First time miller, advice

[MS13]

I have a roughly 30' diameter red oak that I can get a good 16' length I would like to mill. I have a Stihl MS 271, which is 50cc that has a 20" bar. I was going to put a 36" bar and buy or grind a ripping chain. Would this kill my saw, or could I get it done if I took plenty of breaks and let the saw idle and cool off on a regular basis? I would probably rig up some auxiliary chain oil system as well. Any tips, tricks, or advice welcome.

 

[Chris chandler]

You will probably kill your saw doing that. Just buy a big saw, it pays for itself very quickly.

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

I've made do on the cheap every way possible in my first years of milling, and though my first reactions to everyone who said "get a big saw" was chafing at the fact I couldn't afford one, the advice is sound. I did at least start with an old badly working 87cc Stihl for doing 24-40" diameter wood, and it was slow with 32" and 42" bars but at least had most of the power required. I wouldn't dream of putting a 36" bar on a 50cc saw for milling. I'm running a 121cc Stihl 880 now with a 36" bar for most of my milling and use a 20" Duromatic bar for narrow logs. I just got my 87cc Stihl back and will start using it more to slab sub-20" width just because I don't need to be using .404 chain on the smaller stuff. The smallest saw I have anymore is a 55cc 455 Rancher which I got as a stopgap measure til I got all my other saws back, and it crawled at a snail's pace through 12" wide half-rotten Texas elm with a 20" bar. I just picked up a Makita/Dolmar 64cc saw for $180 that is about the minimum I'd consider using to mill 10-15" pieces with a 20" bar. (I am only milling pretty dense hardwoods, so am sure I could get away with less in pine.) But long story short, if you're going to try to mill 24"+ slabs of red oak with a 36" bar, which is only a little softer than Texas elm, I wouldn't consider using anything less than a 92cc MS660. Chris is right about a big saw paying for itself. I've already milled thousands of dollars of slabs of mesquite with my 880, with the wood mostly being salvaged for free.

 

[SeMoTony]

I have a roughly 30' diameter red oak that I can get a good 16' length I would like to mill. I have a Stihl MS 271, which is 50cc that has a 20" bar. I was going to put a 36" bar and buy or grind a ripping chain. Would this kill my saw, or could I get it done if I took plenty of breaks and let the saw idle and cool off on a regular basis? I would probably rig up some auxiliary chain oil system as well. Any tips, tricks, or advice welcome.

My avatar shows a 60" cannon bar on a ms-460. Muf-modded and max-flo air cleaner. The other option is the chain ; an oregon square chisel skip. 1/2 the cutters, more room for the chips and I've found round filing the gullet at a sharp angle also speeds the process. Learning to sharp up square chisel is a worthwhile endeavor, getting the rakers to a good height for cutting rather than bogging is discussed in " cs milling 101". There are a variety of means to mill with "undersized" ph'ds. I began with ms-170 & was hooked.
Giving the saw breaks is less important than allowing the saw to cut at it's speed with the chain in use. Modding the muffler for free flow lets the heat escape. Choked up mufflers keep the heat in the cylinder from what I've heard. The carb must be tuned to the new air flow thru the cylinder. Opening the ratio of mix after increasing the ratio of oil to prevent lean burn. Rich and lean are in reference to the gas in the mix, not the oil. Lean allows unused air to try to use the cylinder & piston as fuel. Enough gas uses all the oxygen and the other combustibles are left alone.
Obviously I jumped from 170 to 460 & then found a 661 with ported cylinder in "Trading Post" that get's used for 36" & longer bars now. Be patient with what you have & it will serve you longer than rushing it. Can't even rush the 661.
In time a bigger saw will show up for the monster cuts that show up from time to time.
Mill safe & enjoy

 

[T-Dozzer]

Im apprehensive using my ms461 w/ a 25 inch bar & switching to 066 Im building. Milling is tough on saws.

 

[BobL]

I have a roughly 30' diameter red oak that I can get a good 16' length I would like to mill. I have a Stihl MS 271, which is 50cc that has a 20" bar. I was going to put a 36" bar and buy or grind a ripping chain. Would this kill my saw, or could I get it done if I took plenty of breaks and let the saw idle and cool off on a regular basis? I would probably rig up some auxiliary chain oil system as well. Any tips, tricks, or advice welcome.

The 271 is a nice little saw but its build and 50 cc means its ~20" bar (14" cut) territory for regular milling and maybe a 25" bar (19" cut) for the occasional cut.