milling bar damage

[cleargrain]

Howdy,
Read a lot of good advice here, but now have a question of my own. Been milling doug fir with an 075 for about 20 gallons worth of gas with no problems other than learning how to get more effecient at sharpening. Just bought an older 066 for increased chain spead and found that it cut about twice as fast as the 075 if the cut was under 18" However, the bar is taking a beating. After about 3 tanks of gas the cutting edge of bar has ripples in it about where the edge of the cant is. Any ideas about what's going on here? The guys at the local saw shop told me to quit milling with the 066. Running a 32" bar in a 30" mill w/ an aux oiler and Oregon rip chain - .404 x 0.63.

Thanks, scott

 

[NWCS]

first off i would change to 3/8" chain, you need to cut all possible resistance. use the shortest bar/chain combo you can get away with. make sure your oiler is set to the max setting. you want max oiling on that baby and make real sure the oil hole stays clear. an 066 should do, i would also recommend a 7pin sprocket to get the most torque (the critical aspect in milling) a proper ripping chain is also a good choice. using a standard crosscut chain will drag the RPM way down and cause much heat in both the bar and engine and keep your chain at peak condition. sharpen often. when i was milling dirty wood i would go as far as pressure washing the logs. i did most of my milling with a husky 181 and some with a stihl 046 Magnum. the 181 did well but the 046 proved too small and ran pretty darn HOT! (started milling on the 3rd tank through a new saw) most of my milling was 28+ inch wide fir and about 25+ feet long. a little alder too. i would also recommend running 40:1 mix with the saw tuned slightly rich but not too much, you dont want carbon buildup.
running lean will just kill your power and possibly kill your saw. milling is REALLY hard on a saw so anything that can help lubricate or cool is a good thing.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I don't see where milling with the 066 would affect bar wear, unless it's faster chain speed has something to do with it. Shouldn't. I mill with a 660. Is your chain tension appropriate?

Jeff

 

[cleargrain]

Ben,

Thanks for the tips. Running a 7 pin rim sproket and the oiler is producing the way it should. Don't have a pressure washer available on site, so we've been peeling the logs - lots of work, but keepss the grit out of my saw. Did you let your saw idle for a minute or two at the end of the those long wide cuts to cool down a little?

-Scott

 

[cleargrain]

Jeff,

I see you're in Port Angeles. Hope you like it, it's where I grew up. Nothing like being able to ski, hunt, fish, and kayak all in the same day. Chain tension might be the issue, but I thought I was keeping pretty good tabs on it. Are you thinking that if it was a little loose it would compress a little where it entered the log and beat the bar up there?

-Scott

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I do like P.A., but I was stationed in Kodiak before here, so I'm eager to get back up there. But if I can't be there, P.A. is a good second place!

Improper chain tension, either too loose or too tight can cause wear problems. If it's too loose, it could be jumping in and out of the bar groove before or after the cut, causing accellerated wear on your rails. I've not seen it happen myself, I'm just brainstorming. But any wear on the bar is caused by the chain. Simple as that. Even regular wear. The most common culprits are chain tension and lack of oil.

Jeff

 

[t_andersen]

I run a 064 with a 32" bar, 3/8 chain, and aux oiler, so it's quite similar to your setup, Scott. I see quite some wear on the bar, also on the tip, but no ripple.

Maybe you have a chain tension problem as suggested by Jeff ??

Tom

 

[dingo]

Howdy,
Read a lot of good advice here, but now have a question of my own. Been milling doug fir with an 075 for about 20 gallons worth of gas with no problems other than learning how to get more effecient at sharpening. Just bought an older 066 for increased chain spead and found that it cut about twice as fast as the 075 if the cut was under 18" However, the bar is taking a beating. After about 3 tanks of gas the cutting edge of bar has ripples in it about where the edge of the cant is. Any ideas about what's going on here? The guys at the local saw shop told me to quit milling with the 066. Running a 32" bar in a 30" mill w/ an aux oiler and Oregon rip chain - .404 x 0.63.

Thanks, scott

I ran a 3/8 rip chain on a 20" bar without extra oiler and a 36" bar 3/8" with extra oil and found I was pushing the mill too hard. I was running a stihl 066. Had plenty of power. The 20" bar took the worst beating and rippled. I think without the extra oiler and my haste the bar was running hot. I had rip chains on both but due to my inexperience I don't think I kept them sharp enough. I haven't milled in a while; I often wondered what a long a bar would do with all the bells and whistles; would require more muscle on the business
end.

 

[cbfarmall]

Howdy,
Been milling doug fir with an 075

If you block off the governor valve in the carby of your 075, you'll gain a noticable increase in power. Mine had a problem with loading while milling. I'd have to back if off and let the engine rev up to clean it out. Problem disappeared when I blocked the governor.

Chris B.

 

[cleargrain]

Dingo,
Interesting about the 20" bar. I was considering trying a shorter bar to see if part of the problem was using the longer bar to cut my 12" cants and creating a pressure point on the bar because there was so much space between the tip and where the chain went into the wood.
-Scott