Chainsaw?

[Woody2Shoes]

I think this counts as woodworking...

I'm in the market for a CS that can take an 18/20 inch bar for ripping hardwood into rough boards (I believe that special rip chains are available with a 10 degreee skew angle, instead of the usual 30 or so).

Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance, W2S

 

[Beau]

A 20" bar is not going to allow you to mill very broad planks. The mills like the Alaskan reduce your cutting depth considerably. I use a Stihl MS 460 (76cc) with 25" bar and I have been advised by those more experienced than myself that its a bit on the small side for milling. It does manage for the occasional milling that I use it for though. This was recommended for me when I was looking into doing more milling http://www.husqvarna.com/uk/products/ch ... 965902140/. If on a budget Makita offer a lot of power for the money but not used any of their larger machines myself.

Edit.

Had a quick measure of bars and the Alaskan Mill. With a 20" you would have the capacity to mill a 13" wide plank maybe 14" if you took the dogs off.

 

[duncanh]

We have Stihl MS660 with 30" bar for our Alaskan Mill. It's all we've ever used so I can't comment on other saws in the mill, but personally I wouldn't want to go for anything smaller as this occasionally struggles in the wider logs we cut. For smaller logs it works really well. Go for a bigger saw than you think you need because ripping puts a lot of stress on the saw (and operator!).

The best place for milling advice if the Arbtalk milling forum