395xp doing work!

[Chris_In_VT]

32" bar, hard maple. Granberg rip chain, mixed 32:1 husky XP oil, I'm sure someone would ask. Tuned fat for milling.
I wouldn't want to mill with anything less than a 395!

 

[mdavlee]

32" bar, hard maple. Granberg rip chain, mixed 32:1 husky XP oil, I'm sure someone would ask. Tuned fat for milling.
I wouldn't want to mill with anything less than a 395!

I agree for that size slabs. A 7900 is quicker in 18" wide ash though.

 

[Chris_In_VT]

I agree for that size slabs. A 7900 is quicker in 18" wide ash though.

Thats interesting. Wonder if my 385 would be quicker in small wood? Is it an RPM thing or what?
I milled some 12" balsam fir with regular LGX and it cut about as quick as I could push it.
Big hardwood slabs are another thing though.

 

[Big_Wood]

your tuned rich even for milling. i say stick to the 395. no sense in clapping out 2 saws on the mill. i know AV don't matter so much on the mill but i like the vertical mounts for milling. absorb vibrations yet don't deform. 395 in a mini mill is my go too but it's even a top up which is a better (3120 or 395) in an alaskan. 3120 just oils better.

 

[Chris_In_VT]

your tuned rich even for milling. i say stick to the 395. no sense in clapping out 2 saws on the mill.

It is pretty rich but I like where it's at.


Yeah the 395 basically only gets used for this. The 385 would probably only see mill duty as a backup. I got a 394 in a bucket I need to finish too though.

 

[Chris_In_VT]

If I could get a 3120 reasonable I would use that but this works. It'll oil the 32" bar just fine. I can't see myself milling bigger than this. Most often it will be smaller logs.

 

[Big_Wood]

what's reasonable to you? they are $2000 new ya know LOL nearly double a 395. sounds like you want one for cheap. mill with it rich like that for a week straight on that husky mix then look at the top of your piston. they barely need an 1/8th turn from a bucking tune to be good and should always clean up in the cut. there's rich and then there's pig rich. it's yours though so do what suits you.

 

[Chris_In_VT]

Well I got into this 395 for less than $350 total. Not gonna find a 3120 parts saw for that. That's the point of a chainsaw mill for me, lumber on the cheap. If I had big bucks to drop on a new 3120 I'd just get a bandsaw mill.

 

[Big_Wood]

builder 3120's ocassionally pop up for pretty good prices but there so expensive to repair i's usually just cheaper to get one that's already good to go.. i agree though, the 395 is a sweet combo. never said it doesn't oil enough. the 3120 just oils more. i mill with a 395 mostly as well.

 

[Chris_In_VT]

That and big saws aren't real common around here. 395s pop up more often than 3120s but still not often.

My mill is a 36", so I'd need a 42" bar for max cut width. I think I'd use an aux tip oiler for that but I can't see myself getting logs that big except on rare occasions.

How do you like the mini mill? I'm thinking of getting one and using it in combination with the Alaskan for edging. 395 on the Alaskan, 394 on the mini!

 

[mdavlee]

Thats interesting. Wonder if my 385 would be quicker in small wood? Is it an RPM thing or what?
I milled some 12" balsam fir with regular LGX and it cut about as quick as I could push it.
Big hardwood slabs are another thing though.

385 might be a touch faster. I milled with 046, 7900, 390, 394, 395, 066, 084, and 088s. The biggest saws got more bd ft per gallon of fuel than any of the others. Shane's 3120 wouldn't be a bad deal for a milling saw. The 3120 oils the best out of any modern saw.

 

[Chris_In_VT]

385 might be a touch faster. I milled with 046, 7900, 390, 394, 395, 066, 084, and 088s. The biggest saws got more bd ft per gallon of fuel than any of the others. Shane's 3120 wouldn't be a bad deal for a milling saw. The 3120 oils the best out of any modern saw.

Milling does suck the gas right down.
I was using a little less than half a tank per slab, with idle cool down time between cuts.

 

[mdavlee]

Worst mileage I ever got was 2 tanks per cut with a ported 390. 26" wide cherry 9' long or so. 088 oiler quit working on me so I used that to finish up.

 

[Big_Wood]

That and big saws aren't real common around here. 395s pop up more often than 3120s but still not often.

My mill is a 36", so I'd need a 42" bar for max cut width. I think I'd use an aux tip oiler for that but I can't see myself getting logs that big except on rare occasions.

How do you like the mini mill? I'm thinking of getting one and using it in combination with the Alaskan for edging. 395 on the Alaskan, 394 on the mini!

the granberg mini mill is the most accurate one but is a pain in the ass when it comes to the rail guide system. i much prefer the Haddon lumber maker. it guides on anything from a 2x4 to a 2x6 but i prefer to throw the width adjuster away and just get a 2x6 trimmed to be the perfect guide for it. with the adjuster installed it holds the saw off 90 degree's and ya get a ****** cut. check out ebay. the haddon lumber makers were only $50 shipped a few years ago. almost stupid not to have one for the money and it is way handier then the granberg mini mill.

 

[Big_Wood]

Worst mileage I ever got was 2 tanks per cut with a ported 390. 26" wide cherry 9' long or so. 088 oiler quit working on me so I used that to finish up.

worst mileage i ever got was 8 tanks a cut but it was 6' wide x 25' long fir slabs and an 084 those slabs were 4" thick and i think they were the hardest things i ever had to move from one place to another in my life.

 

[Chris_In_VT]

I'll look into the haddon. Especially since I'll only use it for edging with the Alaskan.


I would like to have seen that big fir getting slabbed up!

 

[Big_Wood]

we still got a couple of those slabs. i'll snap a pic next time i'm at our wood hideout and update it to this thread. i don't get out to the hideout often anymore but should in the next couple weeks. 20 minute boat ride to get there.

 

[mdavlee]

Those would be awesome slabs for a bar top Shane. The Haddon is nice. A good friend loaned me his. I've been meaning to build a handle for it so I can stay more upright using it. They do work well for trimming logs to a square cant

 

[Big_Wood]

they work well for making semi demensional lumber as well. like with a chainsaw mill i would always recut if building something you want to be quality but it does fine for siding and fence pickets or whatever else. a handle would be sweet on the haddon. always damaging AV springs with that mini mill cause all you got is the say to hold and push on.

 

[Big_Wood]

which is why i like the 395 AV for the most part the AV on the 395 survives the haddon mini mill while anything with horizontal AV springs will have deformed AV almost weekly.