Just purchased 36 in Alaskan chainsaw mill. Need saw and bar. Want to make slab furniture. Starting with bench. Have a downed big oak from storm. Do I have to use a 36 in bar or can I use a shorter bar. Also will need a saw big enough. Thinking about stihl 660 What do you think. Also what kind of bar and chain. Any help and tips appreciated.
I used to use a granberg alaskan sawmill before I got my band mill.
It is a 36" model and I used a 30" bar on it.
It would cut a board around 24", a little more if you take the dogs off.
I used a 660 to power it. It got the job done but an 880 would be better.
I used many different chain configurations. I liked a skip tooth chain filed to 10 degrees best if the log was clean.
I had 1 or 2 rip chains, but I mostly just used regular chains and would adjust the angle 5 degree with each sharpening to get to the angle I wanted and not waste part of the chain.
Add an auxiliary oiler to extend the life of the chain and bar.
It takes a good amount of power to cut like that, so don't over work the engine with a long bar. I used a set-up like that with an old Homelite saw that seemed to run on testerone it was so powerful, but I could lug the engine anyway if not careful on the pull. We had a 44" bar and cut as much as 40". Definitely need to oil the heck out of it, we stopped using it after ruining the bar. We set the chain angle at 5 degrees and had it super sharp (until we'd hit a nail or such). It was slow and noisy, seemed to be more work than the outcome was worth; but that, of course, is up to the person doing it and their situation. A person could cut one side then the other to get a wider board, but the set-up time gets ridiculous. Best of luck with it.
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