Picco/LP milling chain thoughts

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Just getting back to milling after a long hiatus. Using current baileys prices below.

I've always used stihl 63PMX chain but the price of loops are crazy ($43 60-DL, $31 60-DL by link).

Looking at getting 100' roll and making loops.

What I'm considering is:

Stihl 63 PMX

Stihl 63 PM

Stihl 63 PS (chisel)

Woodland 30LP

The PMX will cost the most but it's ready to mill, the other 3 need regrind to 10 degrees.

For 16" 60 DL cost per loop from 100' roll, respectively is: $22.50, $15.20, $15.90, $ 10.75.

1) Woodland is far cheapest.

2) Is it worth ~ $7+/ loop to have correct cutters?

3) Has anyone tried the stihl 63 PS (chisel non-safety) for milling? If so how does it cut/stay sharp vs. semi-chisel milling chain.? I may experiment with a few loops of this first as local dealer has a roll.


Will post some insight on the above when I get back into some logs.

Thanks in advance for suggestions.
 
PMX chain works great, but it is expensive if you buy it from Logosol or Baileys. The pmx chain is about equally priced in Scandinavia, if you buy it from Logosol. Local dealers and suppliers sell the pmx chain for half the price.
The 63 PS chain might be good in softwoods and clean wood, but in hardwoods and thick bark i'm guessing it would dull quickly. Try and see if you like it.
 
Not so - use it as it is and on successive sharpenings slowly file it to the 10º TPFA

Maybe O.K. for beams and such but finish will suffer until angle comes down.

Of the 3 crosscut chains listed above which have people converted to milling chain?
PMX chain works great, but it is expensive if you buy it from Logosol or Baileys. The pmx chain is about equally priced in Scandinavia, if you buy it from Logosol. Local dealers and suppliers sell the pmx chain for half the price.
The 63 PS chain might be good in softwoods and clean wood, but in hardwoods and thick bark i'm guessing it would dull quickly. Try and see if you like it.

Thanks for the input. I will try the 63 PS chain as local dealer can spin me some loops and knock back cutters to 10 degrees. I mostly mill hardwood but have some big white pine coming up too so this will be a good test for that chain in both types of wood. If it works well may invest in a roll? Will be a good comparison with the 63 PMX

Otherwise I'm looking at a roll of 63 PMX from Baileys that they will spin into loops for $1/each. Will be ~ half price of logosol loops and ~ 2/3 price of loops by the link. I could get 18 16" 60-DL and 7 24" 84-DL chains per roll.

P.S. I love the ferguson system and my 9N tractor
 
Tell me how it goes when you have tested the 63 PS chain.
Glad to hear that you like the ferguson system, do you have any pictures of the 9n?
 
Tell me how it goes when you have tested the 63 PS chain.
Glad to hear that you like the ferguson system, do you have any pictures of the 9n?


I plan on trying two loops of the 63 PS chain. Will report on the finish and how long to dull compared to 63 PMX.

Yes have pictures of the 9N but not handy right now in digital form. I still plow, harrow, cut fields, skid logs , ect .......with it. Will get some fresh ones soon if the snow does not get too deep to skid some logs.

P.S. Also will get to use/evaluate some of the 3/8 picco/lopro rims I had made up for the 066
 
I plan on trying two loops of the 63 PS chain. Will report on the finish and how long to dull compared to 63 PMX.

Yes have pictures of the 9N but not handy right now in digital form. I still plow, harrow, cut fields, skid logs , ect .......with it. Will get some fresh ones soon if the snow does not get too deep to skid some logs.

P.S. Also will get to use/evaluate some of the 3/8 picco/lopro rims I had made up for the 066


MP - Did you turn down .404 rims for the 066? I'd like to try some LP at some point just ain't got around to it yet.
 
I plan on trying two loops of the 63 PS chain. Will report on the finish and how long to dull compared to 63 PMX.

Yes have pictures of the 9N but not handy right now in digital form. I still plow, harrow, cut fields, skid logs , ect .......with it. Will get some fresh ones soon if the snow does not get too deep to skid some logs.

P.S. Also will get to use/evaluate some of the 3/8 picco/lopro rims I had made up for the 066

I'm looking forward to the pictures of the Ford. I've got 2 Ferguson tea 20's, one is completely restored and the other is 75% done. I have also made a pto powered timber trailer from the rear axle of a Ferguson.

Stihl 066,660/61 is delivered with a spur sprocket from logosol for 3/8 picco. On my Jonsered i use a regular 3/8 rim with the pmx chain, and i haven't ran into any problems yet.
 
MP - Did you turn down .404 rims for the 066? I'd like to try some LP at some point just ain't got around to it yet.

