Porting a MS441CM or getting 660

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novaman64

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So have a MS441CM... I have alot of cedar on my property, and the future misses wants me to make a couple of benches and a table for when we get married. Saw a couple Alaskan Mills at Baileys for around $200.... Not looking to do a ton of milling, but was wondering if the MS441 would be up to it probably do a couple 28-30" cuts, most the stuff would be smaller....

Looking at possibly having it worked over (been off the forum for a while, but who is a good person to do the 441CM saws)?

Other option is to buy a MS660, though at $1200 OTD from the dealer I would probably have to sell my 441 to buy it, and not sure Id be happy with the weight of it for my other cutting....

So, thought, opinions, advice....
 
You can buy a bandsaw sawmill for $300 more than a 660. If an Alaskan attachment is $200 you are only $100 away from cutting a much larger volume of wood in a more economical manor. Small bandsaws have their limitations, typically 20-24" board width, however ones ass is only so big.
 
Ok, been off the site for a long time.... When I got my saw a few people were playing with porting m-tronics saws... Who is the go-to person to get my saw ported?
 
Buy a big ol trusty milling saw. Milling gives any saw hell so get a big tough used saw. Just something to consider when buying a ms660(l have 1) is
that the 660 while still on the shelves in 2014 is essentially a three decade old design. Massive improvements have been made in AV, fuel delivery, wieght ect. l have a Mastermind 660 and its badass but rough as guts in your hands. A 660 will NOT l repeat NOT feel anything like your 441cm when cutting. l also would not 'port' a saw for milling purposes but thats just me. Good luck!
 
441 is going to be on the small side for milling that wide. A stock 660 sucks at that width in hardwoods. If all you want to do is mill a few boards here and there at 20" or so the 441 will be fine. 28" wide cut is going to take a 36" mill and 34" bar minimum. You'll need an aux oiler of some sort even with the HO oiler.
 
I have a TreeMonkey ported MS441 C-M. It is in no way a milling saw. It's a strong saw, but it's not in the 660 class for milling.
 
441 is going to be on the small side for milling that wide. A stock 660 sucks at that width in hardwoods. If all you want to do is mill a few boards here and there at 20" or so the 441 will be fine. 28" wide cut is going to take a 36" mill and 34" bar minimum. You'll need an aux oiler of some sort even with the HO oiler.

Honestly most of the milling (which is going to be much) is probably going to be around 10-14 inches... Theres probably only a few boards that would be that wide...
 
Honestly most of the milling (which is going to be much) is probably going to be around 10-14 inches... Theres probably only a few boards that would be that wide...
If most of its that small and the big stuff is cedar you'll probably be ok. Just make sure to get an aux oiler and not run the rakers too aggressive. I've been milling with 70 cc saws for smaller wood. They cut just as fast in the 14-16" wide stuff as the bigger saws. When you get to 24"+ hardwoods a 395 is about minimum I want powering a mill. A ported 390 wasn't quite what I wanted for 27" wide cherry I did. It was taking 2 tanks a cut for 9' long.
 
For the limited stuff you are planning, I think UR 441 will be fine. I used a pre M-Tronic 441 to make the Ash post & beams for my new hunting cabin. It was not fast, but it got it done. Did several 27' and 20' logs, and numerous 12' logs, and Ash is pretty tough stuff.

The saw was totally stock, a ported one would be much nicer.
 
If most of its that small and the big stuff is cedar you'll probably be ok. Just make sure to get an aux oiler and not run the rakers too aggressive. I've been milling with 70 cc saws for smaller wood. They cut just as fast in the 14-16" wide stuff as the bigger saws. When you get to 24"+ hardwoods a 395 is about minimum I want powering a mill. A ported 390 wasn't quite what I wanted for 27" wide cherry I did. It was taking 2 tanks a cut for 9' long.

Any chain recommendations?

And I will me doing mostly soft woods (fir and cedar).
 
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