064 sprocket wheel

[freeasaburt]

I recently bought a Stihl 064 (with 660 top end) and a 'Chinese' 36" mill, and have been setting up things, but still need to make the first cut (hopefully tomorrow, if time permits).

The saw has a sprocket ring with 8 teeth now, I was wondering if a 7 teeth version would benefit milling? Lower chain speed and more torque should be an advantage, I guess?

The saw seems to run great btw, although I never used anything with more than 50cc up till now, so no reference points. Sawed some 50cm (20") cherry cookies with a new 63cm / 24" bar and chain and it put a smile on my face... Obviously a 'beast' to handle as compared to my 026s but not terribly heavy, I would say. Although I'll still grab the 026 for anything it can handle nicely.

(The obvious 'gap' there is a saw in the 70cc region. It's not for now, and not in urgent need either, but I want it )

 

[BobL]

Optimum Milling is not just about A or B, but considerations of A, B, C, D E, F . . . . . . .

What do I mean by this?
Well . . . . . it's not just a case of using a 7 or 8 pin drive sprocket.
The choice depends on things like
- hardness of wood
- skip or non-skip chain
- cutter setup - angles and raker depth
- length of bar - width of cut
- available power,

If you normally cut softwoods, up to say 24" with std raker depth then I would continue to use 8 pin.
Switching to 7 pin will probably not cut any faster and maybe even slower.

You could switch to 7 pin and possibly cut faster if you used greater raker depth.

The way I use drive sprockets is to standardise on setting the chain up for 8 pin , in Aussie hardwoods for about 30" cut.
Then, if I come across a >30" log the easiest thing to change quickly is to swap the 8 for a 7pin and VV.
Keeping the drive sprocket the same and keeping and changing out loops of chain with different raker depths is a PITA but swapping drive sprockets is easy.

 

[freeasaburt]

Thanks for that comprehensive answer

I just need to get going and find out, basically, lots to learn. I'm going to order some things and was wondering if it would be worth it to also order that 7 teeth ring. They're cheap, but still.