Narrow kerf, big saw?

[DSW]

Was there ever any narrow kerf setups designed for saws over 100cc? Has anybody tried the small Stihl chain on a big mill saw without slicing a leg off? I like the .404 setup for many reasons but wasting less wood and making it easier on the saw in those wiiiiiide slabs would be nice.

 

[Tenderfoot]

3/8ths is narrow kerf compared to .404.

 

[Mad Professor]

picco/lo pro PMX works great on an 066. I can't say with > 100cc. People have went to 0.325 also.

Prices are out of sight on PMX. I'm going to look at woodland pro at least for shorter chains.

If you are running a long bar + > 100cc I think regular 3/8 ripping might be way to go unless 0.325 works out.

 

[DSW]

That under 100cc cut off is a bit strange. The line has to be drawn somewhere I guess and an 076 certainly has more torque than an 066 but I just can't see a chain doing fine with an 066 and not handling an 076.

I've done plenty in the three foot category but I've got some bigger stuff on the horizon and I want to make it as easy as possible on the saw. Speeding it up would be nice as well. Less waste isn't as much of a concern but it's nice as well.

Mad Professor, have you ran different chain setups on the same saw and saw noticeable differences?

 

[BobL]

The 100cc mark seems to be the cut off because that is about where the elastic limit of this chain if it is run under the same setups are 3/8 and 404.

The other variables are wood hardness and chain setup. You should be able to run lopro in on any size saw and bar length PROVIDED the chain is set up to suit the wood and the chain is not overloaded. If the chain is set to bite too much then this will over strain and stretch the chain. If it is run with a reduced bite it cuts slower (and make more dust) and reduces cutting speed negating any benefits from the narrow jerk . The crucial thing is not over stretching the chain or it will stretch past the sprocket spacings and jump the bar.

A few years back Mntgun was running lopro in softwoods with his 660 with raker angles at around 9º and getting fantastic cutting speeds. To set to to the 120 cc saw you probably need to reduce the raker angle substantially and maybe use skip? I don't reckon its worth it as a bit too much pressure once the chain got blunt would permanently over stretch it.

I'm running full comp lopro on a 441 with a 25" bar and 7.5º rakers, that's as long a bar, as high a raker angle and as big a saw as I would consider using on Aussie hardwoods. The amount of chain stretch I see on the full comp 3/8 chains running at 6.5º up to 60" on the 076 and 881 are borderline as well.

 

[SeMoTony]

That under 100cc cut off is a bit strange. The line has to be drawn somewhere I guess and an 076 certainly has more torque than an 066 but I just can't see a chain doing fine with an 066 and not handling an 076.

I've done plenty in the three foot category but I've got some bigger stuff on the horizon and I want to make it as easy as possible on the saw. Speeding it up would be nice as well. Less waste isn't as much of a concern but it's nice as well.

Mad Professor, have you ran different chain setups on the same saw and saw noticeable differences?

When I went over 30" wide cut I made loops of chisel skip chain. If the feed angle & speed are kept consistent there is little difference in the surface between that and ripping chain. Skip cuts & clears chips better than rip IMHO. I've
run a 60" bar on a ms 460 with skip and had good results. 661 I've gotten is even better for speed and tosses chips 9 feet or so when the top of the saw leads the way but that's just what I usually dopaying attention to speed of travel down the length of the log
Stay safe while you enjoy

 

[DSW]

Interesting post, Bob. I wasn't even focusing on stretch. Long chain, a small amount of stretch multiplied many times over could be substantial.

This would be an 076, long bar 60+, and predominantly hardwood, sounds like it was just a pipe dream.

 

[DSW]

Oh wow Tony, that's a lot of bar for a 460. I was planning on trying some skip for the long bar, see if it helps the saw a bit.


I feed it perfectly perpendicular. It's a little more work for the saw and myself but it saves me a lot of time, post milling.

 

[BobL]

Interesting post, Bob. I wasn't even focusing on stretch. Long chain, a small amount of stretch multiplied many times over could be substantial.
This would be an 076, long bar 60+, and predominantly hardwood, sounds like it was just a pipe dream.

Yep - From the (2008) archive



2016 BIL make's one of the slabs into a gas BBQ table.