084 versus 090 versus 076

[john inglis]

hi , have not had much time with chainsaw mills and wondered which is the preferred saw , have both the 076 and 090 in reasonable condition but have a chance to pick up an 084 for a good price ( i hope ). do not have a mill but will probably build my own running the saw bar vertically . any ideas , would appreciate any info on 084 stihl for milling , thanks and have a nice day

ps , used to own a macquarie forestmill but no longer have or need that sort of setup .

 

[BobL]

hi , have not had much time with chainsaw mills and wondered which is the preferred saw , have both the 076 and 090 in reasonable condition but have a chance to pick up an 084 for a good price ( i hope ). do not have a mill but will probably build my own running the saw bar vertically . any ideas , would appreciate any info on 084 stihl for milling , thanks and have a nice day

ps , used to own a macquarie forestmill but no longer have or need that sort of setup .

I remember this conversation earlier this year.

Here it is http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=121619 in Jan 2010

And here is a similar one http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=101785&highlight=076+880+090+084

What are you intending to mill?

 

[john inglis]

084

hi bobl , still trying to work out what saw setup to use , been delayed by a decision to go solar to save on electricity costs and improve my self sufficiency , which then involved 50 yards of underground power,new steel power pole new front gates and gate posts ,pulling up all the front pavers and relaying after, new underground cables to the new front meter ,new stringers for the front steps which were freehand cut from a 30'' stringybark , stringers are 12'' x 3'' as are the steps , just the hole for the power pole took just over 8 hours , almost solid rock and 5' deep .
a mate has a few big blackwood trunks i can cut and i need a lot more 12 x 3's for some other building projects as well as the other steps that need replacing . i was at the local chainsaw dealer today and he has an 084 that has compression and looks ok , no clutch cover but might not need that and i helped a mate cut up a 36'' to 43'' woollybutt with an 084 to get some slabs for his kitchen tops and it worked well ,impressive actually, single rail clamped to log with carriage bolted to bar doing vertical cuts using 5' bar ,log was about 9' , bloody heavy slabs even at 2.5'' thick . log was on slope behind his house and even cutting slightly uphill was pretty quick for the size of the timber , would have been even better downhill if access was easier .
the link was helpful , i was amazed that two power heads linked were not quicker . my problem with deciding which saw is complicated by my recently catching a bad case of cad , just bought 2 lovely old canadien 270's complete with original manuals so projects aplenty. hopefully i will bite the bullet soon as i dont want these logs to disappear on me as he has already snigged them out for me to mill so they are pretty tempting.thank you for the help and will let you know what happens .

 

[mtngun]

One strike against the 084 is that some critical parts are no longer available. I guess the 084 was never that popular, and Stihl has chosen not to support the 084 the way they support some of the other old saws.

I'm still in the process of building my 084. Stopped by the dealer today and asked about the parts I'd ordered. He said the PTO bearing was no longer a valid part number. He said Stihl may have a substitute, though, so there is still a glimmer of hope.

As another example, I've heard that 084 mufflers are no longer available from Stihl. Mufflers do wear out and have to be replaced from time to time. A guy can always make a pipe, though.

Just thought I'd throw that out as an example of the parts issues you may encounter with an 084.

Other than that, the basic design is similar to Stihl's other late model pro saws -- simple and rugged.

 

[BobL]

hi bobl , still trying to work out what saw setup to use , been delayed by a decision to go solar to save on electricity costs and improve my self sufficiency , which then involved 50 yards of underground power,new steel power pole new front gates and gate posts ,pulling up all the front pavers and relaying after, new underground cables to the new front meter ,new stringers for the front steps which were freehand cut from a 30'' stringybark , stringers are 12'' x 3'' as are the steps , just the hole for the power pole took just over 8 hours , almost solid rock and 5' deep .

