Help for a newbie - which Stihl chainsaw for occasional milling

[pauster]

Hi all,

I am looking for help in selecting the proper chain saw. I occasionally (a few times a year) mill trees into lumber to make furniture, just as a hobby.

I have cut 3 12"-16" diam hard maple logs (ripped into board with a mini mill) so far and cut some firewood and that killed my 16" electric saw, as expected. Now I have a good excuse to upgrade. As a German (but living in NY) I am somewhat partial to German quality.

This morning I stopped by my local Stihl dealer and I am confused by the vast selection so I am looking for advice by the experts here. From my reading on the subject I saw that a regular chisel tooth, maybe ground to 10 deg, would be adequate for the job. The largest logs I am likely to cut would be 24" or
less, all hardwood. An old pear on my property is dying so that's on the list for
turning into lumber, then furniture.

I was hoping not to spend over $300 for the saw ...

The MS 290 ($359 locally) looked nice.

It would be important that I don't have to fiddle much with it, tune it etc because I have no clue how to best do this. Low maintenance is important for me ...

Any advice would be appreciated.

Patrick

 

[wdchuck]

First, Welcome to AS.

Second, the application: occasional milling, in hardwood.
Third, the budget: $300.

Tough one, milling is the toughest task you can ask of a saw, and from my experience a 70cc+ saw would be the starting point on saw size.
Your budget limits it to a used saw, but you say minimal fiddling is important.

Something has to give, even a good used, older saw will cost $300+, and you will need to learn to fiddle with it.

I would say, read some more threads on milling, and save some money, $500 will buy you a good used saw that is up to the task, 90cc+ and if you pick up a ripping specific chain the results will make you happy. There are very reputable sellers on this site, one in particular is Dean at Washington HotSaws, a sponsor on the site, call him on the phone and he will probably be able to set you up, and the follow-up service is great. I was in your shoes 6months ago and called him, he set me up well with a good saw/price.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=46682 Here's a new guy/thread doin what you are right now. check it out.

Milling and saw fiddling go hand in hand, and I can't thankthe members here enough for the help they've given me in learning how to fiddle with my saws, and milling better.

 

[59Billy]

wdchuck's advice is right on the money. I'll just try to add another perspective.

First off, milling is rough on any saw. The bigger the saw, the less rough. The standard advice is to get the biggest saw you can afford. If that means $300, it's going to be tough.

I've milled oak and maple up to about 14" with a 290, and it's slow going, but it can be done. You have to be willing to sharpen chains frequently, and it's not hard to cook a bar and chain.

Last month, I upgraded to a 660, and it's a world of difference. Cutting is tons faster, and surprisingly, chains stay sharp longer. I suspect this has to do with the saw not bogging. Faster cutting also means less operator fatigue.

So... I'd second what wdchuck said... for $500 or so, you might find a good used 066 (predecessor to MS660) that'll do the job for you. I wouldn't rule out an 046, but remember:

There's no replacement for displacement!

 

[stonykill]

Hi all,

I am looking for help in selecting the proper chain saw. I occasionally (a few times a year) mill trees into lumber to make furniture, just as a hobby.

I have cut 3 12"-16" diam hard maple logs (ripped into board with a mini mill) so far and cut some firewood and that killed my 16" electric saw, as expected. Now I have a good excuse to upgrade. As a German (but living in NY) I am somewhat partial to German quality.

This morning I stopped by my local Stihl dealer and I am confused by the vast selection so I am looking for advice by the experts here. From my reading on the subject I saw that a regular chisel tooth, maybe ground to 10 deg, would be adequate for the job. The largest logs I am likely to cut would be 24" or
less, all hardwood. An old pear on my property is dying so that's on the list for
turning into lumber, then furniture.

I was hoping not to spend over $300 for the saw ...

The MS 290 ($359 locally) looked nice.

It would be important that I don't have to fiddle much with it, tune it etc because I have no clue how to best do this. Low maintenance is important for me ...

Any advice would be appreciated.

Patrick

I mill all the time with small saws. 48 to 68 cc's. Use lp chain, run 24 inch bar at the longest, and a small cc saw will take care of both your regular chainsawing needs and occasional milling. Having used an 029 for milling (its my old mans and he insists on using it when he helps), it is not great for milling. My 48cc 031 out mills the 54cc 029 (same as a ms290) by 1/2 log length most every time. I mill mainly 20 inch and under, occasionally up to 24 inch, birch, maple, and cherry regularly with a 48cc 031 and a 58cc pioneer holiday. I run 24 inch bars or shorter and use baileys lp chain.

