husky 372xp on an alaskan mill

[charlieh]

Hi,

I am interested in starting milling some timber rather than just turning it all into logs, i have a 372xp which is about as large as i want to go at the moment (girlfriend will kill me if i get another saw!)

My main question is with a ripping chain will the 372 run a 36" bar or am i best keeping it shorter? I have some lovely large beech to do something with

any thoughts greatly appreciated

Charlie

 

[Railomatic]

Hi,


My main question is with a ripping chain will the 372 run a 36" bar or am i best keeping it shorter? I have some lovely large beech to do something with

Charlie

Hi Charlie

A 372 Husky will do the job, but will be produce a tad more strain on your motor using a 36" bar compared to a 90 + cc saw which is a better match for that bar, I do this on all of my larger bars, www.chainsawmills.co.uk.

If your bar roller nose is removeable so that you could fit a smaller chain and sprocket, then things would be evened out a little, if not, you could buy a Cannon Superbar or similar that would convert down, instead of buying another saw.

A couple of tips to make things easier, turn your oiler to max and fit an external gravity fed oil tank to keep the chain real moist, this might be needed to ease the stresses on your smaller motor.

Hope this helps

Raily :greenchainsaw:

 

[IndyIan]

Hi Charlie,
I have a 372 with 36" bar for milling and an alaskan, my advice is to get a shorter bar. I thought I was going to upgrade to a monster saw someday for milling but I've decided that its better to have a portable sawmill come in and do a days worth of sawing at once. You may not have that option. The main advantages of a short bar are, no auxillary oiler needed, less teeth to sharpen, less friction, and you won't try to mill 30" at once and kill your saw!

I think in hardwood you could cut a maximum of 20" well and that's kind of pushing it. I've done 16" and it goes ok but it isn't real fast. Plus if you get a 26-28" bar you can use for felling and bucking. The 36" is not really practical I find. The saw is very unbalanced and the weight really torques on the anti vibe system.

Also you can get thinner kerf chains on the shorter bars which would help alot for cutting speed and recovery.
Ian

 

[charlieh]

I have a 24" bar for my general work so I might just get the 24" mill for now, as this would mean not having to buy another guide bar. How long does it take to put the mill on the bar? is it worth having another bar with the mill permenantly on it?

thanks for you help

Charlie

 

[aquan8tor]

I don't know the setup of the 372, but the 394 is a PITA to adjust the chain tension with the mill on. I remove the dogs so that I can fit a little "L" shaped screwdriver that I fashioned out of a big house spike nail that I heated and bent, and flattened on a grinder.

One thing that might dramatically improve your success (and I'm speaking as a newcomer here myself) is to use 3/8" low profile ripping chain, available from Baileys for .20/link. It seemed to do fine the couple times that I've used it with my big saw, so it should be fine with the 372. One thing to note is that it only comes in .050" ga, so remember that when you're buying a bar!! A 32" bar would give you full 24" capacity--you lose the few inches at the nose and at the heel of the bar.

Good luck

 

[aquan8tor]

sorry double post. I meant to add that even if you don't have 36" capacity, you can always slab a big log into a square cant and mill 24" boards that way, and not overstress your saw, or frustrate the he!! out of yourself with how long it will take.

 

[charlieh]

another quick question if i get a 36" mill but only want to use a 24 bar can i narrow it down? as i would rather just by the one set up, and us brits dont get chainsaw equipment as cheap as in the states

charlie

 

[oldsaw]

another quick question if i get a 36" mill but only want to use a 24 bar can i narrow it down? as i would rather just by the one set up, and us brits dont get chainsaw equipment as cheap as in the states

charlie

On an Alaskan, it is easy. Just loosen two nuts and a screw. I have a 36" Alaskan and run both 36" (28" cut) and 42" (36" cut) bars on it. I even scribed a line to adjust it for the 36" bar quickly.

Mark

Meant to mention that you may want to get a longer bar and make a "multi-skip" chain for when you get a big one. Takes some time at the grinder to take out a pair or two pair of cutters skip a pair and repeat. I've seen (but not tried) chains that looked like a "hillbilly smile" with all the missing teeth. Just something to think about. On really big logs, they talk about even going to a 5 skip (leave a pair of cutters, remove 5 pair, leave a pair), however, I wouldn't be too excited about anything you couldn't have at least 3 sets of cutters in the log at the same time. Would take some stress off of the saw, but still give you the opportunity to take the occasional "big one".

 

[Railomatic]

skip rip chain

When ever I make a skip/rip chain I use the rounded bottom cornered type chains, like the Oreon chipmaster, remove both left and right top blades, but leave the side rakers intact so that the chain can still do the clearing or side cutting.
Then leave two cutters left and right side and then remove the next two top blades and so on, this definately releaves pressure on the longest bars, but the cutting speed will be a lot slower, and the less teeth there are the shorter the sharpness will last, making more frequent sharpenings.

The best plan of attck is the bigger bar with the conversion from say 404 or 3/8 down to 325, you get to keep all the cuters, the 325 chain is also lower in chisel height, not as low as the special low level chains, but will give you a better finish, as the skip chain will not.

There are many different styles and ideas of semi, full or part home altered chains, but the time and extra money spent is really a waste of money and valuable cutting time, I have tried all there is to use, and I have found the latter to be the best all round route.

There are those who have nebtioned that the smaller chain will stretch more than their larger cousins, with your given engine size mentioned, there will be no significant stretching.

If and when you go for a larger engine capacity, be more gentle on the take up speed, do not go for rapid engine take up speeds and the smaller chain will be fine.

 

[TedChristiansen]

Charlie,

Using low profile ripping chain/bar will also reduce the stress on your saw, and speed up the cut. You can only go upto 24" though. You can get this chain from Stihl in Europe, Baileys (Woodsman Pro), Logosol.

Ted

 

[Railomatic]

A friend of mine has an M7 Logosol outfit, Logosol supply the same low profile or type 50 1/4" chain which does tend stretch and he has had a couple of breakages before today, he uses a 660 magnum on this M7 which is a tad over the top for that chain, the bar is only half a meter across, and he can only handle medium sized trees on the M7.

A 325 conversion and the longer bar is much more reliable, the size of bar and chain the M7 uses, is going to be of no real benefit for a Granberg mill and those large beaches you have there, a 24" bar on an CSM will only give you a 18-20 inches of cut, the 36" bar and 325 conversion chain will give you almost double that, to which your saw will handle nicely.