Chain Saw Milling Speed?

[drivadesl]

I was milling some oak the other day, roughly 22" across, using my MS-660, 36" ripping chain from Baileys. Pretty much took all of a 30 minutes to run through 8.5' length, works out to 3.5 inches/min. Seemed a lot slower than that, but since I'm new at this, just looking for a sanity check. The chain was used once on 4 cuts, so I touched it up using the Stihl file guide set at 10 degrees. Had to apply a lot of force to move it through the log, definitely sore the next day. Anyone care to comment?

 

[stonykill]

I was milling some oak the other day, roughly 22" across, using my MS-660, 36" ripping chain from Baileys. Pretty much took all of a 30 minutes to run through 8.5' length, works out to 3.5 inches/min. Seemed a lot slower than that, but since I'm new at this, just looking for a sanity check. The chain was used once on 4 cuts, so I touched it up using the Stihl file guide set at 10 degrees. Had to apply a lot of force to move it through the log, definitely sore the next day. Anyone care to comment?

that is a lot slower than an oak log I recently did. Mine was only 18-19 -in diameter, but still. I run a 82 cc Pioneer P51 with a 24 inch bar and lp chain. While I didn't time it, I know it wasn't that long, it seemed like 5 -6 minutes a pass, but like I said I didn't time it.I know it wasn't 30 minutes. Oak is one of the slower woods to mill. You should not have to apply so much force that you get sore from pushing. Is your chain new? If not maybe the rakers need lowering. Do you have any pics of your assembled milling set up for us to look at? Maybe from photos we can get an idea.

Check for obvious things, chain on backwards or chipped or bent tooth on chain. Was the log frozen solid with ice showing? Ice will dull a chain quickly. Was there a lot of dirt in the bark. This will also dull the chain quickly.
I'm sure others will chime in with ideas.

 

[woodshop]

Milling times? ... 395XP (94cc saw) with standard 3/8 ripping chain from Baileys on 36" bar, in 18 inch wide oak I go through about 3 seconds per inch, which is a little less than 2 ft a minute. In 24-28 inch wide oak, double that time, about a foot a minute, and then ONLY if the chain is sharp. As soon as it even starts to get dull, things slow to a crawl fast. However, 30 minutes to go 8 1/2ft is twice what it should take with a 660 in 22 inches of oak. Check the obvious stuff first. Like stony says, it doesn't take much dirt in the bark to dull a chain to where it will just sit there and work itself to death trying to cut wood. You should be pushing on the mill a bit to get it down the log, but not a whole lot more than ordinary crosscutting like when you're bucking the log. Post of pic or two of your setup for us. It really should not take 30 min to go 8 ft.

 

[drivadesl]

Two foot per minute! Now way I'm going that fast. No way does it feel like I'm crosscutting. I must have something FUBAR'd based on what you guys are saying. Took me 7 hours roughly to cut 7 boards, including moving logs, setup time, refueling, oiling, couple short breaks etc. Like I said, the chain is pretty new, Bought from Bailey's and the logs where not muddy at all. They were pretty clean actually with the snow and rain we had lately. I took the chains in to my dealer for sharpening, as I did notice one side looked a bit duller than the other though still seemed pretty sharp after I touched it up with a file/guide. His reaction was pretty negative when I told him where I got the chains, but thats to be expected. Putting the chain in backward? Don't think so, I was carefull and made sure it was right. My set up can be seen in the "Milled Some Oak " thread from last week. http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=57762 I'll be trying it again once I get the chains back after Christmas, I can update then. Thanks for your input as always.

 

[Trigger-Time]

Have you checked the height of the rakers on the chain?





.

 

[drivadesl]

Trigger: Didn't think the chain itself was suspect since it was new. Not sure how to check the raker height, maybe if you could clarify I can look at this when I get the chains back. I'll post a photo also. Thanks.

 

[Trigger-Time]

Trigger: Didn't think the chain itself was suspect since it was new. Not sure how to check the raker height, maybe if you could clarify I can look at this when I get the chains back. I'll post a photo also. Thanks.

You can buy a gage that sits on top of the cutters, if rakers stick
above gage they need to be filed down. Rakes or Depth gages as they are
called are what sets how much of a bite depth wise the cutters take.
I don't know what most people set the rakers at.
For milling I cut mine down to .035 below the cutters and most cross
cut chains rakers are set to .025 below cutters.



.

 

[woodshop]

Two foot per minute! Now way I'm going that fast. No way does it feel like I'm crosscutting.

...didn't mean if it's dialed in it feels like crosscutting, it never does that. You will (at least I never have) never get that "digging in and slicing through wood" feeling you do with a sharp chain when cutting up firewood for example. The chain just won't do that milling because of the orientation to the wood fibers, which is also why you get fine dust instead of nice quarter inch square chips that fly out of the saw normal cutting. It will be slow, but with your setup and size saw, should go at least twice as fast as you are currently getting.

 

[yawning_dog]

I agree with woodshop. When I've milled oak before, it's slow, but with a relatively sharp chain I can get through an 8 foot log in about 12 to 15 minutes or so. That's with an 051 and a 30 bar (25" max cut). If you're running wide open for 30 minutes in one cut, do you have to gas up again toward the end? I also agree with the others to check the rakers...

