Vintage saw eye candy

[Brian VT]

It's not every day you stumble onto one of these that wants to follow you home.
I haven't run it yet. I also have a rough one that I'm fixing and hope to run that so I can keep the pretty one as is.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Anyone know when Homelites went from being a good saw to garbage?

Did their quality actually decline or did the other saw makers improve the quality of their saws?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

What mix is required for that? I have a 6 pack of vintage Homelite 2 cycle oil I found in the basement. It's 16:1 IIRC.

Matt

 

[Brian VT]

I run modern synth. oil at 40:1 in the old saws.
16:1 was for when oil technology/quality wasn't very good.

 

[DBoon]

That looks like my dad's old Homelite, except his is blue. I'll have to check the model number next time I am down to see him. He bought his in the mid-70s and they were good saws then.

 

[WES999]

Wow that's in great shape, is it restored or did you buy it like that?
I have a old Remington 24", it's it pretty good shape, (not as good as yours).
Mine says use 16:1 oil mix on the gas cap, I just use modern oil at 40:1.
Imagine using 30W motor oil at 16:1, :ahhh: you could use it as a mosquito fogger.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I have my father's old one in a case out in the shed. I've never opened the case. He said he couldn't get oil to the bar so he bought a new saw. It may just be a clogged line. Someday when I get the time I'll take a look at it.

Matt

 

[CrawfordCentury]

Anyone know when Homelites went from being a good saw to garbage?

Did their quality actually decline or did the other saw makers improve the quality of their saws?

Can't cite a specific year, but the eighties saw the beginning of the end for the old homies, Macs, and Poulan. All three were prized by professionals in forest-related fields (logging, arborculture, etc) as well as serious firewooders.

Don't know if it's a cause-effect relationship of mere coincidence, but it was around that time Stihl began making a lot of inroads into the U.S. market. Once the 041 got anti-vibe, you started to see a lot of them.

Homelite, Mac, and Poulan saw their profit margins shrink and began to cut corners. In the case of Poulan, they made the decision to focus on the occasional user segment of the market. Someone who's going to use a saw maybe half a dozen times a year won't demand the same level of quality and reliability as someone whose suppertime bread and butter depends on the saw.

Don't know too much about the old Poulans, but an XL-12 or ProMac 10-10 can be had for cheep $$$ and are as reliable as the day is long. Basic rule of thumb - the ones in plastic are junk. Magnesium rules!

 

[Brian VT]

Wow that's in great shape, is it restored or did you buy it like that?

I got it like that. I doubt it's been used for more than 1 or 2 cuts. Not sure what year this one was made. They stopped making that 100cc beast in 1972.

 

[Jags]

Imagine using 30W motor oil at 16:1, :ahhh: you could use it as a mosquito fogger.

Why yes I can:

 

[WoodMann]

Anyone know when Homelites went from being a good saw to garbage?

Circa 1989....................

 

[Flatbedford]

We bought a Homelite at Sears in 1990 or so and It was junk. Don't remember the model, but it fell apart with only light homeowner use.

 

[fyrwoodguy]

It's not every day you stumble onto one of these that wants to follow you home.
I haven't run it yet. I also have a rough one that I'm fixing and hope to run that so I can keep the pretty one as is.

here's mine.
it's never been started and i plan on keeping it that way.
model A100 .058 7/16 pitch saw chain :-/

 

[wendell]

Beautiful saw. Congratulations!

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Anyone know when Homelites went from being a good saw to garbage?

Did their quality actually decline or did the other saw makers improve the quality of their saws?

Can't cite a specific year, but the eighties saw the beginning of the end for the old homies, Macs, and Poulan. All three were prized by professionals in forest-related fields (logging, arborculture, etc) as well as serious firewooders.

Don't know if it's a cause-effect relationship of mere coincidence, but it was around that time Stihl began making a lot of inroads into the U.S. market. Once the 041 got anti-vibe, you started to see a lot of them.

Homelite, Mac, and Poulan saw their profit margins shrink and began to cut corners. In the case of Poulan, they made the decision to focus on the occasional user segment of the market. Someone who's going to use a saw maybe half a dozen times a year won't demand the same level of quality and reliability as someone whose suppertime bread and butter depends on the saw.

Don't know too much about the old Poulans, but an XL-12 or ProMac 10-10 can be had for cheep $$$ and are as reliable as the day is long. Basic rule of thumb - the ones in plastic are junk. Magnesium rules!

Interesting. My dad grew up in a logging town in N California right at the dawn of the chainsaw era (he and his family cut firewood out of massive Doug Firs with a drag saw) and his recolection is that McCulloch was the saw to have back in the day.

 

[Brian VT]

here's mine.
it's never been started and i plan on keeping it that way.
model A100 .058 7/16 pitch saw chain :-/

Beauty ! Nice looking shop too.
I'd like to stop in your store next time I'm over that way. I go over to Wells, ME once in a while.

his recolection is that McCulloch was the saw to have back in the day.

I've got a couple of those too. :cheese: Not as pretty as the Homie, though.

 

[CrawfordCentury]

Anyone know when Homelites went from being a good saw to garbage?

Did their quality actually decline or did the other saw makers improve the quality of their saws?

Can't cite a specific year, but the eighties saw the beginning of the end for the old homies, Macs, and Poulan. All three were prized by professionals in forest-related fields (logging, arborculture, etc) as well as serious firewooders.

Don't know if it's a cause-effect relationship of mere coincidence, but it was around that time Stihl began making a lot of inroads into the U.S. market. Once the 041 got anti-vibe, you started to see a lot of them.

Homelite, Mac, and Poulan saw their profit margins shrink and began to cut corners. In the case of Poulan, they made the decision to focus on the occasional user segment of the market. Someone who's going to use a saw maybe half a dozen times a year won't demand the same level of quality and reliability as someone whose suppertime bread and butter depends on the saw.

Don't know too much about the old Poulans, but an XL-12 or ProMac 10-10 can be had for cheep $$$ and are as reliable as the day is long. Basic rule of thumb - the ones in plastic are junk. Magnesium rules!

Interesting. My dad grew up in a logging town in N California right at the dawn of the chainsaw era (he and his family cut firewood out of massive Doug Firs with a drag saw) and his recolection is that McCulloch was the saw to have back in the day.

...yup. I own a newer mac that I picked up at a yard sale for beater work (high risk of rocking out, etc.). Feels like a newer junk Poulan (as opposed to the Poulans of the Tex. Chainsaw Massacre vintage). Should be a cautionary tale to Stihl/Husqvarna/etc.

If you cut corners, it don't matter what the badge says. A vintage XL12, 550W, promac 10-10, etc. were/are good tools that would scarcely recognize their red and yellow modern decendents. Hopefully Stihl's in roads into China and Husqvarna's courting of the occasional use market don't lead down the same pat followed by the saw makers of old.

 

[Brian VT]

Another old Homelite. I picked this one up at a yard sale last summer and it looked so crappy
that I never felt like messing with it. I finally dug into it yesterday. It took a lot of work but it
cleaned up nice and I got it running great without needing to buy any parts.
It's from the '70s and is 41cc.