Just do it guys on the fence ! That cs-590 is awesome. I'm using it for milling some english walnut lately. Great saw for most people. I got about 40 hours on mine so far (that would be full throttle milling hours mostly). You cannot do better for a 60 cc saw or even come close. Next closest is about $200 more for less saw. I told a friend at work about it and he bought one too. He was *amazed* at what it could do. Ported muffler even better. I have yet to do that as I just haven't needed to yet.
- Paul
Hey Guys, thought I'd just pass on some info I have learned on the Echo CS-590 60 cc chainsaw, which is a great deal at Zoro when they have the 30% off deals. I was not sure how well it would run a 28" bar, being only 60 CC, but that is the max specified for the CS-600 (the souped up version of the 590, but same basic engine). The max Echo specifies for the CS-590 is a 24" bar and chain. Got one with a full skip chain and man, it pulls it just fine. I did some walnut milling with it today. I think it did actually *better* than milling with the full chisel 20" bar/chain combo, and I'm not running with a ported muffler yet, just stock.
The key is that full skip. It takes much less torque/power to pull the chain through with the alternate cutting teeth of full skip vs. every tooth active cutting with full comp style. For milling, this is really key as it also leaves space to let the wood chips get out. I was cutting good 1" long streams of walnut milling with the full skip chain, no sawdust at all. So for those who got or are getting the CS-590, you can run a 28" bar on this guy no problem, but I would do it with a full skip chain setup. Here are the models I got: Oregon 3/8" Pitch .050" Gauge model 280RNDD176 Bar and Oregon skip 28" chain 72JGX092G 3/8 .050 92 links. The above fit Echo. Logic would apply to other saws too with lower cc's trying to drive 28" or 24" bars or for underpowered saws driving smaller bars too, but the stihl or husky or other models use different model bars and chains - not same ones as above. Note the above is not a milling chain specifically in terms of the cutting teeth- I'll grind the teeth to be a milling chain as it wears in. If anyone has any 590 questions feel free to pm me. Good luck! - Paul