 

[Matildasmate]

I was milling some oak the other day, roughly 22" across, using my MS-660, 36" ripping chain from Baileys. Pretty much took all of a 30 minutes to run through 8.5' length, works out to 3.5 inches/min. Seemed a lot slower than that, but since I'm new at this, just looking for a sanity check. The chain was used once on 4 cuts, so I touched it up using the Stihl file guide set at 10 degrees. Had to apply a lot of force to move it through the log, definitely sore the next day. Anyone care to comment?

Guday mate ........ Yeah I bought some ripping chain from Bailey's a while back , I have to say it was hopeless to start with , it was slow as a wet wig , it was brand new straight out of the box , it was sharpened at , I think 10deg's x 85deg's , I resharpened it to 15deg's x 45deg's , went marvelous after that . Cheer's MM

 

[rayvil01]

It seems like there are a lot of recipes for filing Bailey's rip chain. I have an Oregon bench mini-grinder Model 108181. What are some possibilities for settings?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Matildasmate]

It seems like there are a lot of recipes for filing Bailey's rip chain. I have an Oregon bench mini-grinder Model 108181. What are some possibilities for settings?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Ray There are lot's of recipe's , I do all my ripping chain's at 15 deg's x 45 deg's , after lot's of experimenting , you can use normal crosscut chain angle's and it will cut no worry's you just end up with a rough surface , that's all , no big deal if you are going to thickness it , or if a rough surface is no problem and it will also cut faster . here's a link to more info . Cheer's MM http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=54548

 

[woodshop]

...after lot's of experimenting , you can use normal crosscut chain angle's and it will cut no worry's you just end up with a rough surface , that's all , no big deal if you are going to thickness it , or if a rough surface is no problem and it will also cut faster...

I concur with Matildasmate, regular sharp crosscut chain actually cuts a little faster than milling chain, but leaves the surface not as smooth. All that means for me personally is maybe an extra pass through the planer from the start. No big deal. I have used regular skip chain also, half the cutters, but didn't notice much diff speed wise, it still ran down the log fine although the skip chain seemed to leave the surface even MORE rough than regular chain, which is as I siad more rough than milling chain.

Drivadesl, stick a sharp regular chain on that thing and run down the log and see if it still takes you 30 minutes per pass. If it does, then you will at least know that the chain is not the problem.

 

[duffontap]

The Granberg site says you can: "re-sharpen your stock chain to zero (0) degree top plate angle" and this will cut smoother and faster than a stock chain. Has anyone tried this? I've never heard that a cross-cut chain mills faster but then, I'm new to this.

Duff

 

[woodshop]

The Granberg site says you can: "re-sharpen your stock chain to zero (0) degree top plate angle" and this will cut smoother and faster than a stock chain. Has anyone tried this? I've never heard that a cross-cut chain mills faster but then, I'm new to this.

Duff

For all I know, technically it does not, I'm just going by my experience in the field. More than once I've ran short on milling chain for various reasons in the field, and had the throw on my regular chain and it always seemed to move down the log a little faster than my milling chain, even a sharp milling chain. It seemed to "grab" the wood more, and I remember I couldn't push as hard without bogging down the mill. However, never did a side by side timed comparison, so you might want to view my take on this as at least semi anecdotal.

(wasn't sure if I was using that word right, so looked it up..."2. Based on casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis:" Yup... my observations were casual rather than based on rigorous... )

 

[duffontap]

That's interesting woodshop. Thanks for the reply.

I'd really like to hear what people think of the zero-angle sharpening???

J. D.

 

[820wards]

I'm currently building a mill and will need to purchase ripping chain. Sounds like the Baileys chain isn't the hot ticket. For those of you currently milling, what brand of chain would you suggest? I'll be using a 38" bar .063 x .404 with a 125cc motor.

jerry-

 

[dustytools]

I'm currently building a mill and will need to purchase ripping chain. Sounds like the Baileys chain isn't the hot ticket. For those of you currently milling, what brand of chain would you suggest? I'll be using a 38" bar .063 x .404 with a 125cc motor.

jerry-

Personally, I would recommend the Baileys ripping chain. Ive used it and the more expensive Granberg ripping chain. Performance wise its right up there with Granbergs chain at half the cost.

 

[Matildasmate]

I'm currently building a mill and will need to purchase ripping chain. Sounds like the Baileys chain isn't the hot ticket. For those of you currently milling, what brand of chain would you suggest? I'll be using a 38" bar .063 x .404 with a 125cc motor.

jerry-

Hi Jerry ....... The Bailey's ripping chain I got was Woodsman Pro 3/8 x .063 , which is actually just carlton chain rebadged , the quality of the chain is good , it seem's that it just need's to be sharpened to what ever suit's you , I just found it was way to slow out of the box .

 

[stonykill]

I'm currently building a mill and will need to purchase ripping chain. Sounds like the Baileys chain isn't the hot ticket. For those of you currently milling, what brand of chain would you suggest? I'll be using a 38" bar .063 x .404 with a 125cc motor.

jerry-

I use Baileys chain exclusively. I haven't had any problems whatsoever with it, and I don't change the milling angles either. I've tried all the different mods to regular chain, and didn't see enough of an improvement over Baileys ripping chain to warrant the extra work. I would recomend Baileys chain. Good stuff.