Porting an 090

[pioneerguy600]

This saw is set up with 404 X 063 full chisel Stihl chain currently but I will be using it to cross cut rather hard Yellow birch in the 60" dia range. I want to put a new chain on it but would a 404 skip chain be better for a 60+" bar or would it cut better with a 3/8" chain in either skip or full chisel?
Pioneerguy600

 

[Brmorgan]

Jerry, you should be milling Birch that big! It would make some beautiful clear lumber. The biggest Birch I've cut was about 18" here, and the biggest I've seen were maybe 3' diameter, out at Bella Coola at the coast actually.

 

[Jacob J.]

Well simple questions sometimes require complex answers. The crank on the oldest 090s were not counterweighted with enough weight to stop vibration. Those first ones were fearsome on white knuckle. Then they put a flat spot on the weight and bolted or glued (some kind of early epoxy I think). The bolted ones seemed the best so I don't worry about high RPM with them. The glued are a concern but I still run them up (12,500 to 13,000).
Now that I wrote all this down I can't be sure if I got some of this mixed up with the 125 Mcs. Well JJ will be along to straighten me out. One thing sure is Ken Dunn and I ran them up to high RPM and they never blew. Mike

Mike, I think you're right on the money. I remember the earliest cranks not having any weights at all and they'd vibrate your fillings right out. I had a real good 090 with the bolt-on rod and it had bolt-on weights as well and that saw ran real smooth.

This saw is set up with 404 X 063 full chisel Stihl chain currently but I will be using it to cross cut rather hard Yellow birch in the 60" dia range. I want to put a new chain on it but would a 404 skip chain be better for a 60+" bar or would it cut better with a 3/8" chain in either skip or full chisel?
Pioneerguy600

Jerry- if it were me, I'd go down to 3/8" full skip chisel, preferably with a heavy duty chain like the Stihl or Carlton. Of course you'd get more life out of the .404" but 3/8" is better for milling if you were to decide to do that.

That's a nice looking old beastie- I'd like to see a vid of it when done.

 

[Teddy.Scout]

MY 2 Cents!

I have been using a 090 for millimg slabs for the past two years.
I have to admit that I use what ever chain I can get(404-63 or 3/8-63) that I can get cheap enough from the BAY!
The 404 chain holds or seems a bit better for me, cutting thru estate trees! (meaning hardware included-nails, post, bricks, ect.) but have to agree 3/8-63 chain is a a lot better for cutting lumber.
I only slab up those big gouters.

 

[Freehand]

Jerry, you should be milling Birch that big! It would make some beautiful clear lumber. The biggest Birch I've cut was about 18" here, and the biggest I've seen were maybe 3' diameter, out at Bella Coola at the coast actually.

:agree2:

 

[pioneerguy600]

The project we have in mind is to produce at least 20 pieces roughly 4" thick to make table tops from, we have been made an offer of at least $200 per blank if the wood is solid all the way across. Shipping has yet to be discussed but would not put a serious dent in the budget. Otherwise nice big boards do sound appealing but for making them we would use the portable bandsaw mill, takes out a thinner kerf and is not so hard on the body or the chainsaw. Have some nice big straight oak destined for the band mill. Wish we had some of that wood Jeff has out on the Big Island, real exotic stuff that is. Thanks for the insight on the chain choices so far, may just have to try a couple types to get the right combo, the saw is setup with the ring drive clutch carrier so changing chain pitch is no problem, the bar has the roller stinger handle so no problems with the nose sprocket either.

Pioneerguy600

 

[harrygrey382]

Good thread here mate, and some nice pics too! I assume you've had a look at Dibbs' thread - he ported his 090, or was it just reduce squish? But I can't remember how it was running in the end.

He used an aftermarket jug... Are you using second hand OEM? Sure you don't want me to buy you a new aftermarket and you send me the original... opcorn:

 

[Brmorgan]

I prefer .404 on my 090. It has plenty of power to pull it in pretty much any configuration, and the extra chain speed of .404 8-pin over 3/8 8-pin is noticeable and nice to have with the lower-revving engine. I've been looking for a cheap 3/8 9-pin or 10-pin sprocket but they're not easy to find.

The .404 is durable stuff too - I cut clean through a 3/8" lag bolt with my .404 semi-chisel milling chain, and it didn't even really damage any teeth; just friction welded a bunch of metal shards from the bolt to the cutter edges. Once I knocked them off and gave it a quick filing I was back in business.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Good thread here mate, and some nice pics too! I assume you've had a look at Dibbs' thread - he ported his 090, or was it just reduce squish? But I can't remember how it was running in the end.

He used an aftermarket jug... Are you using second hand OEM? Sure you don't want me to buy you a new aftermarket and you send me the original... opcorn:

I plan on porting the original P&C , they are just like new not a mark on either and both have great comp. I have lined up a brand new OEM ,P&C just in case something does not work out or I make a boo boo. Yes Dibbs has done some work on these and I will be looking him up in the near future.
Pioneerguy600

 

[056kid]

20'' cookies to cut, but we are porting 090s.


