What bar and ripping chain do I need for a G660 for milling?

Try the method i mentioned above to set the carb, but yes lots of the Chinese carbs are junk or it could already have an air leak somewhere in the saw since you said speed changed as you flipped saw around while idling.

 

Put together a little chainsaw rack with some scraps I had laying around.



The blue saw is the original. Even though it ran better than the orange one there is clearly something going on with it because when I put it vertical it managed to drain the entire tank out the exhaust. Guess I won't be swapping the "good carb" over.

Think I might try my luck with one of the knockoff carbs and see how it goes.

On the plus side I should have everything needed to mill by EOD I think (saw, granberg mill, guide rails, wedges). Still waiting on a 36" bar that should be here midweek.

Think I need to spend some time tinkering and replacing parts and probably just being out in the woods cutting trees to shakedown any issues before I start milling, but I'm optimistic I should be able to get something going in the next month or so.

Pretty amazed at how much sheer effort and cost goes into chainsaw milling. Not sure I would do it all over again, but it will be a fun little side-hobby I guess.

 

Ended up having more time than expected this afternoon and put together the mill and guide rails.

Managed to mill 1 piece of lumber:



A few thoughts:

- This is an absolutely brutal workout. The saw and mill combo is 50 pounds or so and you have to manhandle it around constantly
- I'm rather un-impressed with the Granberg kit. In fact I would think it was a counterfeit if not for the literature it came with. Lots of sloppy machining, tolerance issues, etc. Things that caused problems not only during assembly but during use also. I will have to do some remedial machining on the kit
- The height adjustment is brutal both due to aforementioned QC problems but also because YOU HAVE TO ADJUST THE HEIGHT AFTER YOUR FIRST CUT ARGHGGHGHG. I did not know this and it's extremely annoying. The height adjustment in general is annoying
- Yup it's extremely taxing on the saw. 90cc is a minimum
- I have no idea how to get a smooth cut. I have ripping chains waiting on a bar, hopefully that helps
- You lose a LOT of bar length. On a 20" bar I can only cut 14" of wood or so.

 

What helps a lot is to use a set of rails made out of 2x4’s or an old ladder, the ripping chain will help for smoother cuts and yes it is lots of work. I’ve cut up to 45” or so wide with my 066 and the bigger mills. My largest mill is a 72” mill and bar with ability to run two saws I’ve never found my grandberg to be built poorly. The main issue they seemed to have was the upright post clamps were cast and would sometimes split but far as i knew the new ones have machined black billet assembly now. I broke a couple cast ones on my 72” they sent black replacements for free, if you use the rails every cut you can set the bar to cut say 2-3” below the rails and just use that every cut first to last. On wide stuff I go 3-4” so I can flatten back out after they dry. Now my chainsaw is reserved for really large logs or remote cutting/ breaking down big logs into chunks for my bandmill.

 

Oh. Mine are cast.

Interesting, had not considered that.

 

Where did you buy the mill? Does it actually have grandberg stamped on it? How much was it? If it wasn’t 150-200$ at least probably not a true grandberg. My 72” mill bar and 2 chains was 2200$ 5-6 years ago.

 

My grandberg is nice and yes you lose 6” of bar length when in the mill
I have a 30” mill and the longest bar I have for that is 36”
I do run ripping chains I have come to like Carlton chains

 

I'm fairly certain the mill is real, just machined on a friday. It was the mk4 and I paid like $260 for it.

I reached out to Granberg and it sounds like they're going to get me replacement clamps.

 

That is the first thing I mention to anyone that is looking to get into it. Without a doubt it is a workout for man and machine.

I have the Granberg setup run it with a 661, and I have no problems with it. After you set the rails and make the first cut it gets pretty easy , sure still a workout but the first cut is the worst.

10 degree ripping chain has worked really well for me, some say run a ripping chain others say you don't need it. Personally, I run one.
Remove any bumper spikes from the saw , you don't need them and they reduce the length of cut.
Turn the oiler up to max. , you're going to need every drop that that thing can give you.
Increase the oil percentage of your mix , again it is tough on the saw.
Do not take a small saw , install the largest bar money can buy and expect it to work. It will not have the power you need and certainly not enough bar oil from the oiler. Your bar will become wall art with a nice blue edge. Run the biggest saw in the fleet.

Don't get discouraged, there is a learning curve, but you will figure it out.

As soon as I realized how much work it was, I solved the problem and bought a bandsaw mill but that's another story.

 

You, vs the guy she tells you not to worry about.

So where exactly do I clamp the nose on this into the mill.

 

Needs to be behind the sprocket so you don’t pinch the sprocket and bind it up. This is the reason you need a 28-32” to make full use of a 24” grandberg mill.

 

I have clamped mine right in this area, so it actually clamps across the bar and where the sprocket nose is recessed in the end of the bar.

 

That works well but if he needs a little more bar length he can go a little closer to the tip if needed and be fine long as it’s behind the edge of the sprocket closest to the powerhead.