Powerheads for milling

[Boomer 87]

Im soon to be investing in a chainsaw mill. Ive decided on an 36" Alaskan mk3 c2 series part number G776-36C2. I dont have a huge saw to power it. Heres what i have, a poulan 5200 85ccs, a homelite xl923 82ccs, stihl 056 81ccs, stihl 440 71ccs,poulan pro 475 77ccs, and a poulan bp655 99ccs. The bp655 is very nice and i hate to use it for milling. Are any of these up to the task, or am i gonna have to use the bp655?

 

[Garrit]

Wow, you have a lot of options! Since the mill will attach to any bar I would suggest trying them all. Do any of the saws mentioned share the same bar mount pattern, that way you could have a dedicated bar and chain and just swap out the power heads?

The Pro 655 might be a larger CC but require a large pitch chain and your Stihls are smaller CC but smaller chain pitch, so in milling comparisons they mill in the same time frame.

Good luck milling!!

 

[Boomer 87]

Actually the mill comes ready to go with bar and chain .404

 

[Boogedy_Man]

I'm pretty new to this, but I have the C3 version (.375 chain) of the same mill. I'm running a 661 and no difficulty whatsoever in a full 34" cut.

 

[Boomer 87]

The mill i was looking at was a turn key setup minus the powerhead. I wonder if i could specify a 3/8 chain instead, that would help my power output i would think.

 

[Boomer 87]

It comes with a double ended bar. It has a helper handle, maybe i could take that off and run two powerheads. I do have a pair of 475 pros

 

[DTrap]

The pair would be a good way to go. You won't see much, if any, difference between the 404 and the 3/8. BobL has done lots of testing on this and said the difference wasn't really something worth taking into consideration

 

[Boomer 87]

If a guy runs a pair of powerheads do they have to be the same brand and model?

 

[SeMoTony]

If a guy runs a pair of powerheads do they have to be the same brand and model?

BobL answered that for me earlier! IIRC power output doesn't need to be nitty picky identical as I had thought.
Similar is my take since BobL compared the two power heads with cylinders in an automobile engine which are tied with crankshaft. He said two powerheads are tied by the chain, which helped my confusion disipate. I am waiting for a 72" dual power head cannon bar. I've used ms-460 on a 60" bar (see avatar) with oregon skip chain.So when I have use for that much cut 460/046 or 066/661 combo may be what is matched up on the ends of that bar wide live edge boards mill safely first, set-up takes longer than cutting hope you enjoy as much or more than me.

 

[BobL]

Ideally you want them to deliver their max torque at the same RPM. Note it does not have to be the same torque.

Some examples
050,75 and 90 all have max torque at 5000 RPM so any of these can be combined
088 torque peaks at 6000 and the 066 at 6500 rpm so even these could be combo-ed at a pinch but I wouldn't combine the older saws with a younger one.
Max RPM of the older saws is 8-9k so that's another reason you want a newer generation paired with an older ones.

RE 404 v 3/8. The only comparison I have made is Kerf which is almost the same.
Cutting speeds vary depending on chain setups.
Other things that vary are chain stretch and sawdust clearance.

 

[ML12]

I've milled with a Pioneer P50 (82cc) w/ 36" bar, 3/8" full skip and it did really well in the biggest softwood (cedar and maple) I could fit my mill around (28" or so) . The weak spot was the clutch which is what I would be cautious of on the older saws. That and the chain had to be kept very sharp or it would bog down badly.

 

[Boomer 87]

Well when i get it. Im gonna try all the bigger powerheads i have and just see what pulls the best. Im sure the 655 would shine but its in such nice shape I'd hate to put it on mill duty. Maybe i need to trade some smaller saws for one big one like an 3120 or 880, something parts are easily obtained for.

 

[DTrap]

Trading for a bigger saw would be another good option in my opinion. An 880 would do anything you would want as far as milling.

 

[Boomer 87]

I know,i just dont know what saws i think i could live without in order to get an 880 or 3120 lol. Bc id have to sell a few to come up with that kinda coin.