Setting up a MS660 for Alaskan Milling and best gauge and pitch for 36" bar

[Aaron Katz]

Hey all,

I am new to the site and just getting into milling. I was wondering if I could get any recommendations on the best bar setup for a Stihl MS660 with a 36" bar. We will be milling in Colorado, so it going to be softwood and mainly pine. I have got the powerhead for the saw and I looking to build up from there to get e good milling setup for our use. Recommendations on any and all components would be appreciated. Thanks for the help.

Cheers

 

[Quietfly]

my first suggestion would be to read this thread

 

[Quietfly]

my next suggestion would be tell us more about what you want to do. milling slabs, dimension lumber, figured wood for furniture etc....

 

[IyaMan]

Might want to look at the 36"bar & 3 milling chains currently for sale at a nice discount at the Trading Post:
http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...lling-chains-200-shipped.296135/#post-5831273

 

[rarefish383]

I use a 660 with 36" bar. I use out of the box Stihl chain. I use my saws for firewood too, and don't like taking the time to swap special chain. My saw cuts quite smooth, the only time I get any chatter marks is if I stop and then start back up. If your saw is going to be dedicated to nothing but milling, by all means go with a ripping chain. A sharp chain for bucking may be too dull to mill with. That was a learning curve for me. I couldn't believe that a saw that could cut firewood so fast could hardly go through a slab. Your chains need to be sharp, sharp. Good luck with your milling, and welcome to the site, Joe.

 

[Quietfly]

.....That was a learning curve for me. I couldn't believe that a saw that could cut firewood so fast could hardly go through a slab. Your chains need to be sharp, sharp. Good luck with your milling, and welcome to the site, Joe.

I Second this SHARP SHARP SHARP!!!! it's amazing how much of a difference it makes milling...

 

[rarefish383]

Big White Pine. My first milling saw, Joe.

 

[IyaMan]

Rarefish, what saw is that? Definitely not a 660! Looks more like an old Remington.

 

[rarefish383]

That's an old Homelite Super 1050 Automatic. My Dad bought 2 of them back in the 70's, I still have both. The one in the picture still runs. It's 100CC's and no comp release. Compared to the 66o, it's bigger, heavier, louder, vibrates a lot more, and with no comp release, it will rip your fingers off when it pops back when cranking. But, I still like it, Joe.

 

[scheffa]

I run a Stihl rolomatic bar with 3/8 .063 skip chisel chain and have for years

 

[rarefish383]

Aaron, to get back to your original question, here's my 660 with 36" bar and stock out of the box chain. The first couple cuts were pretty smooth, the last two had a lot of chatter marks in them. It was a new chain and stretched a bit. I'm going to tighten it up a little and see if that smooths the cut back out. These are Dawn Redwood logs and each cut only took a little over one minute. I think some of the chatter marks happened when I slowed down to take a step forward. With my knee and the uneven ground I was having a hard time keeping up with the saw. I got 8 cuts with no noticeable slow down in the cutting. I'm going to start the second log with out a touch up to the chain just to see how long it can keep cutting this fast. My buddy in the picture couldn't believe the difference between these logs and some Hickory I milled with the old Homelite. Each cut took almost 10 minutes and they were on my sloped milling stands. I already posted these pics under my Dawn Redwood thread, so if you've already seen them sorry for the double post, Joe.

 

[Aaron Katz]

Thanks everyone for the responses so far. This info is a lot of help. A little more about what we will be doing to aid in any recommendations. The property we are milling on is accessed by a 4x4 road in the summer and snowmobiles in winter, so most of the milling will be a summer project. There are not roads through the property so we will be walking around the acre parcel to do the milling work. The pines are mostly 1 ft to 3ish ft in diameter. We are mainly milling to build with. To start looking to mill lumber for a wood shed and outhouse. In the long run we want to mill lumber to supply most of the lumber for a cabin. hoping to mill the large beams for the cabin. Probably not trying to mill every 2x4 for the cabin, but mill what we can over the next few years in preparation for building to lower the building cost. A little more about the saw, as i said its a MS 660 with a 7 tooth drive sprocket and was recently rebuilt. I am in the process of breaking in the new piston and cylinder before we start milling with it. Thanks again for all the help and I hope some of this info helps give a better idea of recommendations for my uses of a mill.