If you get an 066 how is that going to meet your limbing needs on these trees? I don't think you need 90cc's as a hobby, once or twice a year miller. And a large saw will not be fun to do the rest of the cleanup with.

I have always thought the husky 359 would be a good all around saw, 59cc's I think, light, and can run a 24 inch bar if need be. Plus you can run a 16 inch bar for the rest of the cleanup and not kill yourself. If you are only used to an electric chainsaw, the jump to an 066 seems like a large, unsafe leap to me.Going from 2 hp at most to 6hp, without experience is not a good idea in my opinion.

For a little more money you can get the 290's big brother the ms390, 64cc's, about the same weight as a 290. Personally having milled with a 029 and seeing my smaller, much older stihl 031 outmills it so bad, I wouldn't recommend it. Go back to the stihl dealer and handle the 390 and see what kind of deal he will make you. It should fit your needs just fine>>>>Tom

 

[WadePatton]

Dolmar is German.

And a huge part of the Stihl saws sold here are made in the US. It's well known that Japanese cars built here aren't as good as the ones made in Japan. Don't know if that applies to saws or not. I do know that Dodge trucks are "assembled" in St. Louis and Mexico and there's no big quality differences in those two items. Swedish quality is fine for me--remember the 6.5x55 Mauser?

:greenchainsaw:

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Let me start by saying... if it were me, I'd be looking for a bigger saw.

BUT...

Taking your parameters into consideration, stonykill has a lot of good advice in his post. I have little milling experience with small saws but I have done some with my $150 Stihl 034 ebay saw. It will get the job done for occasional hobby milling and is a GREAT all around saw.

In reference to the chain, I would not recommend using chisel chain unless that was all you had. I'd save it for cross cutting and get some ripping chain from Bailey's or any full comp semi-chisel or chipper chain filed to 10 degrees.

Good luck and welcome to AS!

 

[Semi-Hex]

I've been doing pretty ok with my MS 361 That being said, I haven't done much hard wood at all, I do use a 19 inch bar with lp. I sharpen (touch up more like) often,but I see the advantage for a larger saw. I think with softwoods I'm fine though if I do more milling, I'll end up buying two saw instead of one more for the milling.

 

[stonykill]

BUT...

Taking your parameters into consideration, stonykill has a lot of good advice in his post. I have little milling experience with small saws but I have done some with my $150 Stihl 034 ebay saw. It will get the job done for occasional hobby milling and is a GREAT all around saw.

In reference to the chain, I would not recommend using chisel chain unless that was all you had. I'd save it for cross cutting and get some ripping chain from Bailey's or any full comp semi-chisel or chipper chain filed to 10 degrees.

Good luck and welcome to AS!

I started with the 031 and std baileys ripping chain . After switching to lp baileys ripping chain there is just no comparison. The std ripping chain on a small saw is painfully slow. LP is the only way to go if you are going to use a small cc saw. Keep the oil cranked all the way up. If these don't get a lot of oil, they will stretch like crazy on a 24 inch bar. No problems at all on 20 inch and shorter bars. If you keep the oil maxxed out, it will get enough oil on the 24 inch bar. These lp chains seem to require more oil than std chain, but for the difference in cutting speed, its the only way to go.

 

[pauster]

Thank you all for the great advice !

Would a Stihl 036Pro like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/STIHL-036PRO-CH...ryZ79669QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

be a decent compromise between power and all-round use for limbing (and price) ? I am still confused by the number of models available ...

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

I started with the 031 and std baileys ripping chain . After switching to lp baileys ripping chain there is just no comparison. The std ripping chain on a small saw is painfully slow. LP is the only way to go if you are going to use a small cc saw. Keep the oil cranked all the way up. If these don't get a lot of oil, they will stretch like crazy on a 24 inch bar. No problems at all on 20 inch and shorter bars. If you keep the oil maxxed out, it will get enough oil on the 24 inch bar. These lp chains seem to require more oil than std chain, but for the difference in cutting speed, its the only way to go.

Just curious... have you tried any .325 chain for milling? I'm experimenting with some on my 084 / 44" bar and after 8 cuts in a 24" wide x 8' cant the chain has stretched less than 1/8". I've read a lot about LP chain stretching or breaking on larger saws. Could be due to the fact it's only available in .050 guage where as I'm running .063.

 

[computeruser]

A plastic saw like the MS290/310/390 will NOT hold up to milling for very long, if at all. Y'all probably remember how Mr. Sap (now banned) wrecked his 390 by milling with it, cracking the plastic engine cradle and oil tank almost as soon as he first put it to wood. Those plastic-cased saws are not intended for this sort of use and will break if used for milling.

