new to milling....what would you guys do?!

[gomoto69]

Hello everyone, been lurking and learning for a while, and was hoping my first post would be some pics of me running my new, homebuilt mill, but i've run into a problem that i could use some experienced advice on!
I'm building an alaskan type mill for my 298xp. I ordered a 42" cannon bar and 3/8" oregon ripping chain which showed up today. My issue is that the bar has a .404 tip installed, so here lies my problem. I looked at the oregon ripping chain, #73RD, but it's not a square chisel tooth that i had wanted, and it's the only tooth available for the ripping chain. So what do you think my best option is at this point:
1: simply replace tip and run the oregon 73rd
2: run .404 full chisel (although bar is .058" guage and i'm not sure anyone makes this chain in .058, but i can look into that)
3: change tip and run 3/8 square chisel, if so is there a better chain than oregon? I've read on the chainsaw forum that some recommend stihl chain, but is that just brand loyalty? Durability is my main concern.
I prefer square chisel because that's what i've always run (.404) on both my saws, or is there an advantage to oregon's semi chisel ripping chain? I wanted to stay away from any low pro or picco etc more because of cost. I bought a 25' roll of the oregon chain so should be able to exchange it ok.
I live in south interior of bc, so most of my milling will be cedar, some fir and pine maybe, but no hardwood, which is why i thought square chisel would be best.
Any advice is greatly appreciated, the milling forum seems much friendlyer than the chainsaw forum, less name calling and bickering, and am looking forward to becoming a part of you community, cheers!

 

[redoakneck]

Tough to find .058 in .404, I would swap the tip to 3/8 and run the chain u have. For softer woods the standard semi chisel should work fine.

Bob from milling is the guru, hopefully he will chime in

 

[BobL]

Sorry, I'm not familiar with 058 pitched gear so can't help on that.
I used square chisel and square ground chain on about 30 logs before switching to semi chisel and would not go back - but that's probably just because of the hardwoods I cut because, the square chisel seems to go blunt a bit quicker and I get a slightly better finish but IMHO finish is more operator than chain dependent.
Haven't noticed the Stihl chain being any better than Oregon or Carlton.

 

[gomoto69]

Thank you, i made the choice today, the saw shop here had a roll of .058 full chisel .404 in stock, but didn't have a cannon tip, so that's what i went with. I'll just slowly file it back to around 10 degrees, and keep the rakers set up as per your technique of progressive raker angle bob! Cedar is very soft, so i don't think keeping a sharp edge will be an issue, not from the wood anyway. It's also very dusty tho ( dead or down wood is what we're allowed to cut here on gov't land, so i'll be looking for big dead cedar for tabletops etc) so aux oil will be important. I'll be sure to post some pics when i get it built, thanks again for those with advice!