chainsaw selection

[Tarki0]

like you i got started milling after I did a LOT of reading. At first I bought a used 395XP off of fleabay, and ran it for a year on a cheap vertical cutter rig. Good saw, so so rig. I learned a lot using it. Then it's age showed up so I put a bore and piston kit on it, replaced the carb, (then rebuilt the carb) and rebuilt the lower end... doing one, might as well do the other, right? Last year I picked up a 395XP (new) from a dealer that had one in stock that someone ordered and didn't come in an buy it. Lost his deposit and I got a better than good deal. It is now the primary saw, the rebuilt big bore is my back up. It runs great but i've not had a spit of issue with the new husky. Bars and chains... I run forester or Archer bars and carbide chains now exclusively. Yes its more expensive but it lasts almost five times as long in between sharpening. Longer if you can put up with it. You have to use a diamond to sharpen but once they're sharp, they stay that way. As for steel ripping chains, yes i have them and I use them. But they require a lot more work to keep sharp. I carry a Stihl 12v battery sharpening sytem in the truck with both stone and diamond burrs and a drill with a diamond burr on it in the bag (always have a backup). I run 3/8 .050 chain. Smaller kerf, less loss, less dust. Where I cut there are plenty of wild animals so I also have to carry a piece in case someone is hungry, or they chase me toward the truck. Usually they leave me alone because of the saw noise. I have had a couple close encounters with a big cat and a black bear but neither one wanted to get too close. I also wear chaps, gloves, head gear with the screen, ear plugs, glasses and ear muffs. I can hear what I need to with the PPE on. Your ears can only take so much before you lose the ability to hear someone speak in a noisy room. PPE is important. So is a first aid kit with a tournequet and suture kit. I took the time to learn how to suture and carry a staple gun and derma bond just in case I needed it. I needed it last week when a buddy cut his arm pretty deep, we cleaned it, fixed it, derma-bonded it and took him to the hospital for a tetanus shot. Doc said he couldn't have done any better. I guess first aid training is worth the time in the off season. I didn't see any bleeders so I stapled him up.... he howled a little each time but we laugh about it now.

 

[miller2b]

like you i got started milling after I did a LOT of reading. At first I bought a used 395XP off of fleabay, and ran it for a year on a cheap vertical cutter rig. Good saw, so so rig. I learned a lot using it. Then it's age showed up so I put a bore and piston kit on it, replaced the carb, (then rebuilt the carb) and rebuilt the lower end... doing one, might as well do the other, right? Last year I picked up a 395XP (new) from a dealer that had one in stock that someone ordered and didn't come in an buy it. Lost his deposit and I got a better than good deal. It is now the primary saw, the rebuilt big bore is my back up. It runs great but i've not had a spit of issue with the new husky. Bars and chains... I run forester or Archer bars and carbide chains now exclusively. Yes its more expensive but it lasts almost five times as long in between sharpening. Longer if you can put up with it. You have to use a diamond to sharpen but once they're sharp, they stay that way. As for steel ripping chains, yes i have them and I use them. But they require a lot more work to keep sharp. I carry a Stihl 12v battery sharpening sytem in the truck with both stone and diamond burrs and a drill with a diamond burr on it in the bag (always have a backup). I run 3/8 .050 chain. Smaller kerf, less loss, less dust. Where I cut there are plenty of wild animals so I also have to carry a piece in case someone is hungry, or they chase me toward the truck. Usually they leave me alone because of the saw noise. I have had a couple close encounters with a big cat and a black bear but neither one wanted to get too close. I also wear chaps, gloves, head gear with the screen, ear plugs, glasses and ear muffs. I can hear what I need to with the PPE on. Your ears can only take so much before you lose the ability to hear someone speak in a noisy room. PPE is important. So is a first aid kit with a tournequet and suture kit. I took the time to learn how to suture and carry a staple gun and derma bond just in case I needed it. I needed it last week when a buddy cut his arm pretty deep, we cleaned it, fixed it, derma-bonded it and took him to the hospital for a tetanus shot. Doc said he couldn't have done any better. I guess first aid training is worth the time in the off season. I didn't see any bleeders so I stapled him up.... he howled a little each time but we laugh about it now.

