Milling saw recommendation request

[Jon_G_Houston]

hi all
Just joined AS but have been lurking for sometime.
I'm seeking feedback on a saw purchase. I'm a hobbyist woodworker and do occasional church organized hurricane cleanups on the gulf coast. Been using a Stihl 440 since Katrina and a 260 added a few years later.
I have a ~5' diameter pecan tree I'd like to slab for table tops.

I'll appreciate your advise.
I'm considering buying a milling saw and likely a Granberg mill. This saw is only going to see very occasional use.
I crosscut this tree with both a 661 (36") and an 880(41"). Both fairly new unmodified saws with sharp chains. The 880 was a 404 and bogged down and just stopped cutting several times during a non-binding cut. The 660 (3/8) seemed to do better with respect to bogging down.
These two saws just didn't seem to wind up like my 440 or my 260. Are they intended to run lower rpm's? I didn't want to adjust the 880 as it was a borrowed saw.
The 880 just seemed unimpressive for the extra 5.5 lbs of weight and 1.5 extra hp.
Your thoughts?
If I want a long bar do you like canon or piltz? I'll get a ripping chain - any brand recommendation? Does the 880 (or 661) benefit from porting? Who would you recommend for porting?

Thanks in advance
Jon

Jon_G_Houston, Yesterday at 9:30 AMReport
Reply

 

[Brian72]

The 880 will run slower. It's made for more torque to run longer bars. Maybe run skip chain on the longer bars. I run a 661 on my Granberg with a 36" bar. It does pretty good but I haven't done and real big stuff yet. I'm gonna add an auxiliary oiler to my mill. Woodland pro ripping chain from Bailey's online gets good reviews. I got a few loops but haven't had a chance to run it yet.

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[dolmarkid]

395 xp or 3120xp ported

 

[cus_deluxe]

If I want a long bar do you like canon or piltz?

Lol, piltz is a scammer. Canon makes high-quality heavy-duty bars. Be prepared to pay for it but if you want the best then go for it.

 

[sawfun]

880's are a dog when stock, port them and they become the saw you would expect them to be.. A 395 would be a grear saw choice for your application. A properly ported 395 would leave you never looking at an 880 stock, or ported ever again. And the 395's external clutch makes it an ideal milling saw as does the front tensioner.

 

[SeMoTony]

hi all
Just joined AS but have been lurking for sometime.
I'm seeking feedback on a saw purchase. I'm a hobbyist woodworker and do occasional church organized hurricane cleanups on the gulf coast. Been using a Stihl 440 since Katrina and a 260 added a few years later.
I have a ~5' diameter pecan tree I'd like to slab for table tops.

I'll appreciate your advise.
I'm considering buying a milling saw and likely a Granberg mill. This saw is only going to see very occasional use.
I crosscut this tree with both a 661 (36") and an 880(41"). Both fairly new unmodified saws with sharp chains. The 880 was a 404 and bogged down and just stopped cutting several times during a non-binding cut. The 660 (3/8) seemed to do better with respect to bogging down.
These two saws just didn't seem to wind up like my 440 or my 260. Are they intended to run lower rpm's? I didn't want to adjust the 880 as it was a borrowed saw.
The 880 just seemed unimpressive for the extra 5.5 lbs of weight and 1.5 extra hp.
Your thoughts?
If I want a long bar do you like canon or piltz? I'll get a ripping chain - any brand recommendation? Does the 880 (or 661) benefit from porting? Who would you recommend for porting?

Thanks in advance
Jon

Jon_G_Houston, Yesterday at 9:30 AMReport
Reply

Welcome Jon.
I have used an ms-460 muf modded with a sixty inch bar. Now I have a 661 which runs more easily through the wide stuff that shows up sometimes. Look at my avatar to see the first time I used the five footer with the four sixty. IF you are willing to learn to sharpen square chisel going with skip is a big advantage, in my experience. Because your plans are occasional use a forester bar may be enough. A cannon bar order takes months to be filled, they are very good bars ( 50" & 60" in my inventory) for a more dedicated usage, or intent wood justify the expense and wait.
I ordered a 72" forester earlier this month ( amazon) & got it in less than ten days. I'm less likely to have a lot of use for 6 feet bar than 50" or 60" but if it happens within the next 10 months I've got a bar to use before an ordered 6 foot cannon wood come to me.
On the other hand I do have a dual power cannon that will cut around 5 feet. I comes with helper handle & adaptors to mount on 460-660 size studs. .063 groove. I got it because I thought it wood cut 6 feet, my misunderstanding. So it is for sale.
In my experienc ripping chain makes smaller chips or dust. My use of chisel skip has cut larger chips which clear more easily in the spaces between teeth. After a week or 2 it's hard to tell difference between skip chisel cut or ripped. BobL says smoothness is dependent on steady feed thru cut.
In addition the forester I have has little in the way of belly, is a bit less stiff than cannon bars, in my experience, but is stiffer than the 59" es bar on a 880 at a local dealer so IMHO a good buy.
I hope you think safe first & let speed come from experience. Enjoy and learn

 

[Jon_G_Houston]

Lol, piltz is a scammer. Canon makes high-quality heavy-duty bars. Be prepared to pay for it but if you want the best then go for it.