I think alot of you are rich bastards..

 

[crane]

20'' cookies to cut, but we are porting 090s.


I think alot of you are rich bastards..

 

[crane]

You know what, I never thought of that, you are somewhat in the middle between both coasts so if you like I can send all the saws I buy out that way and even the ones from Washington to your place. You can have all the fun of washing and cleaning them up, try them out and then ship them off to me with a full report on all necessary work required or not. LOL. Thanks Drew.
Pioneerguy600

Sounds good. Just be sure to use my real name......Manual Labor. LOL

 

[crane]

Drew,I would have loved to keep that saw for myself,but it was just to rich for my blood.When I shipped the saw to Jerry.I told the post office stay clear of Alberta. LOL!
Lawrence

chased that postal truck halfway across the province! Was easy to spot, that bar was hanginging halfway out the back,LOL Got me a trap set now at the western border......box of Timbits at the side of the road, gets them posties everytime.

Drew

 

[pioneerguy600]

I prefer .404 on my 090. It has plenty of power to pull it in pretty much any configuration, and the extra chain speed of .404 8-pin over 3/8 8-pin is noticeable and nice to have with the lower-revving engine. I've been looking for a cheap 3/8 9-pin or 10-pin sprocket but they're not easy to find.

The .404 is durable stuff too - I cut clean through a 3/8" lag bolt with my .404 semi-chisel milling chain, and it didn't even really damage any teeth; just friction welded a bunch of metal shards from the bolt to the cutter edges. Once I knocked them off and gave it a quick filing I was back in business.

I have used 404 chain almost exclusively on saws over 90 cc and it has worked very well in all kinds of wood we have around here. I put a 3/8" setup on one of my 103 cc Pioneers and run 404 0n another , both had 8 pin sprockets and in a 24" beech that had a years worth of drying time on it the 3/8" chain cut through the wood quicker and it seemed to put less drag on the powerhead. To make sure it was just not a powerhead issue I swapped the bars and chain around and sure enough the 3/8" cut the same way on that saw. I was just thinking that the saw may haul the 3/8" chain in full comp through all that hardwood easier than pulling 404. Either way both chains will be treated to my hand filing, it may take nearly a day to file all those teeth but I know it will slice, real nice , when the time comes to start cutting. Luckily I have both 3/8" and 404 chain in enough quantity to make a couple loops up of each pitch to try them out. Got a 7,8 and 9 pin for the 404 and 7 and 8 pin for the 3/8" and can borrow a 9 and 10 pin for a try out so there is a lot of setups to try and then narrow it down to what seems to work better .
I have watched your vid of the 090 cutting softwood , DF wasn`t it , and it cut really well. We have hemlock here that is much like DF and it reaches fairly big sizes, I may try cutting some of it up just for fun, a lot of it was uprooted when the last hurricane blew through here and although it has been6 years or so a lot of it is still in fair shape, there is also a lot of it still standing on one of my properties that was located behind a big hill that sheltered the trees from the brunt of the wind so a little thinning out may be in order.
Pioneerguy600

 

[pioneerguy600]

chased that postal truck halfway across the province! Was easy to spot, that bar was hanginging halfway out the back,LOL Got me a trap set now at the western border......box of Timbits at the side of the road, gets them posties everytime.

Drew

A hot large double double works very well along with the Bits, even the establishment find that combo irresistible. Once the truck stops, what you gonna do then? LOL
Pioneerguy600

 

[dancan]

Got me a trap set now at the western border......box of Timbits at the side of the road, gets them posties everytime.

Drew

I have a few posties for costumers and they brag about not knowing the alphabet and how they get three chances to get it right so you better set your timbits on both sides of the road and the double double at your main stop sign .

 

[pioneerguy600]

I have a few posties for costumers and they brag about not knowing the alphabet and how they get three chances to get it right so you better set your timbits on both sides of the road and the double double at your main stop sign .

Good thinking, twice as many chances to get the intended prey, spread the bait around.LOL
Pioneerguy600

 

[pioneerguy600]

Finally got some time to pull the P&C off the 090 and start some early port mapping and do a little studying of the ports and their layout. The P&C are in nice shape after a little cleanup and decarboning of the piston so that I could see the pencil outlines I marked on the piston through the intake and exhaust ports.

 

[pioneerguy600]

There is not much that can be taken off the intake sides of the port as they are already close to piston skirts, the exhaust has plenty of meat that can be removed from the sides before getting close to the piston skirt edges.
intake side

exhaust side

no windows to open up here

The outlines of the ports marked on the piston was done with a very sharp lead pencil and then darkened in with a felt tip marker to make them show up better in the picts.

 

[pioneerguy600]

The ports inside the cylinder are already quite large but there is room for improvement in the transfers ,both lower and upper will see some improvements.

The lower transfers can be blended in at the bottom by extending them down toward the base.