Bigger setup for CS milling

[SawAddictedFarmer]

I miss him

 

[EFSM]

I don't do chain saw milling, but I use my own build of portable bandsaw. I have a simple rule: don't have too many cutting teeth in the cut. For wide cuts (39" in my case) I grind back the tips of 3 in 4 teeth (saws mainly supplied as 1.5 or 1.75" pitch) so that I have one cutter in 6 or 7 inches of saw. This gives easy, accurate cutting. A saw for small logs (say 20" or so) cuts freely with 3" effective pitch.

Does this bandsaw have powered head advance or is it manual? How fast will it cut with that few teeth?

 

[emanuel]

Keep the .404 with these large bars and saws, it handles the load substantially better than 3/8, less stretching, less sharpening, for just a bit more kerf width. I have an 881 since 2021, hasnt missed a beat during all this time, 99% milling with a 48” setup, running 25:1 mix. Very happy with my purchase. As for the double ended bar and saws, I wouldnt do it. The bar is expensive, you need a helper etc. 2 saws = 1 more thing to keep an as eye out, servicing, problems etc.
Buy any one of those 2 big saws and you’re set. A few nice slabs and they paid for themselves. I’d get the 881 over the 3120, the side chain tensioner is nice, and it has more grunt once the exhausts are opened up the same.

 

[SawNut]

I have almost no experience with chainsaw milling due to having a band mill. Running two saws on one bar sounds like something feasible as long as you have a way to connect both throttles together.

I have a feeling that a carbide chain will wear out from stretching way before the teeth are shot. If you have the moolah to cough up for one, let us know how it goes.

Milling with an expensive chainsaw mill setup can get close enough to a cheap used band mill that I would seriously consider shopping for one. However, if you’re looking for something to cut 48”, that will take a lot of dough to get a band mill that big.

Would love to have a nice bandsaw mill setup, but a lot of the logs I mill are in remote areas, where it would be almost impossible to get a mill, and yeah, some trees are just too big. In an ideal world, I'd have both setups. It is definitely on my "someday" list. This is just a hobby for me though. My brother and father do a lot of woodworking, and have enjoyed all of the wood I have milled for them over the years. My brother just built a quarter sawn white oak vanity for his bathroom, from wood that I cut from an old fence row. It's nice to have furniture in my house, where I cut the tree and milled it, and my father built it. He's getting older, so that time is getting slim, unfortunately. This has been fun for me over the years. I've also milled quite a bit for friends and other relatives.

 

[SawNut]

Keep the .404 with these large bars and saws, it handles the load substantially better than 3/8, less stretching, less sharpening, for just a bit more kerf width. I have an 881 since 2021, hasnt missed a beat during all this time, 99% milling with a 48” setup, running 25:1 mix. Very happy with my purchase. As for the double ended bar and saws, I wouldnt do it. The bar is expensive, you need a helper etc. 2 saws = 1 more things to keep on eye out, servicing, problems etc.
Buy any one of those 2 big saws and you’re set. A few nice slabs and they paid for themselves. I’d get the 881 over the 3120, the side chain tensioner is nice, and it has more grunt once the exhausts are opened up the same.

Thanks for the info on bar/chain size, and on the dual saw setup. I do also see that there is a high output oiler for the 881, but seems to only be available outside of the US. You have any issues oiling your 48? I'd obviously have suplimental bar oiling on the other side of the nose sprocket.

 

[emanuel]

Thanks for the info on bar/chain size, and on the dual saw setup. I do also see that there is a high output oiler for the 881, but seems to only be available outside of the US. You have any issues oiling your 48? I'd obviously have suplimental bar oiling on the other side of the nose sprocket.

No issues oiling the 48, but I’m planing to get a 72” soon. I’ve seen that oiler from australia, $200 no thanks , you need a dripper anyway for really big bars milling. The stock one can be modified if you really need more output, pretty easy to do, there’s videos on youtube. Also, using that part number I think any dealer can order it for you. That being said I’m a bit annoyed the standard isnt the high output, you can always turn it down if you don’t need all that oil. Stihl probably got their hands forced by these silly pollution requirements.