I always have a first aid kit in my truck and have used it on more than one occasion. Certified CPR, IED, and tourniquet. Got certified while I'm the military and kept the certifications up to date. As for the hearing protection i wear it now. I have a 10% disability from hearing loss, due to working on the flight line around jets. Didn't always take the time to use double ear protection so my stupidity. I planned on keeping 3/8 .063. in all my reading I forgot if a square grind or round is better for milling. And I always carry when out in the woods. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[BobL]

Unless you happen to be milling in swamps with saltwater crocs or in the oceans with sharks there's nothing here in Australia that's worth carrying a gun for. The most likely animals that are going to cause problems are spiders, snakes and bull ants but they sometimes will have bitten you and maybe even have disappeared before you feel the bite. The biggest "danger to human life" animals in Oz are horses, cows and regular dogs (mainly to kids and old folks). The biggest native animal killer are kangaroos but they do it by jumping out in front of moving vehicles where a gun would be useless. If the roo happen to jump at the right instant they go through the windscreen and kill people. I've had one jump into the side of our Subaru while the car was doing 70mph on a quiet back road - it happened so quickly I did not have time to react - one moment I saw the roos head in front of me thru the windscreen and then Bang Bang Bang as it ricocheted its way down the side of the vehicle. That was a $8k vehicle repair job.

Square ground cuts faster initially but then dulls quicker than regular chain. There';s not much difference in finish as this is mainly operator dependent.

 

[gnef]

I always have a first aid kit in my truck and have used it on more than one occasion. Certified CPR, IED, and tourniquet. Got certified while I'm the military and kept the certifications up to date. As for the hearing protection i wear it now. I have a 10% disability from hearing loss, due to working on the flight line around jets. Didn't always take the time to use double ear protection so my stupidity. I planned on keeping 3/8 .063. in all my reading I forgot if a square grind or round is better for milling. And I always carry when out in the woods. Better to be safe than sorry.

all the ripping chain I've seen is round ground. I suppose you could square grind, but I don't think it would be of any benefit, and would take a lot more work to sharpen. I like round ground for my ripping chains because I use the 2 in1 sharpeners set at 10 degrees and just take a few swipes to freshen up the cutting edge. It is actually fairly quick considering how many cutters there are for a 56" bar. I try not to run my chains ragged though, and replace them when I notice the cut is a bit slower. Since I have 3 ripping chains, I just change them out when I'm milling, and then sharpen at home. If I ever went through all 3 ripping chains, I would put on my cross cutting chains to finish the job, and then order more ripping chain!

 

[miller2b]

Unless you happen to be milling in swamps with saltwater crocs or in the oceans with sharks there's nothing here in Australia that's worth carrying a gun for. The most likely animals that are going to cause problems are spiders, snakes and bull ants but they sometimes will have bitten you and maybe even have disappeared before you feel the bite. The biggest "danger to human life" animals in Oz are horses, cows and regular dogs (mainly to kids and old folks). The biggest native animal killer are kangaroos but they do it by jumping out in front of moving vehicles where a gun would be useless. If the roo happen to jump at the right instant they go through the windscreen and kill people. I've had one jump into the side of our Subaru while the car was doing 70mph on a quiet back road - it happened so quickly I did not have time to react - one moment I saw the roos head in front of me thru the windscreen and then Bang Bang Bang as it ricocheted its way down the side of the vehicle. That was a $8k vehicle repair job.

Square ground cuts faster initially but then dulls quicker than regular chain. There';s not much difference in finish as this is mainly operator dependent.

Thank you for clarifying that. I'll stick with the round then. Where I go there is still the possibility of mountain lion and black bear. Not often that you come across either or that they'll attack if you do, however I just prefer being prepared, and of course just shooting for the hell of it with a good backdrop breaks up the day. Always a bit of time for target practice.

 

[miller2b]

all the ripping chain I've seen is round ground. I suppose you could square grind, but I don't think it would be of any benefit, and would take a lot more work to sharpen. I like round ground for my ripping chains because I use the 2 in1 sharpeners set at 10 degrees and just take a few swipes to freshen up the cutting edge. It is actually fairly quick considering how many cutters there are for a 56" bar. I try not to run my chains ragged though, and replace them when I notice the cut is a bit slower. Since I have 3 ripping chains, I just change them out when I'm milling, and then sharpen at home. If I ever went through all 3 ripping chains, I would put on my cross cutting chains to finish the job, and then order more ripping chain!

I keep meaning to pick up a double but when you have a single and it works you don't think much about it. As far as the chain I got a good deal on a 100ft roll and can make my own.