MS 362 on a chain saw mill rig

[sawinredneck]

I'd like to build a log cabin, small, on the land I cut on, but I've no desire to mill anything! I've watched it done, not my cup of tea! Even with a band mill, not for me! I'm good with notching and grooving to make the ends fit, and I'll chink the hell out of it if I have to!
Milling is an "acquired" art form!

 

[Al Smith]

I'm not a fan of chainsaw milling .Having said that though I've done a little using a Homelite 2100 ,a McCulloch SP125 and an 048 Stihl .

The two large saws will get about a foot a minute on 18" oak and the 76 CC Stihl about half that speed .The novelty wore off rather quickly for me regarding chainsaw milling .

The only thing I would think it beneficial for is perhaps cutting crotch wood or something that would be difficult to chuck up in a bandsaw .

 

[wiley_p]

I would think that running a 362, which is a "stratocharged" engine. You will wind up burning that saw up within 10 -15 tanks. Ignoring the fact that a 60cc powerhead is pretty dang small for that application, Stihl should have designed that saw with liners so that it would not be so expensive to redo the topend.

 

[woodworkingboy]

It isn't just the power of the saw and bar length that determines what size logs can be milled. The distance between the vertical posts on an Alaskan mill only allow that which will fit between them. There are different sized mills. I don't know if the current mills come with the supplementary oil tank that drips onto the chain from above, my Sperber doesn't have it, but even with saws that have good oil output, my opinion is that the additional oil helps, although a slight hassle to keep shutting on and off the flow when running and stopping. The hot chain really can get a lot of crud building up on it. Not sure that in itself hinders cutting so much, but the additional lubrication is a plus.

I've milled extensively with 076s, single and double power heads attached. Unless doing dinky stuff, I wouldn't want anything much less in the power department. Power is where it's at, without it the going is just too slow. I've also milled with the 090 and 090G. Might want to run a little richer when milling, full throttle(s) all the way through the pass. The engines run hot.

 

[sotc]

You can order the oilers but they don't come with

 

[stig]

I've done a shitload of hardwood milling over the years.
Started out with an 064 but changed over to an 084 and never looked back.

Big engine, lots of power at low RPMs are the way to go.
I would have loved to get my hands on a 090, but they are scarcer than hens teeth in Europe.

Dave is right, using a 362 as a mill saw is a surefire way to kill it.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Anyone doing chainsaw milling should have Will Malloff's book...the photos in it are worth it alone. E's a boy...spoke with him on the phone once. I believe it's out of print, but it does show up at Amazon.

 

[squisher]

Sounds like a weird plan to me. I agree with Newf, if you're gonna get into milling I'd get a mill. Transport the large wood to the mill, only way I'd chainsaw mill was if I was taking the mill to the wood. Does anyone here ever mill anything up residentially?

 

[Al Smith]

The bottom line is if you want to mill with a chainsaw you need to get something that has some guts to begin with .Wiemie dog ,Walter ,talks of making 20 minute cuts on oak with I believe a 797 Mac in oak .A more enhanced modern high performance modern saw could not get-er-done very long doing that kind of stuff unless special tuning were taken into account .

You get a cut that long chances are are you will turn a saw not tuned for that kind of torture into toast. Milling with a chainsaw is more tough than stumping and both sucks in my opinion .

 

[stig]

You are so right; Al.
It sucks.
But the price of hardwood lumber in this country is so high, that one can make decent wages by milling a nice log, which would have ended up in the firewood stack otherwise.

When the elms died, I milled all the good logs I could get my hands on and stock piled the boards.

Started selling them off 4 years ago, when nobody else had any elm boards left.

Made some good money from that and it was so long ago that I milled them, that I'd clean forgotten how hateful it was at the time

 

[Al Smith]

Good hardwood isn't cheap any where . I'm thinking around 2.75 -3 bucks a board foot ,number 1 and fine and select oak .Cherry and walnut would be higher .

Those prices are what inspired me to build the bandsaw mill which is still a works in progress .

That project would be done had it not been for this "home improvement " stuff which seems to be taking all my time at the present ..:roll:

 

[TreeDimensional]

Remember the saw kerf difference between a chainsaw and bandsaw. There is a lot more waste with the chainsaw mill, and a lot smoother cut (from what I've seen)with the band. My mill can be torn down and set up on-site. I also have it mounted on a trailer so my options are limitless as to where to mill the wood. I can haul the wood to the mill or haul the mill to the logs!

 

[Cut4fun]

Ripping large logs into quarters with big saws and short bars is so scary fast. Be careful. I get called in by the firewood guys to break down the big hardwoods so they can buck up big log quarters with their 20" bars.

 

[ReclaimedTrees]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I've got a band mill at my disposal, and that will be choice # 1. Chain saw is going to be just for slabbing. Looked at the lucas mill options $15K is the start price for what I would want . . . I'll wear out an 880 and then pony up the cash if I get profitable. I am interested to know if anyone else does residential milling, Newfie said he's done it before.