Biggest bar size with single power head

[Liam88]

Just wondered what's the biggest bar a 3120 could run effectively on a mill without going into double poweheads?

[agg221]

The 3120 is pretty old school with more torque than revs so a 6ft bar on a 56" mill would be OK. You can go slightly bigger with skip tooth chain.

 

Alec

[Liam88]

60" with nose oiler?

[agg221]

60" with nose oiler?

 

Comfortably. Not quick but will slog on through.

 

Alec

[Big J]

60 inch bar on a single powerhead is my idea of hell! Personally I found 42" was perfect for a single MS880. I wouldn't go past 60" on a double powerhead - too much bar flex and resulting stress on components. 84" was awful on a double MS880/088 set up - destroyed a powerhead and several chains and drive sprockets.

[agg221]

Yes but Jonathan you don't really like chainsaw milling do you? There's also a difference between commercial production and personal interest.

 

I have run an 88" bar full width on a single 090 powerhead. It is quite boring but gets there in time.

 

Alec

[Big J]

It's slower than digging a tunnel with a tea spoon!

 

They have their place, but chainsaw mills are awful on large logs mainly because of bar deflection. You're better off spending the money on a heavy HIAB and taking the log to band mill that can handle it. For back garden trees and the completely inaccessible, they are still very useful, but I think you're better off on a short bar and using a winch to roll it to reduce the cut width. I say this as someone who has done hundreds and hundreds of hours of chainsaw milling and who has cut some quite large logs:

 

 

I have a picture somewhere of a 2m diameter elm that we milled last year that was the last log I chainsaw milled. We had to turn that to get it through the 67" throat.

[Liam88]

What was your set up on the big elm?

[Big J]

MS880 on one end, an 088 on the other. 84" bar, oregon chain. The 2m elm was so large than we had to build a gantry to walk along. Awful work and not to be recommended! The best thing to do with very large logs like that is to sell them on or send them to a very large bandmill. The main issue I found was bar deflection, which causes a whole raft of issues.

[Big Beech]

I can't find the article now, but there was an image and write up somewhere using two 090's and a 12ft bar!

Thought I had it saved but can't find it now