That does sound like you have been busy!

a mate has a few big blackwood trunks i can cut and i need a lot more 12 x 3's for some other building projects as well as the other steps that need replacing . i was at the local chainsaw dealer today and he has an 084 that has compression and looks ok , no clutch cover but might not need that and i helped a mate cut up a 36'' to 43'' woollybutt with an 084 to get some slabs for his kitchen tops and it worked well ,impressive actually, single rail clamped to log with carriage bolted to bar doing vertical cuts using 5' bar ,log was about 9' , bloody heavy slabs even at 2.5'' thick . log was on slope behind his house and even cutting slightly uphill was pretty quick for the size of the timber , would have been even better downhill if access was easier .

I have both a rail and alaskan type mills and for a whole lot of reasons I reckon the alaskan beats the rail mill for ease of use and I now only use the rail mill to break up big slabs.

You won't need the clutch cover but you will need something that directs the sawdust away from the saw and operator otherwise the sawdust goes all over the place. This is what I did for my 880.

If you look in the CS101 sticky you will see what Aggiewoodbutcher has done on an 084 to redirect sawdust.

While you are at it a muffler mod is worth doing to redirect the exhaust as well

 

[cgarman]

I'm running the 076AV, and the one thing I've noticed is that it's tough to top off the gas while in the cut. If you run out mid-slab, the opening for the tank is now on the side (since the saw is rotated.) I've been able to put about a half tank in, but on several occasions I spilled it into the air filter, causing more mess.

I'd recommend NOT running out in mid-cut, even if that means checking fuel before each pass.

Other than that, I've been happy with the setup.

 

[john inglis]

084 backfire on startup

hi everyone, had a bit of luck with the 084 , he let me have it for $250 AU as it was, got it home and cleaned her up , looks a little untidy (plastics discolored) but pulled muffler and p/c looks great , cleaned air filter and inlet was clean ,clean fuel and oil and she nearly ripped my arm off , wearing a compress on my elbow as i type . even my fingers are hurting .heaps of compression and no elasto . she fired up and revs clean but pulling it over can be fun . got it going by holding decompressor down thru half of starting pull . saw may have been flooded or is flooding causing compression increase , not sure yet but will try again when my elbow recovers , 090 and 076 are babies by comparison to start .

 

[dallasm1]

hi everyone, had a bit of luck with the 084 , he let me have it for $250 AU as it was, got it home and cleaned her up , looks a little untidy (plastics discolored) but pulled muffler and p/c looks great , cleaned air filter and inlet was clean ,clean fuel and oil and she nearly ripped my arm off , wearing a compress on my elbow as i type . even my fingers are hurting .heaps of compression and no elasto . she fired up and revs clean but pulling it over can be fun . got it going by holding decompressor down thru half of starting pull . saw may have been flooded or is flooding causing compression increase , not sure yet but will try again when my elbow recovers , 090 and 076 are babies by comparison to start .

Even with decomp, you must assume a MANLY demeanor (with stern grimace) in order to start the 84..... otherwise you WILL get bit! Great Price!

 

[mtngun]

hi everyone, had a bit of luck with the 084 , he let me have it for $250 AU as it was, got it home and cleaned her up , looks a little untidy (plastics discolored) but pulled muffler and p/c looks great , cleaned air filter and inlet was clean ,clean fuel and oil and she nearly ripped my arm off , wearing a compress on my elbow as i type ..

The 084 has a very low compression ratio, unless yours is weird.

But, it sounds like you got a heck of a deal. Let's see some milling pics -- when your elbow heals.

 

[BobL]

hi everyone, had a bit of luck with the 084 , he let me have it for $250 AU as it was, got it home and cleaned her up , looks a little untidy (plastics discolored) but pulled muffler and p/c looks great , cleaned air filter and inlet was clean ,clean fuel and oil and she nearly ripped my arm off , wearing a compress on my elbow as i type . even my fingers are hurting .heaps of compression and no elasto . she fired up and revs clean but pulling it over can be fun . got it going by holding decompressor down thru half of starting pull . saw may have been flooded or is flooding causing compression increase , not sure yet but will try again when my elbow recovers , 090 and 076 are babies by comparison to start .

Great score john.

If you can it would be good to get some pics up on this thread.

