"Solid steel bar" for Alaskan mills? (oops)

[Joseph Acquisto]

Saw that Granberg site says their G777 mill only works with "solid steel" bars, not "laminate" bars. The only bars I've seen advertised seem to be made of several layers which I presume is "laminated".

Why would those mills not work with laminated bars? And where could I find a 20 inch solid bar for a Stihl 029 Super?

 

[Mad Professor]

I think you will be disappointed trying to use a 019 for milling.

 

[Fordsoll]

We use laminated bars because they are a lot lighter than a solid one. But the Solid Steel bars are a lot more durable and less prone to bending and quite heavy. When you are milling the weight of the piece of wood you are cutting can sometimes pinch the bar and make the clutch slip but I just put a wooden wedge or felling wedge in between Solid Steel bars will probably hold up to the pressure better but you should wedge it anyways. You will probably be fine with a laminated bar especially if you are just getting into milling, just use wedges. If you are set on a Solid Steel bar then Granberg (GB) And Tsumura make them, even some Husqvarna bars are made by GB.

Another reason for the Solid steel bars could be because the mill clamps to the bar and that could possibly pinch your bar but if you put it on correctly it shouldn't do that.

I'm Assuming you meant 029 but an 019 would mill so slowly and put so much wear on it and its a top handle so use a different saw if you just have a 019. An 029 wouldn't be that bad. I used a 50cc saw for milling a while ago and it did quite well although it was all pine slabs. Just to try it out to see if you like it than I wouldn't worry to much, just don't push the saw really hard let it work for itself. You could also always get a bigger saw too even some used 70cc would be decent. Make sure to let the saw idle (not shut off) to circulate air around the saw for a minute after each slab and always make sure you have bar oil in your saw. And if your saw is running lean you will blow your saw so quick so make sure your saw is running rich. Also If you are using a small saw or really any say for milling pick it up with one hand on the mill and one on your saw because you don't wanna break your bar studs or any mounts.

 

[user 188535]

You are milling with this?

 

[Fordsoll]

You are milling with this?

View attachment 1119570

Im 99% sure he meant 029.

 

[user 188535]

Im 99% sure he meant 029.

I sure hope so.

 

[anynameyouwish]

Cannon makes excellent solid bars: https://www.cannonbar.com/. They're pricey and hard to find but well worth it. I use a 3-ft cannon bar on my 395xp for milling.

 

[user 188535]

Cannon makes excellent solid bars: https://www.cannonbar.com/. They're pricey and hard to find but well worth it. I use a 3-ft cannon bar on my 395xp for milling.

Cannon bars are excellent. They are very appreciated in the carving community too. I just like Stihl bars because of their availability.

 

[Joseph Acquisto]

I think you will be disappointed trying to use a 019 for milling.

Should have been 029, my error.

 

[Joseph Acquisto]

You are milling with this?

View attachment 1119570

No, Typo on my part.

 

[Joseph Acquisto]

We use laminated bars because they are a lot lighter than a solid one. But the Solid Steel bars are a lot more durable and less prone to bending and quite heavy. When you are milling the weight of the piece of wood you are cutting can sometimes pinch the bar and make the clutch slip but I just put a wooden wedge or felling wedge in between Solid Steel bars will probably hold up to the pressure better but you should wedge it anyways. You will probably be fine with a laminated bar especially if you are just getting into milling, just use wedges. If you are set on a Solid Steel bar then Granberg (GB) And Tsumura make them, even some Husqvarna bars are made by GB.

Another reason for the Solid steel bars could be because the mill clamps to the bar and that could possibly pinch your bar but if you put it on correctly it shouldn't do that.

I'm Assuming you meant 029 but an 019 would mill so slowly and put so much wear on it and its a top handle so use a different saw if you just have a 019. An 029 wouldn't be that bad. I used a 50cc saw for milling a while ago and it did quite well although it was all pine slabs. Just to try it out to see if you like it than I wouldn't worry to much, just don't push the saw really hard let it work for itself. You could also always get a bigger saw too even some used 70cc would be decent. Make sure to let the saw idle (not shut off) to circulate air around the saw for a minute after each slab and always make sure you have bar oil in your saw. And if your saw is running lean you will blow your saw so quick so make sure your saw is running rich. Also If you are using a small saw or really any say for milling pick it up with one hand on the mill and one on your saw because you don't wanna break your bar studs or any mounts.

