Questions about milling and bars

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cbradio

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Hi all, lurked for a while and decided to finally use my Alaskan mill I bought a few years ago and then never ended up using. Finally ordered a milling chain. I have a 562xp husky with a 28 inch bar. I have a few logs down on some family land that will exceed the 28 bar length. What's the longest u would go with that power head? If I wanted to go 36-48 do I need to step into the 90+ cc range?

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Hi all, lurked for a while and decided to finally use my Alaskan mill I bought a few years ago and then never ended up using. Finally ordered a milling chain. I have a 562xp husky with a 28 inch bar. I have a few logs down on some family land that will exceed the 28 bar length. What's the longest u would go with that power head? If I wanted to go 36-48 do I need to step into the 90+ cc range?

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:yes:
My avatar shows a ms-460 with a five foot bar and chain set up. It is mufler modded and has max flo air cleaner tuned to clean up in the cut and has 32:1 mix ratio. The chain is skip square chisel and wasn't pushed to the point of bog. She sang as we progressed at her rate. Since that pic was taken I found a 661c with a ported cylinder that I have further opened the empty muffler to release the heat and exhaust. Still need to check the timing to see if it's been advanced or if I get to do that. It takes effort to bog those 92cc's down running a 42" bar while milling. Have a log at the yard waste dump that I have not seen any one show up with a bar& chain, cept me, to cut through. Gotta sharpen the chain for the 60" bar while it is cold so we are ready when I have the trailer and it is warm enough to spend a day playing with it.:yes: I have found that ripping chain doesn't cut as fast as skip or semi skip chisel. I've only used one brand from a reel Bought quite a while ago. Have to keep any chain as sharp as possible with the depth guages set for wood you are milling. @BobL provides excellent instructions on sharpenings in CS milling 101 and he has used a larger variety of power heads than I have. I did start with a ms-170 and a post maker style of guide from harbor freight long ago and far away as the saying goes.
32"-36" works out with the ,460 in ash and soft maple, not as well in green white oak in my limited experience.
Welcome to an educational experience you didn't expect .
 
I agree with Tony about chain. I milled some yesterday. Had new loops of Carlton ripping chain and Stihl RS. Both worked well. Sharpness is the key. Get a big saw and various bar sizes and you'll be set. I run my 661 with 28"and 36" but will be looking into a bigger bar. Maybe even getting the saw ported for some extra power.

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How much does porting/muffler mods add to a saws value?

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I don't own any ported saws(yet) and I don't do engine work but different mods can get pretty substantial power gains. Plenty of comparison videos available and lots of real good info from the guys here. Some models can get good gains from simple muffler mods. I think milling would definitely be improved with a ported saw. The more power the better.

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I don't own any ported saws(yet) and I don't do engine work but different mods can get pretty substantial power gains. Plenty of comparison videos available and lots of real good info from the guys here. Some models can get good gains from simple muffler mods. I think milling would definitely be improved with a ported saw. The more power the better.

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Sorry. I have rebuilt and engine or two and def get the power gains. I meant to ask how much dollar value does that add to used saw. Freeing air and freeing exhaust def helped out my Cummins haha

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395 would be a good milling saw. [emoji6][emoji6] porting a saw does add sone value $$ wise, but usually you dont get what money you put into them back out of them. Another thing to consider if your gonna do a muffler mod on a saw thats going to be used for milling is which way you point the ex deflector. Try to point it in a direction where its not blowing in your face. Gettinv the heat out of the saw helps alot with milling. Same with outboard clutches ( ie 395xp[emoji16]) but whatever you plan on using keep a sharp chain, clean air filter, and little extea oil in the mix.

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What's the longest u would go with that power head?
60 cc saw is <20" cut territory, and since you lose up to 6" of bar in a standard alaskan a 28" bar is about as far as I would go with that saw

If I wanted to go 36-48 do I need to step into the 90+ cc range?
If you only cut the very occasional 36 - 48" log then a 90cc is fine, don't forget that there are not many cuts that are actually 48" wide in a 48" log. If you take it slow and stead in those cuts you should be OK.
If you are mostly cutting in the 36+" range then a 120cc saw would be the way go.

I don't agree with too much porting on a milling saw since it generates much higher loads on internals. High levels of porting are for racing saws that operate for short periods. Milling is a marathon not a sprint so the most I would suggest is a mild woods port with an accompanying muffler mod.
 
60 cc saw is <20" cut territory, and since you lose up to 6" of bar in a standard alaskan a 28" bar is about as far as I would go with that saw


If you only cut the very occasional 36 - 48" log then a 90cc is fine, don't forget that there are not many cuts that are actually 48" wide in a 48" log. If you take it slow and stead in those cuts you should be OK.
If you are mostly cutting in the 36+" range then a 120cc saw would be the way go.

I don't agree with too much porting on a milling saw since it generates much higher loads on internals. High levels of porting are for racing saws that operate for short periods. Milling is a marathon not a sprint so the most I would suggest is a mild woods port with an accompanying muffler mod.
Bob, thanks for this advice. Ill def be able to cut my teeth on the 562 making some pine boards for the barn. Will def need to step up to a bigger saw to mill the oak I have down at the hunting grounds

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A few years ago I was given part of a roll of lopro reduced kickback chain and so I made up a loop and put it on my 441 with the 20" bar. Yes it was slower than regular chains so I experimented by dropping the rakers by 1/2º and I could then not tell the difference in narrower (<20") cuts so I have continued to use it this way (7.5º raker angle). I tend to use the 441 as a trimming saw or on my small mill which has a max cut width of 18" or on my monorail mill. What limits in in longer cuts is it won't be able to carry the same amount of sawdust as regular or skip chain.
 
60 cc saw is <20" cut territory, and since you lose up to 6" of bar in a standard alaskan a 28" bar is about as far as I would go with that saw


If you only cut the very occasional 36 - 48" log then a 90cc is fine, don't forget that there are not many cuts that are actually 48" wide in a 48" log. If you take it slow and stead in those cuts you should be OK.
If you are mostly cutting in the 36+" range then a 120cc saw would be the way go.

I don't agree with too much porting on a milling saw since it generates much higher loads on internals. High levels of porting are for racing saws that operate for short periods. Milling is a marathon not a sprint so the most I would suggest is a mild woods port with an accompanying muffler mod.
Thanks Bob.
Any chance you want to move to Ontario and be my neighbor?...lol
I need some back to basic advice to get all my milling done.
 
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