Mod Saw Chains

[2stroke4ever]

Comfortable with 2-strokes but new to Saws. Need to cut 36" deep with 30hp- is there a chain that can do this safely? I am imagining they are available for mills maybe?? Basing saw off 125cc moto-x engine.

 

[redprospector]

I run 404 63 ga. on my KX250. I haven't cut 36" deep with it yet, but I don't think a 125 would pull it apart too often.

Andy

 

[sawinredneck]

I've been thinking on this, I think some .404, or 1/2" harvester chain might work alright. Notsure though, that is a lot of power!!

 

[J.Walker]

Mod chain

Comfortable with 2-strokes but new to Saws. Need to cut 36" deep with 30hp- is there a chain that can do this safely? I am imagining they are available for mills maybe?? Basing saw off 125cc moto-x engine.

What are you cutting ice?
Love those license plates you have up there!

 

[romeo]

I would think that .404 x .063 would do fine, but if you are worried about it, look at .404 x .080 harvester (slower cutting but very stout). I wouldn't get into 1/2" chain because of the availability and it sounds like this is some type of work saw.

Like everybody else said, what are you cutting?

 

[2stroke4ever]

Yes work saw. Wood. It is for a special application, hand-held cutting straight down only. 36" deep and 4' down cutting a group of logs at once. I am toying with the Stihl 880 but it's only 9hp. There is some production to this so I want the speed and can probably build 3x the saw for 1/2 the price this way.

 

[romeo]

Go for .404 x .080 stuff. Check out Baileys (a sponsor at the top of the page). Look in the harvester section. bars are around $50, sprockets around $50, and loops of chain for about $12. You would probably want the smallest sprocket they carry which will be a 9 or 10 pin.

 

[sawinredneck]

Yes work saw. Wood. It is for a special application, hand-held cutting straight down only. 36" deep and 4' down cutting a group of logs at once. I am toying with the Stihl 880 but it's only 9hp. There is some production to this so I want the speed and can probably build 3x the saw for 1/2 the price this way.

I would also look into hydraulics as well. It's a continous RPM/Tourqe. With that much motor you could have a very small powerhead, means you can cut more wood per pass, and it's less likely to bog down, just a thought.

 

[2stroke4ever]

I don't quite get what you mean by hydraulics- a hyd coupling to keep the engine in RPM? Not a bad idea but i was going to use the whole 6-speed gearbox and just leave it in whichever works best...I guess you could even pick a different gear if the job changes drastically from day to day!

 

[sawinredneck]

I meant to put a hydraulic pump on the engine you have, then run a hydraulic motor to run the saw you want to build. No need for a gearbox then. Yes it uses a bit more power, but it's a lot more compact.

 

[husky394]

I'm still not sure what you are trying to do, but messing around with harvester chain on a handheld saw sounds like a good way to get hurt, as does using a bike saw in a production evnvironment. Not to put you down, but if you are new to saws, stick with the 088, or use a commercial slasher if applicable. Once you get used to the 88, you can get it modified to make more power. Only an expert in bikes saws and production cutting should undertake a project like you are considering.

 

[sawinredneck]

I take it he is building a processor of some sort, wanting to buck a bunch of stuff quick. Hence the need for the 36".

 

[redprospector]

I tried cutting logs in a "stack" years ago, it didn't work for me. You can watch the logs on the outside, but it's the ones deeper inside that will get you. The logs move when cut and pinch your bar, 2' deep, and 30" in and it's a lot of work to get your saw out.

The hydraulic saw would cut, but you'd need a bigger motor to pull a pump big enough to be a producer.

If you build this saw, take my word for it, get rid of the transmission, the gear ratio isn't right for chain speed. There was a guy that came to our show last year with a Hot Saw he had built. It was a work of art, the welds and machine work were perfect, but it still had the transmission. The chain speed was so slow that my 350 Husky could have out cut it. I can't wait to see what they show up with this year, I'll bet it's a lot faster.

Andy

 

[romeo]

If you build this saw, take my word for it, get rid of the transmission, the gear ratio isn't right for chain speed. There was a guy that came to our show last year with a Hot Saw he had built. It was a work of art, the welds and machine work were perfect, but it still had the transmission. The chain speed was so slow that my 350 Husky could have out cut it. I can't wait to see what they show up with this year, I'll bet it's a lot faster.

Andy

It was very well built, strength and beauty wise. Very bad engineering wise. You could have painted a dot on the chain and watched it go around.

I've been there too, my first bike saw weighed 105 lbs and did 3 cookies in a 15" ponderosa in 24 seconds, and it was a hot start to boot. Joel Dees's 100 pounder wooped me with a 20 second run. These were the first 2 bikesaws ever built in New Mexico and we hadn't ever heard of the in-ter-net at the time. So we both built these things totally blind and learned the hard way.

Here is a pic of my first, makes my back hurt to look at it.

 

[2stroke4ever]

What I am trying to do is load 8' logs onto a trailer and buck them all at once. It would take all the handling out of the equation. Load, drive, slice and dump- done. How could you get around getting stuck? This would definitely be a problem.

 

[redprospector]

I have never found a way around getting stuck cutting that way. I just decided that it was better to cut one at a time.
If you are able to find a way around getting stuck cutting this way please share I would love to be able to cut through a deck of logs like that.

Andy

 

[tek9tim]

What I am trying to do is load 8' logs onto a trailer and buck them all at once. It would take all the handling out of the equation. Load, drive, slice and dump- done. How could you get around getting stuck? This would definitely be a problem.

You'd spend more time farting around than you would getting anything done. Reminds me of the gold rush story where the guy brought rakes out for his family to stand next to the creeks and rake in the gold without getting wet. It's firewood cutting, buck up buttercup. Or buy a processor.