What is the best chainsaw for ripping hardwood logs such as red oak, white oak, maple, cherry, and walnut?

Most of these logs are 2 to 3 feet in diameter and 10 to 20 feet long.

Also, are there any other inexpensive machine equipment to rip logs effectively?

What's a dollar amount that you consider inexpensive?

Husqvarna 3120XP and Stihl MS-880 are the big buys. The 395XP and MS-660 are sufficient for anything up to 3' diameter, however, and substantially less money though still not cheap. Those would be the ones I'd look at. I use a 385XP. It's been a great saw for 15 years but I always have wished for just a little more power.

John

In response to Rich C., our budget is up to $1000.

Thank you.

A Granberg mill and ripping chains will get you up around $300-$350. So the best chainsaw you can get is something that costs $650-$700. That won't get you very much past a 30" bar.

Im pretty much with rich here. Your going to be scouring ebay/craigslist/FB yardsale hoping to find a combo that will run for $1000.00. Your base saw buying new will be far more than that but you may get lucky used. Hard part is those big production saws at least around here command top dollar even used (unless they are stolen).

Unless you are way out in the hinterland you'd be better off finding someone with a portable sawmill to mill logs for you. I cut several thousand bf with my chainsaw mill. It's really hard work and slow. 200 bf was a big day in 24 inch oak logs. Now I cut 700 bf with much less wear and tear on me or my bandsaw mill. Larger, more automated mills will do 2 or 3X that.
A chainsaw mill is the lowest cost route to get into milling logs; that's why I went that route in the beginning, but it's still not really cheap. I spent about $1000 for my 385XP and Granberg mill 15+ years ago; now it would be $2000. One ripping chain for my saw now costs $80. With luck I can mill 100 bf before I need to sharpen it. My mobile bandsaw mill cost $7000 two years ago. The blades cost $20 and sometimes I can cut 1000 bf before I need to sharpen it. If you hit a few nails both are toast, but you are only out $20 for the bandsaw blade.
Like I said, if you are out where there's no way to get a bandsaw mill to the logs or the logs out to a mill, fine, get a chainsaw mill. Otherwise, find someone with a bandsaw mill. I charge $0.40/bf to cut logs for people, so it's pretty economical if your logs are free. That $2000 you didn't spend on a chainsaw mill rig will buy you 5000 bf of cut lumber.

John

On top of location the killer is how many of the logs are actually 36" and how many in the lot need to be truly sawn at 20'. Those will typically be your achilles heel in finding a custom sawyer. A 36" log is a lot to handle on most anything but a very large portable mill and I'd imagine unless custom sawing is huge in your area the 20' logs will present a problem.

We've opened up 36" logs routinely on a mill that will saw 25" boards but its a bear and Id imagine the bulk of those doing portable custom sawing will top out at 17'-18' logs if that.

But John is spot on. Unless you a have uber huge logs (read 48" slabs) that are beyond the capacity of even large band mills you'd be far better off finding a custom sawyer or even tracking down a used manual bandmill but 36" will push the limits and I'd say you'd be fab'ing or buying extensions if you really need 20' material.

Do you have friends or relatives who are prepared to help you muscle a mill down the log? And by my calculations one 8/4 board 30" wide by 16' long could weigh +325 lbs when green. That means more than one helper.

Heavy slabs and flitches are just part of sawing. If you have the capacity to handle the log you'd darn well better have the capacity to handle that log cut into small pieces. Kinda like being able to blast a cow, hang it, bleed it, and not be able to handle the hamburger.

Mark B.
When the OP says he has up to $1,000 for a sawmill, I don't think he will have a forklift to handle slabs.

