Saw Recomendation

[Zack_M]

I would liek some recomendations before I purchase a new saw. At the moment I have a 32" Panther mill that I've been running with a McMulloch 200 saw with a 24" bar. While the saw cuts its incredibly loud, heavy, a bit on the slow side and I don't think it will do well with a longer bar.
The majority of what I'm milling in a mix of yellow pine, cypress and poplar with an occational oak or walnut thrown into the mix. Most of the longs are in the 24"-30" diamteter range and have been down for several years.
I understand +100cc is needed in larger logs but based on what I'm cutting is the significant differnece in price between an MS661/395XP and a 3120XP/MS880 really be justified?

 

[groundup]

I am in a similar situation and debating between a 661 and 880

 

[bigmoose]

I have a 42 inch panther that I use on my 880. I use a 48 inch bar and do mostly red oak. I don think you will regret getting an 880.

 

[mad murdock]

I would jump to a 661 0r 390/395XP and set it up with a .050" bar and use picco or low profile ripping chain. What you lack in cc (not much) is more than made up by the small kerf and less HP required to pull it through the wood. a 661 size saw is the max cc recommended for the 63PMX chain, and bar lengths 47" and less. Anything larger/longer you need to go to 3/8" chassis chain or .404".

 

[groundup]

I did decide on a 661 R, my dealer has it, probably can't pick it up until the 14th, any milling pics with a 661 yet? or am I going to be the first one

 

[mdavlee]

I did decide on a 661 R, my dealer has it, probably can't pick it up until the 14th, any milling pics with a 661 yet? or am I going to be the first one

Might be the first one. Let us know how the mtronic takes care of it.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Let us know how the mtronic takes care of it.

Subscribed. Since you can't manually detune it, I wonder if it will sense a long hard cut and detune itself. I'm not up to speed on what sensors it has to draw information from.

 

[groundup]

I have milled with my 441 C and it ran like a champ, but that was just one log. We will see how a mtronic saw does long term. I am going to take some time and get it broken in first.
I do have a spalted maple log that needs to be done so I'll get pics up sooner than later

 

[mdavlee]

Cool. I'm interested to see what it does.

 

[mad murdock]

Logosol has an extensive YT channel and they feature a 661 milling on their videos almost exclusively, that is on the videos showing their CSM models in action. Well worth the watch.

 

[mdavlee]

Logosol has an extensive YT channel and they feature a 661 killing on their videos almost exclusively, that is on the videos showing their CSM models in action. Well worth the watch.

Link?

 

[BigOakAdot]

I've been milling with a 660 has treated
Me great. Got through a 29" log with it
Without a hitch. Cheers.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Link?

 

[JS929]

I am in a similar situation and debating between a 661 and 880

I am in a similar situation and debating between a 661 and 880

I don't know if you decided which saw to go with yet, but I have been using a Stihl ms660 with a 36" Granberg and 36" bar. I came into a 50+" maple to mill that had burl, spalting, and was just going to be an amazing tree to mill, and I had to upgrade. You probably could get a 660 or a 395 to mill with a bar 50"+ but it will be slow and hard on the machine. I won't lie. I am still somewhat new to chainsaw milling, and I am trying to learn as much as possible about it. I have gathered though that to run large bars on large logs in an efficient manner that is easier on the saw, then a 100+ CC saw is required. Back to the maple tree, I picked up a barely used 880 off of Craig's list, and I ordered a 3/8x.063 GB bar that is 60" long plus a 60" mill inversion for my Granberg. I still had to break in the 880, and I will admit that it was a bit finicky at first compared to my 660. However, once broken in ( cutting firewood ), I used it to mill the sections of this maple that the 660 and 36" bar couldn't handle. The difference between the two saws was night and day. I like both of them, and the 880 has a lot of power as does the 660. However, I view the 660 like a speedboat and the 880 like a tug boat in terms of the differences between them. The 660 is a far more versatile saw as the weight of the 880 is taxing on you after a short time if using it for felling or bucking. If you plan on having a saw just dedicated to milling, then I would go with the biggest thing you can get. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

 

[Boon]

Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

100% agreed. I started with a 660 thinking it would be big enough, then got the milling bug and not too long after found myself getting into bigger logs. The poor 660 was having a hard time, much longer and it would have been a rebuild. Since the 880 have not looked back even on smaller logs. One drawback was the air filter that came with the 880, no good for milling. I purchased another from ebay etc it is oval with gauze on the outside and the paper filter behind. Just remove the foam insert and make sure you get one with the sock that slips over the filter. I keep the stock filter as a back up only. It might pay to place a rubber "O" ring on the inside of the threaded bolt that holds the cover over the air filter. They can suck a bit of saw dust up in underneath the filter....takes up the play.
If you are tossing up saw sizes....when in doubt - then there is no doubt.....880

 

[JS929]

100% agreed. I started with a 660 thinking it would be big enough, then got the milling bug and not too long after found myself getting into bigger logs. The poor 660 was having a hard time, much longer and it would have been a rebuild. Since the 880 have not looked back even on smaller logs. One drawback was the air filter that came with the 880, no good for milling. I purchased another from ebay etc it is oval with gauze on the outside and the paper filter behind. Just remove the foam insert and make sure you get one with the sock that slips over the filter. I keep the stock filter as a back up only. It might pay to place a rubber "O" ring on the inside of the threaded bolt that holds the cover over the air filter. They can suck a bit of saw dust up in underneath the filter....takes up the play.
If you are tossing up saw sizes....when in doubt - then there is no doubt.....880

Boon we are definitely on the same page. Here is a pic of one of the" ugly " maple slabs I've been getting into lately. I promise this slab compared to the others is just ok, but it is still gorgeous to me. I got my 880 just for this tree. Now this slab in the pic is only about 34-37" at its widest, but I used the 880 and a 60" bar and mill to do it. I have no other bar and rip chain currently for her other than the 60" set up. I was amazed at how easily the 880 chewed it up. I put the log at a slight incline, and that 70 plus pound rig pushed itself right thru straight and true! I will use the 660 for bucking and felling and on the mini mill, but I'm all about the 880 now.

You are spot on about the filter in the 880. I think mine is foam with a wire screen around it, and it has a pre-filter over it. It seems to do well. I blow it or shake it out in between every cut. Let me know what you think of the slab man.

 

[Boon]

Good to hear you went the whole hog
Definately ugly!
Thanks for the pics

 

[Zack_M]

That is the most hideous slab of maple I've ever seen!
So horrible I'll dispose of it for you and won't even charge you.

I've had a few people warn me about the weight and starting difficulty of the 880 but after milling with my 1960s McCulloch I anticipate it being a breeze.

McCulloch 200
ProMac 700
ProMac 55
Stihl MS250
Husky 235

 

[JS929]

I don't know....it might scar you for life looking like that. Are you sure you want to take that risk?


I can't imagine what that Mac is like. I posted the other day about an issue I had with the 880 where the decomp would disengage halfway through a pull stroke to start it. I've seen it happens from time to time. The best I could gather was it was flooded a little bit and had preignition. Whatever the case, it sucked....bad. I thought I pulled my fingers off my hand. I did wind up with a bruise shaped like the starter handle across all of the fingers in contact with it.

 

[Zack_M]

The old Macs are fun to use on occasion for relatively short periods of time.
They do not have any anti-vib, manual oilers (thumb gets tired rather quickly). The muffler is nothing but a peice of formed sheet metal with some holes in it, I've let it idle a few feet away on the ground while making a quick cut with my 361 wide open and you can still hear it clear as a bell.
If the carberator looses it's prime it'll take 15-20 pulls (no decompression valves) to get them to kick over. The fuel tank is metal and mounted directly to the head so when it gets hot the fuel likes to boil in the tank and fuel line so heaven help you if you turn it off, or let it die, so get used to filling the tank with it running and whatever is left in the tank boiling. They run 20:1 mix, which smells fantastic I can tell you, and max out at a deafening 6000 RPM so the cuts take awhile. On the other hand there's nothing that sounds or looks quite like them.
It's the chainsaw equivalent of a big block chevy running with straight headers.

McCulloch 200
ProMac 700
ProMac 55
Stihl MS250
Husky 235