You're correct, I meant 029. Thanks for all the advice.

I had a neighbor that was vehemently against milling with chainsaws as the would "burn up". Was always a bit skeptical as his reason was they are air cooled and running on their side so could not cool. I mentioned they do have a fan, but he insisted they would burn up.

By rich, you mean tuning or more oil in the mix?

 

[anynameyouwish]

You're correct, I meant 029. Thanks for all the advice.

I had a neighbor that was vehemently against milling with chainsaws as the would "burn up". Was always a bit skeptical as his reason was they are air cooled and running on their side so could not cool. I mentioned they do have a fan, but he insisted they would burn up.

By rich, you mean tuning or more oil in the mix?

Saws can definitely burn up if you run lean - ask me how I know

Run your saw rich to prevent this, as Fordsoll says. This consists of two things: (1) Use extra oil in your mix. Husky recommends 33:1 but you can use 40:1, and (2) tune your H jet to a few hundred RPM below max recommended RPM. My saw's spec says 12.5K, and I've tuned to 11.8K or so. Note that adding extra oil in your mix makes the carb run leaner (since there's now less fuel in the mix) so retuning is essential after switching to the new mix.

After doing this, I've noticed that my cylinder temps (as measured by an IR thermometer) never get beyond 280F, even on a long cut (e.g. a 15-ft 6x6 done the other day). For comparison, 2-3 cookies from a large tree would get my cylinder to 220-230 or so.

So I'll add: get a feel for your saw temps and monitor them. Let idle between cuts and even every 3-5 feet if you're paranoid like I am.

 

[Fordsoll]

You're correct, I meant 029. Thanks for all the advice.

I had a neighbor that was vehemently against milling with chainsaws as the would "burn up". Was always a bit skeptical as his reason was they are air cooled and running on their side so could not cool. I mentioned they do have a fan, but he insisted they would burn up.

By rich, you mean tuning or more oil in the mix?

Yeah I meant exactly what anynameyouwish said. As long as you run your saw like that and don't push it to make it go faster you will be fine and the first couple of slabs you might push it to hard but after a while you get a feel for it and run it at a consistent speed and that is best for the saw. The most load on the saw whether you are milling or making firewood is making the clutch slip so try not to do that as much as you can but its not the end of the world if you do.

 

[Lightning Performance]

029 will melt parts in consecutive runs. It requires some muffler mod work to even use one of those. Once you use good bars like an ES or Cannon everything else seems cheap by comparison. Like comparing an 029 to an 034. Ain't no comparison there.
Go slow 32-1 and tune it fat. Take breaks and lift every thirty seconds to cool it off.

 

[Joseph Acquisto]

029 will melt parts in consecutive runs. It requires some muffler mod work to even use one of those. Once you use good bars like an ES or Cannon everything else seems cheap by comparison. Like comparing an 029 to an 034. Ain't no comparison there.
Go slow 32-1 and tune it fat. Take breaks and lift every thirty seconds to cool it off.

You think an 034 would make a better milling saw?

 

[Lightning Performance]

You think an 034 would make a better milling saw?

By far. It can oil the 28 bar in stock form. Pro split case. Not much plastic to melt down on the pto side. You forget the 029/290 have bar studs going through a plastic chassis just like the 310, 311, 390 and 391. All farm saws Not pro saws. The oil pumps are different. Once the muffler is opened up the saws breathe better. The 034s here are being redone, machined, ported, and other mods never seen before to become pro rear handle light weight climbing saws. I'm making a whole new animal from 1125 034s, 034S, 036 and 360/360P. It will be my thing custom built right here.

 

[user 188535]

No, Typo on my part.

Ok, dude. Just making sure.

 

[muddy42]

I just fix a ladder with some builders band and screws to the wood. Milling requires the biggest chainsaw possible 90-120cc.

 

[cuttinstihl]

I’ve milled with a 20” laminate and 24” solid bar on my CS590, it was okay as long as the chain was sharp but still slow in the white oak I was milling with it. My 066 with a 28” solid bar is easily over twice as fast, no I’m not exaggerating, the extra displacement really helps out a ton

 

[Fordsoll]

I milled with a Shindaiwa 67.9cc saw this weekend with a laminate bar and it cut well even in ash but I wanna get a used 80cc or 90cc saw. I wonder if the ancient 120cc saws would be any good for milling.