 

[john inglis]

084

will try to get pics monday as am busy cutting firewood tomorrow and am away weekend but will try to get pics of all the saws as i have got rid of a few lately and should get pics before any more go,also got an email from the guy i bought the canadien 270 's from and it seems he is a bit stroppy as i have not picked saws up , have arranged parcel pickup for tomorrow hopefully , should check emails more regularly but hard when not home .

 

[phred45]

076 AV what bar size?

I'm running the 076AV, and the one thing I've noticed is that it's tough to top off the gas while in the cut. If you run out mid-slab, the opening for the tank is now on the side (since the saw is rotated.) I've been able to put about a half tank in, but on several occasions I spilled it into the air filter, causing more mess.

I'd recommend NOT running out in mid-cut, even if that means checking fuel before each pass.

Other than that, I've been happy with the setup.

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this site and chain saw milling. The 076 AV is a powerhead only, needs a bar. I have looked for bars but can't find the 076 AV mentioned. Will a 3/8" 050 work? Also what chain would you recommend for milling on an Alskan mill mostly Cedar, some Oak and Pine for dimentional lumber.

 

[smokinj]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this site and chain saw milling. The 076 AV is a powerhead only, needs a bar. I have looked for bars but can't find the 076 AV mentioned. Will a 3/8" 050 work? Also what chain would you recommend for milling on an Alskan mill mostly Cedar, some Oak and Pine for dimentional lumber.

I think the 076 is a stihl large mount bar and 3/8-063 is what you will find for it. Yep confirm it is a large mount bar


http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=BAWP 42 BS63

 

[mtngun]

No experience with the 076av but presume it takes the large Stihl mount, same as 084/088/880/090. All those bars will be 0.063" gage, doubt if you will run across a 0.050".

0.063" x 3/8" ripping chain would be a good choice. At least one of our members prefers to run 0.063" x 0.325" on the big saws, but it's harder to come by.

Most of us run Bailey's Woodland Pro ripping chain. Granberg ripping chain is supposed to be a little better, but for a lot more money.

 

[BlueRider]

Defineately .0623 guage. The 076 came with 404 pitch, and most likely it is has a rim sprocket so chainging to 3/8 only requires a new rim sprcket. The saw has enough torque to pull a 9 pin but you will probably only be able to find an 8 pin. if yor saw has a spur drive you wil need to swith clutch drums to convert to 3/8 pitch. be sure to match the nose sprocket to your drive sprocket or go with a roller tip if you can find one.

Most people here run 3/8 with a few running 3.25, I am in the minority and run 404 pitch on my 075. BobL did some tests recently on measuring the kerf on different chain and it was not as much different as the pre-concieved ideas that most people had.

I have both Oregon and Granberg ripping chain and the difference is a slightly smother surface in the Granberg. I don't care for the granberg chais because it needs to be sparpened more offten and it taes longer to sharpen. twhat ever Bailiey's is selling is the best deal and it works great.

Also Bailey's will have more parts for for saw than what is listed on their web site, call and ask for what ever you need, they are very knowlegable.

 

[super3]

Hey John....

 

[phred45]

Thanks for the advise. I've seen a few .063 36" bars. Any advise on the brands? Oregon , Stihl, Carlton or Woodland? Should I go with solid or laminated? What's a good bar for the money?

 

[mtngun]

Any of the name brand bars are satisfactory.

Just be sure to get a sprocket nose, not a hard nose.

 

[phred45]

Measuring the drive sprocket on the 076

Hello again,
Can you tell me how to measure the drive sprocket on my 076 av. Since I bought it used I'm not sure what's on it, it came without a bar. I have a clutch removal tool and manual ordered. Is there a way to tell without removing the clutch drum?
It seem to be a nice saw, starts very easy. Never had anything so powerful, can't wait to be able to use it. My wife made me get some chaps just in case. She has a little Stihl MS 180 and just loves it. She never could start the bigger saws and got tired of waiting for me to have time.
Thanks for all your help. This site is awsome.

 

[mtngun]

No experience with the 076, but the size or the Stihl part number should be stamped on the sprocket somewhere.