what breaks on a CS when miling?

[foursaps]

I have heard from many people that milling is tough on a saw, but i have not heard what parts are known to go on a saw used in a mill. so from your experience, what are the most common wear parts on a saw used for milling? also, what measures are you taking to lessen the wear? I know some of the most common ones are the chain and bar, but what about on the powerhead itself?

thanks!!

 

[Hillbilly3995]

I run my milling powerhead very rich- to the point it will not hit full pulling rpm until its under a full load. I have not had any problems other than a few broken clutch springs, I attribute that to the torture of being stretched and hot for extended periods.

 

[mtngun]

I run my milling powerhead very rich- to the point it will not hit full pulling rpm until its under a full load.

:agree2: I tune a little richer for milling, i.e., 500 - 1000 rpm lower WOT than a firewood saw.

I mix the oil around 40:1 instead of 50:1.

What breaks ? I have a lot of problems with mufflers and muffler bolts. Mufflers rust and crack, bolts rattle out and get lost.

 

[BlueRider]

Not much wearing out as much as rattling loose for me. I'm running a couple of old stihls, an 051 and an 075. In 15 years of milling I have toasted an ignition coil, a rim sprocket, and an oil pump. The oil pump didn't fail as much as it just wore out from use.

As for rattling loose I have lost 1 bar nut and a couple of other assorted nuts and bolts. Loctite is now my friend.

I use a grandberg mill and I wear out the bar clamp bolts and the U bolts that adjust the height. I switched to grade 8 nuts so the wear is primarily over streatching of the bolts.

I cary a few 5mm bolts, a couple of cariage bolts for the bar clamps, a few nuts, a spare air filter and chain and thats about it for spare parts. I do have a couple of extra carburators and if I am traveling a long way I try to remember to toss one in the tool kit just because it is easier to change carbs than clean the screen when in the field.

 

[BobL]

I agree with the comments made about the powerhead and losing nuts and bolts eg the clutch has come of my 076 twice.

Other damage includes
a 42" chain, lost a bunch of cutters from bar clamps being too loose
a 60" Chain too loose and it jumped the drive sprocket, and to replace 6 drive links
a cracked ally clutch cover, rewelded and strengthened
a bent brass aux oiler delivery point from vibing loose and dropping onto chain - lucky it was brass.

Through fair wear and tear I've worn out a 42" bar and a few chains and rim sprockets, and the air filter on the 076 developed a small hole so I replaced it. I've also replaced the plug and fuel and oil filters on my 076. Nothing much when I really thing about it.

 

[NEP]

Vibrations is hard on all screws, nuts and clamps. You have to tighten screws and nuts very often or they will damage the threads when rattling loose.

I had a Jred 920 wearing out the bearings far too soon.

If you don't keep your chain very sharp and your ear on the RPM's you can very easily heat up and toast the clutch.

 

[Hillbilly3995]

I switched to grade 8 nuts so the wear is primarily over streatching of the bolts.

I tinker with old airplanes sometimes, toss those grade 8's and get some aircraft bolts, they
are vastly superior to grade 8's (threads are formed, not cut- no seizing) better (if you can imagine that) steel. but yes more expensive too. - Hillbilly


PS. I run my oil mix at 16:1 (for milling) oil is cheaper than saws

 

[hazard]

I have snapped a few of the u-bolts on the granberg mill. Stripped the heads on many bolts tightening the u-bolts.

In 15yrs I have never had a problem with the saws. I do nothing special to them. 93 octane and stihl oil.

Before getting the auxillary oiler I overheated a few chains.

Chris

 

[bobsreturn]

its the operator first in my case ? but i do run rich at 32-1 , and check tension full on oil all the time , sliding slabs was a lot easirer 10 years ago . mostly use a lucas saw slabber now , but its not easy , have worn out a homlite 410 and a stihl 066 . its a great surprise when you open those logs . cheers Bob up top down under in nth qld

 

[BlueRider]

I tinker with old airplanes sometimes, toss those grade 8's and get some aircraft bolts, they
are vastly superior to grade 8's (threads are formed, not cut- no seizing) better (if you can imagine that) steel. but yes more expensive too. - Hillbilly


PS. I run my oil mix at 16:1 (for milling) oil is cheaper than saws

I run grade 8 nuts and standard grade bolts. that way all the wear in on the bolts and when they fail my .404 chain will cut through them when the bar comes loose without ruining the chain. if I used hardened bolts it would toast the chain.

I have been milling with 50:1 for 15 years and my saws are just fine. I use Stihl HP ultra.