No I had Danzco make a lot up of rims custom. They have a hard pins inserted to drive the links like the rims they make for racing. They need to do a fairly large lot to make it profitable and cost effective, lots of the cost is in setup. They were still more expensive than normal rims but lots cheaper than a picco spur from logosol, and I can switch out to a regular 3/8 drive and bar quickly if I need to feel/buck big stuff. Remember if you use picco/LP you need a bar with correct sprocket or a hard nose

I did a post about this a few years ago and there was surprisingly few interested in a group purchase. Will get some pics when I get my camera sorted out.
 
No I had Danzco make a lot up of rims custom. They have a hard pins inserted to drive the links like the rims they make for racing. They need to do a fairly large lot to make it profitable and cost effective, lots of the cost is in setup. They were still more expensive than normal rims but lots cheaper than a picco spur from logosol, and I can switch out to a regular 3/8 drive and bar quickly if I need to feel/buck big stuff. Remember if you use picco/LP you need a bar with correct sprocket or a hard nose

I did a post about this a few years ago and there was surprisingly few interested in a group purchase. Will get some pics when I get my camera sorted out.

Yeah Danzco-couldn't think of the name. I'd contacted them a few years ago but no go for me cost wise. I don't do a ton of milling just what I need for projects. I do have one of Gene's bandmills I'm building though. But for the occasional need to mill the log in place the 066 is good to have. I just finished a new walk in pantry off the kitchen for my wife featuring douglas fir slabs that span 8 feet with only ledgers for support on 3 sides. At 1 and 3/4" inches thick X 10" wide they hardly deflect at all. Anyway, I just made more work for myself yet again-good thing I enjoy this stuff, ha! But as long as the wife is happy I don't get any gruff about a new mill. I'd like to try one of these setups some time though. If I think of it I'll post a pic this weekend.
 
Maybe O.K. for beams and such but finish will suffer until angle comes down.

I'm not convinced that the TPFA has as much of an influence as folks think on finish, at least on alaskan CSMs.

Maybe the effect of TPFA on finish is more of an issue for logosol type mill because with a free ended bar a higher TPFA the chain is liable to be able to sideways grab a bit more than when the bar is held at both ends. One way to test this effect would be to measure the kerf on the inboard and outboard side of the kerf. I have measured small difference in these kerf widths when using an alaskan and a longer bar. EG using the 42" bar with ~40" cutting width on a 20" diameter log The inboard side of the kerf is being cut with the section of the bar very close to the saw but the other side is being cut effectively with chain riding on the middle of the bar which can bounce around more than the ends of the bar.

On an alaskan CAM I reckon that the operator and then the mill have a much greater influence over finish , e.g. operators that; seesaw the mill, use jerky throttle and mill movements, and mills that are not rigid.

The main reason for using a high TPFA on cross cutting is that it produces a slightly wider kerf because this form of cutting produces longer fibre tufts hanging inside the kerf which may bind a b&C in the cut. Lower TPFAs can be used on ripping and noodle cuts because far fewer fibre tufts are left hanging in the kerf so the B&C can handle a narrower kerf.
The lower TPFA reduces chain vibe, and also slightly eases the load on the powerhead, but low profile does this anyway. The higher TPFA doesn't increase the kerf by much and it's only until successive sharpenings have brought the TPFA down that this is an issue.
 
I found a new OEM stihl rim clutch outer assy. I'll post some pics of the 3/8 rim vs the picco rim when I get an SD card reader

I just got a SD card reader so here are some pictures. Will take some more pics showing the drive pins and fitment on some picco chain (I don't have a loop handy right now).

The rims are 1.382" (3/8 7T) and 1.440" (3/8 picco 7T) O.D. as measured with some good calipers (might be a little off in o.ooo" ?).

The stihl packaging was mis-labeled, the 3/8 rim is 7T not 8T


med spline 3:8 picco.jpg medium spline 3:8 picco 2.jpg
 
Just getting back to milling after a long hiatus. Using current baileys prices below.

I've always used stihl 63PMX chain but the price of loops are crazy ($43 60-DL, $31 60-DL by link).

Looking at getting 100' roll and making loops.

What I'm considering is:

Stihl 63 PMX

Stihl 63 PM

Stihl 63 PS (chisel)

Woodland 30LP

The PMX will cost the most but it's ready to mill, the other 3 need regrind to 10 degrees.

For 16" 60 DL cost per loop from 100' roll, respectively is: $22.50, $15.20, $15.90, $ 10.75.

1) Woodland is far cheapest.

2) Is it worth ~ $7+/ loop to have correct cutters?

3) Has anyone tried the stihl 63 PS (chisel non-safety) for milling? If so how does it cut/stay sharp vs. semi-chisel milling chain.? I may experiment with a few loops of this first as local dealer has a roll.


Will post some insight on the above when I get back into some logs.

Thanks in advance for suggestions.


Well here we go. Just burned the manure out of my hand feeding the wood burner. Might be MIA for a week or so.

I have ash , birch, sugar maple , and cherry,.......but a week or so to haul that out.......

I STIHL have PMX 16 and 24"
 
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