Old pre EPA chainsaws

woodhog73 said:

Back then I really don't think there were homeowner , farm , and pro type builds.

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My dad's 1970's homeowner saw looked like this:

Jon1270 said:

My dad's 1970's homeowner saw looked like this:

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I still have one of those (maybe even that exact model), and it still works quite well. Great for jobs that are too small to make it worth firing up the chainsaw, or for those early morning cuts when you don't want to disturb anyone.

Just picked up a nice oldie. Homelite Super E-Z. Before plastic made in America even. Little thing runs like a ***** ape. Impressive little saw. Almost want to keep it.

It was one of the local fire depts rescue saws. Nothing but the best for maintenance. I have too many saws now but I really do wish I could keep this one. It really rips. Looking at my censored post above it appears r--e ap is a bad word?

Huh, I thought running like a r8ped ape was a good thing...

Jazzberry said:

View attachment 178012 View attachment 178013 Just picked up a nice oldie. Homelite Super E-Z. Before plastic made in America even. Little thing runs like a ***** ape. Impressive little saw. Almost want to keep it.

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I've got two of those in the garage waiting for me to get around to figuring them out. They seem like elegantly engineered little machines, even if the ergonomics leave something to be desired -- I keep skinning my knuckles on the air filter cover when I pull the rope. One runs as it is, but something's wrong with the clutch and I haven't dug into it.

I've fallen into the trap of collecting too many project saws. I recently turned off my eBay bargain saw alert, and have averted my eyes from some good deals, in hopes of digging myself out of the hole.

Here's a couple of recent acquisitions that barely qualify as projects because, as far as I can tell, they need almost nothing: an old Echo 440-EVL and the oddball two-cylinder CST-610-EVL. They were stowed in a middle-aged arborist's shed with gas in the tanks for years, and he advertised them as 'parts saws' for next to nothing, because he wanted the shelf space back. I brought them home, emptied the tanks, fueled them up with fresh stuff, and they both roared to life.


Practically speaking there's no contest between these and the newer European saws for doing serious work, but I'm starting to wonder why I should care. I have access to cheap natural gas, and only heat with wood because it's fun. These quirky old saws are also fun. If they cut slower, so what?

I heard about a couple 2 cylinder saws but never seen one. I would like to hear what a 2 cylinder sounds like. 2 cylinders sounds like it would be very cool but if it was I guess it would be common practice now. Pics of it don't look that much bigger than a single.

Jazzberry said:

I heard about a couple 2 cylinder saws but never seen one. I would like to hear what a 2 cylinder sounds like. 2 cylinders sounds like it would be very cool but if it was I guess it would be common practice now. Pics of it don't look that much bigger than a single.

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The main advantage seems to be how smoothly it runs, which is kind of neat but not a great practical advantage. I've read that as a sales trick, dealers would balance a half-full cup of coffee on one of these saws while idling, and it would take a long time to fall off. Having putzed around with one, I can easily believe that. But, the tradeoff is that it's substantially heavier and probably less reliable and more expensive to repair, which is not a good set of trades when spring antivibe on single-cylinder machines is almost as good. So, to me at least, it's a novelty. From what I can tell these saws are valuable at least in part because the motors are useful in large model airplanes.

My dads girlfriend has one of those 610 EVL saws. I saw it when I was at his new house, it was her late husbands. Pretty neat, didn't get to run it but I told her if she ever wanted to part with it please let me know

Jazzberry said:

View attachment 178012 View attachment 178013 Just picked up a nice oldie. Homelite Super E-Z. Before plastic made in America even. Little thing runs like a ***** ape. Impressive little saw. Almost want to keep it.

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Had one identical to that. Impressive torque for a little 40cc saw. Again... for a little 40cc saw. Weighed as much as my Stihl 036 Pro, tho.

I have a 360 pro and it sure seemed much lighter to me. Didn't do a side by side though. I would do it now but its moved on to a new happy owner.

Jazzberry said:

I have a 360 pro and it sure seemed much lighter to me. Didn't do a side by side though. I would do it now but its moved on to a new happy owner.

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I just grabbed one of mine and checked. Not counting bar and chain, the SEZ is right at 10 pounds with a bit of fuel and oil in the tanks. An 036 is a little over 12.5#.

It's going to be hard to convince me my Mac won't run forever. I remember dad using it when I was a kid(30). It's just fires right up every year.

True, old saws can run forever. But the day you switch from an old Mac to a modern saw, you'll hate yourself for having waited so long. The old Macs, Homelites, and Echo EVL's had gobs of torque, but pathetically low chain speeds, compared to modern saws. They'll cut forever... very slowly.

I agree with you sorta. My favorite saws are all at least 20 now and they are runners for sure. I buy and sell butI don't collect, mine are strictly users. If they don't seriously seduce me they get sold. My 064 is around 35 and money aside I don't think I would trade it.

I personally feel that anything from the early 70s on up can hang just fine. I would put my 1971 Mac 10-10 against any modern 50cc class saw any day. (And I'm pulling full size 3/8" full chisel, not that girly .325 stuff all the new 50cc saws run lol)

That thing is sweet! Looks like it will hang with anything.

Never had so much as a carb kit, dad bought it brand new in 71, the year after he got out of high school. He cut 20+ cords of firewood a year with it plus him and gramp cut saw logs to pay the taxes. Then it sat unused for almost 20 years till I dragged it and his Jonsereds out, fueled them up and off we went.

woodhog73 said:

You had me until the girly comment no just kidding nice old saw. Sounds like it runs well and also well cared for

Not sure id bet money or saws on a race with a modern 50cc saw though that's some soft wood your cutting

Just busting man thanks for posting cool vid

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That first cut was red oak lol [emoji12][emoji106]

woodhog73 said:

Well there's a difference between antique, real old, and just old in my opinion.

The old Macs and Homelights your talking about are to me antiques. Garage queens if you collect them. Then there is real old . Like my 031 which I think was around mid 1970s. Can be used to cut with but they are slow. Low RPM and low chain speed. Even my old 056 from what I remember will not keep up with my modern 70cc saw.

But then there is old . I here lots about the 064 and to me it's old but modern. I remember my dad bought one brand new In 1985 the year they came out. Awesome power to weight ratio. But fairly modern design and still very usable if in good condition. saw is long gone . Was around for about 5 years until it got crunched by a work truck.

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I have never researched the age of mine. I was told they came out in 1982 and for the first two years they had metal badges on the side cover. These first 2 years were built on a lighter chassis than the later version which was shared with the 660. I haven't been around a 660 recently to compare the weight so just going by what others have said.

Another old Mac, still in the tuning stages[emoji106]
This saw is more of a slow but steady wins the race type of saw. It's a Mac 380 circa 1963-64, 87cc, weighs 18 lbs