I've been working on some 25-30" wide tulip with my ms661 and I've also had negligible gains with the Oregon 72rd ripping chain. I haven't filed it yet, just milled two 11' slabs straight out of the box. I'll see how it does after a sharpening, but so far it's performed similarly speed wise to my semi chisel half skip stihl 30deg chain. I'm running a 36" bar.
I found that a 36" bar is a little short & 42" is much better, but a MS661 may struggle in hardwoods. This vid is running full compilation 3/8 chain, but skip tooth is better for anything over 30". I found there is no good 3/8 skip chains have just swapped over to 28"/36" .404 bars for us with Stihl 46RMF skip tooth chain on my MS661. (.404 also stays sharper longer) My MS880 runs GB Titanium 44"/60" bars with the same chain.
I'm glad you didn't do a fast forward like other videos I've seen but wow that seemed slow. Is the ms661 still performing well for you? I'm looking at that saw and another and trying to determine if the electronics on it will be a good/bad thing.
I run a 661 with an alaskan mill and love it! There are times when I wish I could have an 880 but that only lasts until I remind myself how much it costs
Well from the looks of it he’s cut at least two slabs so unless he sharpened the chain he’s made 3 cuts before this cut. Those are big slabs, not sure if he sharpened the chain before he started either. I run a quick file down my chain after every 2-3 cuts on larger slabs, especially with hard work like oak.
I have tried 3/8 10 degrees & did not find enough difference to warrant separate chains, can't remember if this was with the ripping chain. We just use normal chain now & don't need to change chains for normal work.
My opinion is, Full chisel is good for softwoods, but does not stay sharp long enough in Australian hardwoods. I agree that a full chisel has a better cutting performance, but we are normally talking about seconds in a cut. On a long length of milling timber a semi chisel stays sharper longer & therefore can out perform the full chisel. It's also the 30min time spent sharpening a milling chain you need to look at, I would rather take an extra few seconds in a cut & save on sharpening. Less sharpening also = Longer lasting chain. Hope that's helpful.
Not sure what bar that is , but it looks like it could have used a shorter bar and delivered a little more power.. Also I think those gudes could use a water tank holder with a hose down to the blade and chain to possibly eliminate some heat. That saw has 7 hp BTW
Im going to put a down payment on a new saw this week was thinking the 661 but im thinking the 880 may be better what do u think? Ill be milling redgum
I've been working on some 25-30" wide tulip with my ms661 and I've also had negligible gains with the Oregon 72rd ripping chain. I haven't filed it yet, just milled two 11' slabs straight out of the box. I'll see how it does after a sharpening, but so far it's performed similarly speed wise to my semi chisel half skip stihl 30deg chain. I'm running a 36" bar.
I found that a 36" bar is a little short & 42" is much better, but a MS661 may struggle in hardwoods. This vid is running full compilation 3/8 chain, but skip tooth is better for anything over 30". I found there is no good 3/8 skip chains have just swapped over to 28"/36" .404 bars for us with Stihl 46RMF skip tooth chain on my MS661. (.404 also stays sharper longer)
My MS880 runs GB Titanium 44"/60" bars with the same chain.
I'm glad you didn't do a fast forward like other videos I've seen but wow that seemed slow. Is the ms661 still performing well for you? I'm looking at that saw and another and trying to determine if the electronics on it will be a good/bad thing.
I run a 661 with an alaskan mill and love it! There are times when I wish I could have an 880 but that only lasts until I remind myself how much it costs
4 years later I'm also about to buy a 661, any thoughts? The chain in this video looks dull, I think it shouldn't take this long for a cut.
Well from the looks of it he’s cut at least two slabs so unless he sharpened the chain he’s made 3 cuts before this cut. Those are big slabs, not sure if he sharpened the chain before he started either. I run a quick file down my chain after every 2-3 cuts on larger slabs, especially with hard work like oak.
@Arbator Tree Services Were you using a ripping chain?
How thick is your cut? I figured 2 + inched would be standard due to drying/ warping. What would you sell a slab like that for?
I'm going to buy a mill and 661, but I plan on saving up for the 880. Would you say that's a good plan?
I have tried 3/8 10 degrees & did not find enough difference to warrant separate chains, can't remember if this was with the ripping chain.
We just use normal chain now & don't need to change chains for normal work.
Do you use round or square chisel?
F MAHO Stihl semi chisel (Round), stays sharper longer in hardwood. Now using Stihl .404 skip tooth semi chisel & is better again.
Thank you. The reason i asked was that a (sharp) full chisel normally has a better cutting performance. Anyway, I appreciate your experience as a pro.
My opinion is, Full chisel is good for softwoods, but does not stay sharp long enough in Australian hardwoods.
I agree that a full chisel has a better cutting performance, but we are normally talking about seconds in a cut. On a long length of milling timber a semi chisel stays sharper longer & therefore can out perform the full chisel.
It's also the 30min time spent sharpening a milling chain you need to look at, I would rather take an extra few seconds in a cut & save on sharpening. Less sharpening also = Longer lasting chain.
Hope that's helpful.
That's reasonable, thank you!
Have you tried a 40" bar with the Ms 661?
I just picked up a 660 with a big bore kit and a 42" bar to mill with
@@maconmomentsphoto5779 how did it turn out? I'm about to do the same, are you using ripping chains or normal crosscut?
Not sure what bar that is , but it looks like it could have used a shorter bar and delivered a little more power.. Also I think those gudes could use a water tank holder with a hose down to the blade and chain to possibly eliminate some heat. That saw has 7 hp BTW
Im going to put a down payment on a new saw this week was thinking the 661 but im thinking the 880 may be better what do u think? Ill be milling redgum
MS880 is better for milling. There has been talk of Stihl dropping it this year. Stihl .404 semi chisel skip tooth chain is also the way to go.
Arbator Tree Services good to know thanks for that mate
Längsschnittkette mit kleinerer Teilung drauf, ordentlich feilen. Dann geht das viel viel schneller! Kann man ja kaum mit ankucken!
Make mill with two motors
If you’re planning on doing more milling, then get the ms880 as it’s by far the best, but too heavy for most normal chainsaw work.
Längsschnittkette und alles wäre deutlich schneller und einfacher!