milling saws

[harvey b davison]

Can i just say that this thread is a really good idea

 

As some one who is interested in milling but not yet done any ( i do have a small 18" mill to clean up some old joists etc) I am already finding this thread really informative.

 

Well done chaps.

[burrell_]

also bear with me spud said I swear a lot witch is true but my spelling is ******* also

also anyone with a 056 that mills would be great as a input

cheers martin

[agg221]

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

 

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

 

You can stick a picture of the 090 up if you like No offence taken over the arb comment. I do these things for my own interest and am quite happy with that.

 

I agree that you learn a lot from working with other people, and it also works well when we work together - I do a lot of setting up and optimising the yield and quality - Martin then blasts through the boards.

 

Re. the 051, funnily enough this is one saw I do have some video of. I will sort it out and write a review.

 

Alec

[bobh]

This thread is doing nothing for my bad case of saw envy.

I started with a 650 and 30" bar then got a 36" alaskan.

After several problems with the 650 I ended up putting a 660 top end on it.

I've always looked at getting something that would cut a bit faster so have half heartedly been looking for a big old Stihl for a while now, my landlord has a 090 but won't sell it to me!

I did buy a 056 for £50 last year but it has an issue with the flywheel key, must speak to spud to see if he can come up with a clever solution.

[Boaty]

Thanks chaps that's really usefull, just got to save some pennies for a 48inch, who makes 48 inch bars that's not a hard end an would be suitable for felling/normal use as well please. Spot on info though really liking this thread

[burrell_]

it will be 46inch with a roller noise

chainsaw bars (rob d on here im shore he will be along soon )

nice one Alec cheers mate

[agg221]

OK just checked and the video is actually of my 076. Although I've used the 051 in the past, and it works fine if you stick to a 30" bar, more recently omeone bought a 24" Alaskan mill through Rob D to fit to an 051 and wanted to try it out with someone experienced. I had some suitable sized elm to mill and he came along - we compared the two Alaskans, his 24" on an 051 with Oregon chain, my 36" on an 076 with Granberg chain. Both chains were correctly set - his was new, mine was freshly sharpened with the Granberg grinder.

 

The Granberg chain left a notably better finish. The 051 was slower but not painfully so - it was working at full capacity and didn't bog down but it took its time. The 076 was much quicker; I didn't have means to time it but it was enough to really feel the difference.

 

I would say the 051 is a good choice for a 24" mill for personal use. It's quick enough to not be painful at full capacity and at up to 18" is really good to use. You could go for a 36" bar and 30" mill but don't expect it to be quick and you would probably only do this if you were planning to upgrade asap.

 

With the 24" mill on 18-20" timber you get enough done in a relaxed day to feel satisfaction with it and if you are using the timber it can produce far more than you can use. It isn't such a good choice if you are wanting high production rates or if you are needing to get things out of a site in a hurry.

 

Alec

[agg221]

Thanks chaps that's really usefull, just got to save some pennies for a 48inch, who makes 48 inch bars that's not a hard end an would be suitable for felling/normal use as well please. Spot on info though really liking this thread

 

As per Burrell - 46" sprocket nosed bars are made by Sugihara and supplied by Chainsawbars ? chainsaw chains, chainsaw bars and chainsaw accessories.

 

When you set up the mill it clamps to the bar, inside the nose sprocket. This means you lose a few inches at the nose, a bit for the dogs and an inch for each of the two clamps. As a consequence, the maximum capacity through the mill is about 7 or 8" less than the bar length. To get the most out of a 48" mill you need a 56" bar but the next available length is the 59".

 

Alec

[jamesd]

This is a great idea for a thread and will hopefully help me out on my choice of saw. Either going to get an 880 or 660 so will wait until some reviews on them come up!

At the moment i'm milling with a 461 and using a 30" Alaskan (Wished i'd brought a bigger alaskan now i'm thinking of getting another saw )

I mill mostly oak and the 461 seems to cope ok if kept sharp (might buy a precision grinder soon as well), but does get slow on anything around the 20" mark.

[Jamespepperpot]

I use a 660 with a 30 inch bar and have milled up some pretty interesting stuff recently - including a nice bit of burred oak. Chain sharpness is definitely key and I use one of those granberg electric sharpeners which is pretty much ideal. I use standard Oregon chain at the moment but am planning to buy a granberg chain for my 36inch bar. For me, the 660 is ideal because I use it as a large saw for the work I do, where an 880 or similar would be overkill. I currently run it on a 36 inch mill and wouldn't go any larger with the 660.