Safety Concerns with Big Saws when Milling

[Dusty Cheeks]

Hi all,
Long time lurker of this forum and fellow chainsaw miller. I have a 36" Alaskan mill that I've used a MS460 and 066 on for several years now. I just scored a barely used MS880. According to the seller, he bought from his neighbor after he bought it to cut up some big blown down trees. Seller was going to use it on a mill but never got around to it. Seller says that it's about 7 years and has only had about 7 tanks of fuel through it. (Starting to sound like I should have put this in the "You Suck" thread.) I put the 880 it on the mill and put 2 more tanks of gas through it rather quickly. It's a thirsty beast!
When milling, I wear Stihl Pro Mark wrap chaps that are heavy and hot even in the dead of winter. The Pro Marks have seen better days and are suffering from wear/tear. Prior to getting the 880, I'd been toying with getting a pair of much lighter weight chainsaw pants to be more comfortable. Running the 880 on the mill has me rethinking this. What do the rest of you wear on your legs when milling with big saws? Obviously, careful inspection of your equipment and proper maintenance should dramatically reduce the chance of catastrophe but you never know what might happen like hitting buried metal, etc. Has anyone broken a chain on a big saw mid-cut on a slab? . . . and what happened when it did?

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

Has anyone broken a chain on a big saw mid-cut on a slab? . . . and what happened when it did?

Have never broken a big chain I don't think - have hit metal a fair bit. It's near impossible to break a chain hitting metal on a big slab. You're moving so slow thru the cut the teeth make such gradual contact that they immediately all wear down dull and you cease to be able to cut anymore, the chain just spins. I use to wear my chaps religiously until San Antonio summers got to hot for it. It's good practice to use all the safety gear you should, but my experience with broken chains on mid size slabs is nothing happens, the wood in the cut binds up the chain from whipping freely anywhere to cause damage to you. The main thing I always wear is a face shield and respirator to protect my eyes and lungs. Chaps are meant for cross cutting when the saw is at leg level, you would be more likely to suffer upper body damage while milling.

 

[Lightning Performance]

@Dusty Cheeks
You worry too much. The chain is captured on the mill.
I wear shorts and sandals come summer when milling.

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

@Dusty Cheeks
You worry too much. The chain is captured on the mill.
I wear shorts and sandals come summer when milling.

Same. The only use I had for chaps milling was before I evolved and learned to mill upright. Wore them over shorts to protect my knees as I crawled along.

 

[muddy42]

As above, as the mill effectively surrounds the bar and its nearly always buried in wood, I feel safer using my 088 in a mill than when its freehand from a chain throwing perspective. That said I have retained the chain catcher by shortening the felling spikes from which the chain catcher is attached. Id also argue that a chain brake is less essential for a milling saw, I barely use mine.

 

[Lightning Performance]

As above, as the mill effectively surrounds the bar and its nearly always buried in wood, I feel safer using my 088 in a mill than when its freehand from a chain throwing perspective. That said I have retained the chain catcher by shortening the felling spikes from which the chain catcher is attached. Id also argue that a chain brake is less essential for a milling saw, I barely use mine.

My milling saws in position #1 have no chain brake or brake assembly now.

 

[fleethirte]

i hit 3 nails cutting a 4 foot wide slab with a 3120. only damage was to the nails and now my chain is a skip tooth… lol

that chain is still cutting and has taken a lot of abuse.

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

i hit 3 nails cutting a 4 foot wide slab with a 3120. only damage was to the nails and now my chain is a skip tooth… lol

that chain is still cutting and has taken a lot of abuse.

Only damage I ever did much to teeth from nails resulted in one of my best discoveries, the "double skip" grind. Took off alternate pairs of teeth, and chain cut better than ever and is still going.