So at a minimum you need to find something with a magnesium case. Beyond that, 24" hardwood is a good workout for a 92cc Stihl 066, so I absolutely would not go any smaller than an 046/460 for milling. Sure, you could do it with any saw if you had enough patience, but why?

What I would do is start looking for a good deal on a used saw of sufficient size. Bigger, torquey old saws like the Stihl 056 and 051/075/076 can often be had for a very fair price. It doesn't need to be pretty; so long as it runs and oils you'll be fine.

Oh and welcome to the site, too!!

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Thank you all for the great advice !

Would a Stihl 036Pro like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/STIHL-036PRO-CH...ryZ79669QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

be a decent compromise between power and all-round use for limbing (and price) ? I am still confused by the number of models available ...

That would be a good model IF it's a good runner. There at lot of Ebay/ chainsaw horror stories out there but I've personally bought 3 saws with no problems. Sometimes sellers will agree to give you a short time to have a mechanic look over the saw. Doesn't hurt to ask.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Thank you all for the great advice !

Would a Stihl 036Pro like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/STIHL-036PRO-CH...ryZ79669QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

be a decent compromise between power and all-round use for limbing (and price) ? I am still confused by the number of models available ...

pauster- I sent you a PM.

 

[stonykill]

pauster, sent you a pm also

 

[stonykill]

Just curious... have you tried any .325 chain for milling? I'm experimenting with some on my 084 / 44" bar and after 8 cuts in a 24" wide x 8' cant the chain has stretched less than 1/8". I've read a lot about LP chain stretching or breaking on larger saws. Could be due to the fact it's only available in .050 guage where as I'm running .063.

When I had an 056 I ran lp on that also, never broke a chain. Never ran over 24 inches with lp either though. I have milled some small logs with my 346xp with the .325 chain reground to 10 degrees. That was not a good test though, while the 346xp is a great saw for limbing, etc, its 46cc's high rpm. My 031 is 48cc's lower rpm, and again outmilled the 346 bigtime. So I guess to answer your question, yes I tried it, but it was not a good comparison test. I just bought a roll of lp 3/8, so I don't think I'll be playing with other pitches for a while>Tom

 

[CaseyForrest]

I got my first 066 for $250. Put it into the wood without putting another dime into it.

Just have to be patient and wait for the deals.

Look up tkemble, member here. He buys and fixes saws.

 

[stonykill]

I got my first 066 for $250. Put it into the wood without putting another dime into it.

Just have to be patient and wait for the deals.

Look up tkemble, member here. He buys and fixes saws.

if I'm reading the 1st post right, and I think I am, he has no need for a saw as large as an 066. He was using an electric chainsaw to cut firewood and occasionally mill. This is as occasional as you can get. The step from an electric chainsaw to an 066 is a HUGE step, and most likely not a safe step. I would not recommend an 066 to anyone who was previously using an electric chainsaw to cut their wood. Judging from the pm's he and I have exchanged, he wants a saw for general chainsaw work, that can be used to mill a few times a year. If he was milling with an electric chainsaw, most any gas chainsaw is going to seem amazing

 

[59Billy]

if I'm reading the 1st post right, and I think I am, he has no need for a saw as large as an 066. He was using an electric chainsaw to cut firewood and occasionally mill. This is as occasional as you can get. The step from an electric chainsaw to an 066 is a HUGE step, and most likely not a safe step. I would not recommend an 066 to anyone who was previously using an electric chainsaw to cut their wood. Judging from the pm's he and I have exchanged, he wants a saw for general chainsaw work, that can be used to mill a few times a year. If he was milling with an electric chainsaw, most any gas chainsaw is going to seem amazing

Good points.

Sometimes the multitude of advice here can be overwhelming.

Of course, if he hangs around here AND keeps milling, he's pretty much doomed to acquiring an 066/660 anyway.

On an almost-related note: my dealer was telling me that right after Katrina, they couldn't get any new saws other than 650s. The thought of a bunch of newbies clearing strom damage with saws that big is kinda scarey...

 

[stonykill]

Good points.

Sometimes the multitude of advice here can be overwhelming.

Of course, if he hangs around here AND keeps milling, he's pretty much doomed to acquiring an 066/660 anyway.

On an almost-related note: my dealer was telling me that right after Katrina, they couldn't get any new saws other than 650s. The thought of a bunch of newbies clearing strom damage with saws that big is kinda scarey...

makes me wonder how many ended up in the hospital

 

[59Billy]

makes me wonder how many ended up in the hospital

Strangely enough, I haven't been hearing about many. The local paper did a story about a year ago about how many construction injuries were being seen in the overloaded local ER. The combination of half the hospitals being blown away with construction/demolition booming was a mess.