Noobie question on chain

[Homemade]

I purchased a chainsaw mill and want to mill some rough boards for trailer decking and out building construction. Im not looking to make fine furniture, or slab 60” oaks quite yet.

My question is which chain design cuts the quickest? I have several 90cc saws and an 090G if needed so 404 or 3/8 pitch I can work with. I also can grind square as I already do for my firewood production. I’m not concerned with surface finish. If it’s too rough, I do have a 24” planer to run them through, which might happen to get consistent thickness.


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[Scotty Overkill]

Milling chain is your best bet. It's ground at a lighter angle (10-15° IIRC) so it makes a smoother cut when milling through the fibers in that sort of cut.

 

[JugHead27]

Milling chain is ground at 10-15 degree and typically semi chisel(cutting edge on full chisel dulls too quickly)
That said you can use a normal 30 degree chain and it will cut a bit faster but you may have “washbording” groves from the chain. If it’s just for rough building etc it won’t hurt much

 

[JugHead27]

Get a bar dressing tool so you can keep your bar rails square, or that will also create washboarding

 

[Scotty Overkill]

Milling chain is ground at 10-15 degree and typically semi chisel(cutting edge on full chisel dulls too quickly)
That said you can use a normal 30 degree chain and it will cut a bit faster but you may have “washbording” groves from the chain. If it’s just for rough building etc it won’t hurt much

Thank you for for the correction I had my numbers mixed up. You are 100% correct

 

[Homemade]

Ripping chain is really faster then conventional cross cut chains? I thought that was just for smoothness of cut.


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[Scotty Overkill]

Ripping chain is really faster then conventional cross cut chains? I thought that was just for smoothness of cut.


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Cross.cut chains may cut seemingly quick for a short time but once the chisel tip dulls they slow.down and get choppy in the cut. You sacrifice a little bit of speed for smoothness and consistency when using ripping chain. And if you ask me there's really nothing fast about chainsaw milling....lol. I've done a ton of it over the years (namely on special trees that I just felt horrible about bucking up for firewood), I enjoy doing it sometimes. And to be honest I rarely ever change out to ripping chain.

 

[Homemade]

I have access to plenty of 20” diameter and smaller ash and power pole butts that I was planning on doing my milling with.
Next question, what angles to convert regular full chisel to ripping chain.

Next question is what depth gauge/raker setting do you guys run. Standard .025” or deeper?

And thanks for the help.


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[mainer_in_ak]

If mostly 20" and under ash, just run one of your 90 cc saws with 3/8 skip:

https://loggerchain.net/collections...8-pitch-050-56-dl-full-skip-semi-chisel-chain

If the wood isn't green, and it's dry ash, youch.......run that 090g with .404. Get that goofy governor tuned or disabled. Dry ash, bring out a tough chain. The slow cut speed of that 090g will like an aggressive bite. I'd go 27rx versacut, it stays sharp. Frawleys got good prices:

https://loggerchain.net/collections...gauge-72-drive-link-versacut-oregon-saw-chain

Don't worry about the initial factory angle on the semi chisel stuff, just run it as-is. If you feel there's to much load on the saw, drop 5 degrees off the angle on your first sharpening.

 

[Eduardo K]

Some interesting comparisons here:

There are always variables…

 

[Eduardo K]

There was a gentleman on one of these boards who performed a good bit of timed milling cuts with different grinds in cants. I thought I had the thread book marked, of course I can’t find it. IIRC, the guy was from Idaho and it was a six page thread with the info buried somewhere in the middle. I’ll practice some google-fu and see if I can find it.
Speed of cut is relative. The fastest cutting chain might dull after the first board. If you have to touch up or swap a chain after each cut, what’s the point?
Again, let me see if I can find the thread.

 

[mainer_in_ak]

20 below zero milling wood, the ocs-1 steel used in the .404 versacut stuff stays sharper, longer than anything I've used.

On smaller saws, the versacut stuff is what i use for cutting sweepers while clearing canoe trail, you can plunge into creek mud to cut water-logged woodpile-up and keep chugging.

I also use it cutting out stumps.


Seasoned ash would be tough to mill, which is why I'd go versacut.

Not sure what other chains are made of this good steel, but this is what oregon says about it:

"All Oregon professional and harvester saw chains are now made from the company's own patented OCS-01 steel alloy. Designed to be more durable in cold weather conditions, Oregon cutting saw chain steel is tested and proven to be 125% tougher at minus 20° Fahrenheit and 20% tougher at room temperature."

Hit a nail with stihl rs, done. Hit a nail with versacut, it keeps chugging through the rip.....

 

[Wolverine]

I've milled a chit ton. W/ my long bar, I use full chisel/full skip square ground. Don't grind your top plate so steep, try for about 15 degree's and let er rip! Milled chestnut oak once with my 28" bar and used full comp/full chisel and it cut pretty darn quick for such a dense hard wood. Finish isn't hatefull. I'm sure semi users would be a bit better but I'm going for speed of cut not smoothness of plank. If you have a square grinder, profile a wheel just for milling and don't look back.

That was the full comp which was normal firewood angles. 25 degree top plate.
https://opeforum.com/threads/oak.19899/

This is the finish on black gum, same chain.

https://opeforum.com/threads/black-gum-poplar-and-cherry.24535/

 

[Wolverine]

This is from when I first started milling. Hand round filed full skip/full chisel (at about 10-15 degrees).

And apple w/ the same chain.

 

[Guido Salvage]

I have access to plenty of 20” diameter and smaller ash and power pole butts that I was planning on doing my milling with.

Are the power poles treated? If so, you have two issues…:

* The dust is toxic
* Creosote will quickly dull your chain

 

[Nutball]

What about milling normally 90deg to the log vs at an angle for a semi-noodle cut? Is advancing the powerhead first faster than advancing the tip first?

 

[Wolverine]

What about milling normally 90deg to the log vs at an angle for a semi-noodle cut? Is advancing the powerhead first faster than advancing the tip first?

I thought about this but when I've tried, you end up making the amount of wood the bar is cutting much greater. So I think it offsets to a degree. It's not the easiest thing to do either. If you are doing really small stuff, I'd think it would be doable, but I'm hardly ever into anything under 25".

Doesn't matter which way the mill angle goes either (PH first or tip).

 

[Eduardo K]

What about milling normally 90deg to the log vs at an angle for a semi-noodle cut? Is advancing the powerhead first faster than advancing the tip first?

I feel like milling perpendicular (90*) to the log helps with the smoothness of the cut. Changing the angle of attack to something more acute has never resulted in any speed gain for me, only a rougher finish.