Milling with Stihl 090G's

[mperkins582]

I picked up 2x 090G's this winter in really good condition. Only thing wrong with them is they both need air filters and one needed a fuel line. I was planning on using them for milling but I heard from a guy on another site that you have to mod them so the gears stay lubed since they are on their side and out of the gear oil. Supposedly. I wouldnt think it would do this since its on its side notching and back cutting a tree. But since its so hard to find parts and such figured I'd ask before breaking things

 

[295 tramp]

if there in good shape sell them and buy a 3120xp
that's what I use and parts are easy to get

 

[mperkins582]

I already have one, along with 2x 076's, a 2100, and 3x 372's. I bought the 090G's because the price was definitely right and wasnt going to pass them up. One has a new 106cc OEM piston/cylinder (175psi cold) and the other has the 137 top end (~185psi cold)

 

[BobL]

I picked up 2x 090G's this winter in really good condition. Only thing wrong with them is they both need air filters and one needed a fuel line. I was planning on using them for milling but I heard from a guy on another site that you have to mod them so the gears stay lubed since they are on their side and out of the gear oil.

I have also heard this but cannot vouch for it's authenticity. It could be that even when G's are used on their sides when notching and cutting out scarfs there is enough variation in movement back and forth in the horizontal position to splash oil onto their gears, whereas in a milling position the powerhead is held much steadier so the oil drains completely away from the gears.

There are several things about 090s that need to be attended to in a mill.

One of these is the slow rate of chain lube delivery. They only deliver 15 mL/min compared to say the 880 which delivers 38 mL/min which is still not enough so a beefed up Aux oiling system is really necessary. The 3120 can deliver up to 54 m:/min but unfortunately much of the extra is wasted by being flung off at the nose before it even gets to the business side of the bar.

G's also have very slow chain speed (1/2 that of the regular 090 which is not that fast to begin with) so to get the same cutting speed as regular 090 the rakers have be dropped by a long way.
Even on a regular 090 the rakers need to be dropped to around 7.5º to achieve the same cutting speed as an 080 using a 6º raker. This leads to rougher finishes and lots more vibe. It also means their chains eventually run out of raker before they run out of cutter.

 

[mperkins582]

Thats what I was thinking about when notching and back cutting, that it wouldn't be on its side for long. But i thought the gear oil chamber needed to be almost full so it should still be getting some oil to it? And it does have a manual oiler and I have an aux oiler as well. On my 3120 i just adjust the oiler depending on the wood and width. I have been using the aux oiler on anything more than 36" to be safe.

Now with the 090G would you be able to mill logs sideways pulling noodles so you dont need to take the rakers down so much? just out of curiousity. i was thinking of doing it w/372 for small pine for side tables.

 

[295 tramp]

Like bob mention the slow chain speed and the vibration would turn me off of wanting to run the 090.
The clutch on those are rare birds to find theses days. can you post a few photos

 

[mperkins582]

Here's some pics of them

 

[Andrew Hartz]

Will Mallof has a good discussion on the 090G's. From what I remember he had to modify the gear box vent so that it wouldn't leak oil. It looked like he was able to get pretty good results.

 

[295 tramp]

You have 2 nice 090g's there, the kinda nice what a collector would be in the market for.
If I had several milling saws I wouldn't risk putting a beating on those gems at all, just my thoughts.
Those saws are tools, but when tools become old and rare they become artifacts belonging in a collection.
I have a contra lightning and it cuts a few cookies each year and that's it. It's worth more in running shape

 

[sawfun]

I sold a pair of 106cc 090g's to a guy who mills with them. He never reported any issue with them on their sides and runs stock raker setting .404 ripping chain as far as I know. He even had a custom 10 foot bar made for a big oak. The center is held up by a magnet to keep the sway down until into the wood.

 

[Quietfly]

Those are some nice saws....