As far as the best chainsaw to use I'm a Stihl man myself. I live in the Pacific Northwest and we have some big wood out here. A while back I bought a Grandburg mill and a ms661. I can't imagine what an 880 would be like (As far as weight and handling I mean). That 660 goes pretty fast through Douglas-fir, ponderosa pinee and sugar pinen as long as I have a sharp ripping chain. To tell you the truth, if I had to do it all over again I'd get a portable band sawmill. Chainsaw mills are less efficient and they have a big wide saw curf. Whatever you do it takes some muscle to get the log up on blocks or rounds, not to mention carrying the slabs and stickering in them. I love doing this stuff so it's okay for me. The one fellow said just hire somebody with a portable mill that's the way to go if you just want some boards in a hurry. Bill Gasow

I also use an MS661 and love the saw. But I run out of power on Oak and logs over 24 inches. I generally quarter the logs first, which has two advantages: 1) cutting the widest width when the chain is sharp and 2) the later cuts are narrow when chain is duller, but have proportional more power to push harder without bogging down the saw. This allows for better chips than dust. The slower you go, when power is limited, the more heat that is created and with the smaller chips, the chain gets dull quickly. I sharpen every 8 to 10 cuts on 8' logs.

Note about rip chain. Do not get Grandberg rip chain. The concept of grinding off partial parts of teeth is flawed. Their chain is not on par with the concept of saw blades (ATB or TCG) where each tooth cuts a different section of wood. All they are doing is put the load on a few teeth to do the work, but has the friction of the partial ground teeth going through the Kerf. This is not the same concept as skip chain where the whole tooth is removed.

I did a thorough review of their chain and of course, they did not post it. I have two of their chains and tested it against the Oregon 72RD. Done 1000's of bd ft to compare in multiple hardwood species. The 72RD is superior, cuts better and lasts longer.

Love the MS661, starts well after sitting for months, and the new M-Tronics is awesome. If I had to do it over, I would have sprung for the 881 Magnum series. weight is not a factor when on the log. I end up pushing way too much with the 661 to the point of bogging down, which dictate the speed and time through the cut. It is more work in the end verses an 881, harder on the chain, bar, etc. Get the Max power you can get for wide hardwoods.

Other tips: since taking off the chain in a grandberg mill is a hassle (have to take off the mill), I sharpen on the saw. I bring both files and battery operated Dremel with chainsaw grinding bits. I also use a lighter wt oil with the pump wide open to provide maximum oil. The eco friend saws of today do not throw enough oil for a 24" inch cut in oak. I built and tried an additional oil supply at the bar tip, just inside the tip sprocket, but turned out to have limited gain. I end up using Stihl Platinum oil (which is 40 wt) plus Stihl Winter (blue jug) that is 10 wt. I get a ratio around 20 wt, which flows well around the bar. BTW - The orange bottle, Woodcutter, is 30 wt. See the MSDS from Stihl on their oils.

Final tip: Since each log needs a flat cut with an external rail-set first to guide the first cuts, the height has to be changed frequently between that and final thickness cuts, I have height block for 4/4, 5/4, 8/4, etc that I put under each end of the mill when changing heights. This provides consistency of cut thickness as I switch thickness heights for each log. I do not have to mess with the number gauges, which can be troublesome from end to end tightening.

Update: I decided to spring for the MS881. It is a bit more powerful and heavier. I do not mind the weight. The chain is .404 pitch and I equipped it with a 36" bar. my MS661 has a 32" bar and by the time the Alaskan mill is on, can only cut around 24. However, the 661 struggled at full cut on oak. The MS881 also has a reduced rpm and the chain cutter spacing is similar to a skip chain. This combination of increased HP, cutters spread out, and lower rpm is supposed to take deeper cuts, verses finer sawdust cutting. One drawback is the kerf is bigger than the MS661. The means more work to cut. Overall, I have notice an improvement over the 661.
However, the bar has an issue. With the .063 gauge groove, the remaining side rails the chain rides on are thin. Wore big divots in bar after a couple hundred board feet. The oiling adjustment is awesome and I ran it in the middle of the range. Plenty of oil thrown on the end guard of the mill. I mention this as there is sufficient oil – that was not the cause. Also, the groove in the bar widened significantly causing the chain to wobble around and make big grooves in the wood. I flipped the bar over and it cuts better. Filed the divots out first…of course.
Overall, I like the increased HP. Verdict is out on if the it is significantly better than the ms661.