Thanks for the input. I'm on the learning curve and have no experience with Piltz and had not heard of them before. Have now checked the cost and quality of Cannon -wow$. After reading the manufacturing process I get it. My occasional use or maybe one-time use doesn't justify the cost...
Thanks


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[Jon_G_Houston]

880's are a dog when stock, port them and they become the saw you would expect them to be.. A 395 would be a grear saw choice for your application. A properly ported 395 would leave you never looking at an 880 stock, or ported ever again. And the 395's external clutch makes it an ideal milling saw as does the front tensioner.

Saw fun-
Thanks. Is there a company or individual you would recommend for porting if zi go with the Stihl?
Jon


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[sawfun]

Saw fun-
Thanks. Is there a company or individual you would recommend for porting if zi go with the Stihl?
Jon

There are several good ones. Mastermind (Randy Evans), Tree Monkey (Terry), TreeSling'r (Jasha), and Brad Snelling all come to mind and have good reputations. Ive gone the Mastermind route most of the time and have been very happy.

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[Brian72]

Saw fun-
Thanks. Is there a company or individual you would recommend for porting if zi go with the Stihl?
Jon


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I have never had a saw ported yet but I've seen a few names in different forums that have great reputations. Some that come to mind are Bsnelling, Tlandram, Mastermind, MillerModSaws, and f150. You could probably buy a new saw ported from them. Again, I haven't dealt with any of them personally but they all get high praise from their customers.

Saw fun-
Thanks. Is there a company or individual you would recommend for porting if zi go with the Stihl?
Jon


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[Jon_G_Houston]

Welcome Jon.
I have used an ms-460 muf modded with a sixty inch bar. Now I have a 661 which runs more easily through the wide stuff that shows up sometimes. Look at my avatar to see the first time I used the five footer with the four sixty. IF you are willing to learn to sharpen square chisel going with skip is a big advantage, in my experience. Because your plans are occasional use a forester bar may be enough. A cannon bar order takes months to be filled, they are very good bars ( 50" & 60" in my inventory) for a more dedicated usage, or intent wood justify the expense and wait.
I ordered a 72" forester earlier this month ( amazon) & got it in less than ten days. I'm less likely to have a lot of use for 6 feet bar than 50" or 60" but if it happens within the next 10 months I've got a bar to use before an ordered 6 foot cannon wood come to me.
On the other hand I do have a dual power cannon that will cut around 5 feet. I comes with helper handle & adaptors to mount on 460-660 size studs. .063 groove. I got it because I thought it wood cut 6 feet, my misunderstanding. So it is for sale.
In my experienc ripping chain makes smaller chips or dust. My use of chisel skip has cut larger chips which clear more easily in the spaces between teeth. After a week or 2 it's hard to tell difference between skip chisel cut or ripped. BobL says smoothness is dependent on steady feed thru cut.
In addition the forester I have has little in the way of belly, is a bit less stiff than cannon bars, in my experience, but is stiffer than the 59" es bar on a 880 at a local dealer so IMHO a good buy.
I hope you think safe first & let speed come from experience. Enjoy and learn

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[Jon_G_Houston]

Thanks to all who have taken the time to respond. I appreciate you sharing your experience and opinions.
Jon


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[bulletpruf]

If you want a dedicated saw for milling, why not something older? Maybe 075/076? I don't think it will compare with a ported 395, but should only be a fraction of the cost.

Scott

 

[drf255]

I personally wouldn't want a ported saw for milling. Most of the modifications done when "porting" a saw will add heat which is your enemy when milling.

Buy the biggest cc saw you can afford, modify the muffler with a port that blows the exhaust away from you, and do your milling.

The amount of power needed to mill with a saw is truly astounding. If you'll be doing a lot of it and have the space, an entry level bandsaw mill ain't a bad idea and will cost roughly double the amount.

@Paragon Builder has an 076 for sale I believe. It may fit your needs at the right price.

 

[Paragon Builder]

I personally wouldn't want a ported saw for milling. Most of the modifications done when "porting" a saw will add heat which is your enemy when milling.

Buy the biggest cc saw you can afford, modify the muffler with a port that blows the exhaust away from you, and do your milling.

The amount of power needed to mill with a saw is truly astounding. If you'll be doing a lot of it and have the space, an entry level bandsaw mill ain't a bad idea and will cost roughly double the amount.

@Paragon Builder has an 076 for sale I believe. It may fit your needs at the right price.

Yes I have an 075 my neighbor wants to sell. It's 113cc. Basically an ideal milling Saw. It has a manual oiler for when you are milling big stuff. If you are interested send me a pm.
Dan


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[KiwiBro]

Left Coast Supplies have 72" ($380) and 50" ($280) GB bars.
http://leftcoastsupplies.com/product/72-gb-extra-long-titanium-bar/