. I've run hard nosed bars on the 076 and 070 and they are definitely slower. I think the effect is more noticeable the faster the revs, so with an 070 it has least effect but you would really feel it with an 066.

 

Chain makes a difference - I get best results from Granberg chain, but I do also run standard Oregon chain and the difference is small. I also have skip-tooth ripping chain for some bars. I have tried it on shorter bars and it doesn't help but on a really wide cut it makes a big difference. I have run it on a 52" bar and an 88" bar and I would say it was essential for the latter.

 

My favourite combination is probably milling 2-3ft width with an 076 on a 36" mill, with a 46" roller nose bar, running Granberg chain.

 

Alec

[agg221]

Howdo, iv got a few questions. Iv just bought myself an 076a with a 36 inch bar, would it be a good idea to buy a 48 inch for milling as well? To be fair I won't have to much timber that big... Also who do you sell th milled timber to? Cheers. And I don't mind the ******* swearing

 

I would buy the 48" mill. I didn't, and wish I had. It gives you the capacity to get around the flare at the root end of the butt without so much edging up and fiddling about. You will only be able to use about 28" of your mill capacity with the 36" bar but you can shorten up the mill for now and when you need it you can get the longer bar and chain to suit.

 

Alec

[burrell_]

I new if I got u on board Alec it would be good

just trying to help people out mate

Your rite the 070 is urs

 

as far as a 48inch bar goes I would rather buy a 52 inch GB bar it roller noise and more solid

the stihl 48 is a good bar but its hard noise and don't think it runs as well as a roller noise

[agg221]

I new if I got u on board Alec it would be good

just trying to help people out mate

Your rite the 070 is urs

 

as far as a 48inch bar goes I would rather buy a 52 inch GB bar it roller noise and more solid

the stihl 48 is a good bar but its hard noise and don't think it runs as well as a roller noise

 

I think this thread is a really good idea - the same questions go round it it should get them grouped together. I'm just no good at taking pictures (always seem to be too busy milling) but I recognised my saw - nobody else would be running a 1970s Oregon hard-nose bar:001_smile: You can pick out which one is my 076 for the same reason...

 

I'd agree completely re. the 52" bar, a much better investment, but if you are only going to use it from time to time then sometimes the 47" Duromatics turn up cheap on ebay. I bought one for £100 in as-new condition and I've seen others.

 

Alec

[burrell_]

would u feel better if I posted the pic of ur 076 pair up

the next report im going to do is a 660 then husq 298

 

the best bit of advise I can give anyone who has a small saw and wants to go bigger or learn more about milling is to work with over people that mill

weather its

grandberg chains, the saws u use the jacks u use to move timber or the nice small things u use like chainsaw bandsaws. u learn so much form the people u work with

im all about speed as im a subbie and alec takes more time over things than I would, he has nothing to do with arb (no a fence mate) but he really knows his stuff

iv leant a lot from him and now he uses granberg chain witch he never before he worked with me

can u do a report on the 051 Alec as iv never milled with one