 

[BlueRider]

I have snapped a few of the u-bolts on the granberg mill. Stripped the heads on many bolts tightening the u-bolts.

In 15yrs I have never had a problem with the saws. I do nothing special to them. 93 octane and stihl oil.

Before getting the auxillary oiler I overheated a few chains.

Chris

I used to strip the U bolt nuts too then I switched to using connector nuts. they are about 1" long and the ectra length puts them out far enough that you can get a good grip with a socket or a scrench without striping them.

 

[hazard]

I will try the connector nuts. I have always been irritated with the mill because I can not get a socket on the nuts for tightening. There is not enough clearance between the nuts and mill.

Thanks
Chris

 

[Hillbilly3995]

I run grade 8 nuts and standard grade bolts. that way all the wear in on the bolts and when they fail my .404 chain will cut through them when the bar comes loose without ruining the chain. if I used hardened bolts it would toast the chain.

I have been milling with 50:1 for 15 years and my saws are just fine. I use Stihl HP ultra.

Good point about the bolts but, I have never had a aircraft fastener fail without adequate warning on my equipment.

Also I was not suggesting that 50:1 or whatever the manufacturer recommends is inadequate, My point is I prefer overkill on lubrication.

 

[foursaps]

thanks guys!!

as a relative newbie to milling, this info is great! I hope this helps for a lot of other new guys like myself, and gives them an idea of what to watch for when milling, or performing maintenance on the mill.

keep em coming!!

 

[huskyhank]

I lube all my saw's fastners, especially ones that get used a lot like the bar nuts and chain adjuster. A little anti-seize helps you tighten the fastner properly and lets you loosen it when you want.

Keep the area where the bar clamps clean and dry when you have it apart. The bar will stay tight and adjusted better if its clean when you clamp it on.

Otherwise I think the places to pay particular attention are the air filter, fuel vent and spark plug. Clean the air filter often (every time you finish milling and once during the day) and maybe carry an extra one with you if you're really cutting all day. Carry an extra plug, sooner or later it'll die. Don't lay the saw down in a pile of fine milling sawdust. My 3120s fuel vent gets clogged up if I'm not real careful.

Lately I've been using my auxiliary oiler with my 32" bar. I can cut all day and not have to adjust the chain. Before I only used the auxiliary oiler with my 42" bar. I let it drool plenty of canola on the bar and now think its worth doing this for all milling.

Carry an extra chain and new files. Sharpen often. I get about 2-3 cuts in clean 24" oak logs before I lose good sharpness. (2 cuts really) Continuing past the point of "still good and sharp" is a bad idea and will wear you and your equipment --lots-- faster.

 

[gemniii]

what breaks on a CS when miling?

What breaks when I mill is the nut that holds the mill - me.
Improper positioning cause painful backs, or knees.
Metal encountered causes cursing.

Now if you really meant miling, I wouldn't know, I've never ran my CS for miles

 

[Brmorgan]

I have snapped a few of the u-bolts on the granberg mill. Stripped the heads on many bolts tightening the u-bolts.
Chris

Me too - those U-bolts are terrible for galling up. The actual Granberg ones are something like $9 at the dealer here, but I've found a couple generic muffler-hanger-type U-bolts that are close enough that I could easily bend them a bit by hammering them over a pipe to get the proper radius. I've also switched over to proper 5/16" connector nuts, but the ones I get out of the bulk bins at the local saw shop are a full 2" long. Like this:

They're MUCH easier to get a wrench on to adjust, and they seem to stay put better with less torque on them; more friction from the extra thread contact, I guess. Personally I use a ratchet box wrench that is 1/2" on one end and 9/16" on the other - it fits pretty much every nut and bolt on both the Alaskan and my vertical mill jig and fits in a pocket quite easily.

Add me to the broken-clutch-springs list. I've had four 660/066 springs go in three different saws, and on one clutch the holes the springs hook through are worn out so bad that even brand-new springs don't hold back very well.

 

[Brmorgan]

What breaks when I mill is the nut that holds the mill - me.
Improper positioning cause painful backs, or knees.
Metal encountered causes cursing.

That has a certain haiku-like character to it IMO!

 

[BobL]

A big nuisance is vibe.
If it cannot be eliminated or reduced, one way to reduce the effect of vibe is to reduce vibe amplitude by strategic spring placement.

Here you can see an occy strap between the two top ends of the mill.

If I take that off, eventually I lose all the nuts and bolts and bits on those little cranks that control the bar height. I recently added another diagonal bungee cord to help stiffen up those verticals.

It's very interesting switching between the 076 and 880 - different things fall off and break with each saw.