The last years of good American saws...

So when did American saw go to crap? Alot of my saws are from the late 70's to mid 80s. All are considered good saws (as far as i know). So...here is a list of a few once well respected saw companies in no particular order. what year did these go bad?....
Poulan
Mccolloch
Homelite
There are others, these seem to be the most popular American saws of the past 30 years. add other names if you want.

Correct me if I'm wrong.....

When Bob Mcculloch died,,,it left a bunch of people with their heads up their butts....They tryed to keep up with the old design of the Mcc's but time was changing fast...Thats something I could never understand why,they let that big name die out..........
Was it frm the engineering department,,,got lazy and tryed to buy their time without lookin at all the new saws overseas design....Faster,,,less vibs....To me I dont think they cared..They knew the end was near when that genious passed away..........Near bankrubt,,,they sold out to Jenn Fing....And to me also,,thats why the younger generation hears about a Mcculloch chainsaw they say it's a piece of crap...
Now,,that Husky bought the Mcculloch name,,I was hoping they would come out with a saw with the Mcculloch badge and something to be proud of again....
Just dreaming I guess....

I'd love to see the Poulans start putting out pro grade stuff. However , don't forget, there are Stihl damn good saws being made right here in the USA

I'm thinking the last saws that were much good were probably made in the mid 90's.

FATGUY said:

I'd love to see the Poulans start putting out pro grade stuff.

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Ummm haven't you been to walmart and see the Poulan "Pro"???? DUH

FATGUY said:

I'd love to see the Poulans start putting out pro grade stuff.

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You wont see any pro grade Poulans, that would be too much of a risk of cutting into the sales of Huksy/Jred. To Electrolux, Poulan is their inexpensive saw line and unless someone buys Poulan, thats never going to change.

However , don't forget, there are Stihl damn good saws being made right here in the USA

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Agreed! Husky, Stihl and Echo are all quality saws that are made in the USA.

What about VA Beach Stihls?

Poulans used to be pro grade like Mac. If you ever ran a 655 you would know what I mean.

Unfortunately, they are just a ghost paint job on a Chinese Walmart saw, like McCulloch.

romeo said:

Poulans used to be pro grade like Mac. If you ever ran a 655 you would know what I mean.

Unfortunately, they are just a ghost paint job on a Chinese Walmart saw, like McCulloch.

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you're preaching to the choir there, I love the old Poulans

Who knows, someday you may walk into walmart and see the biggest husky sitting next to the most powerful stihl and both of them put together not making the 70cc mark.

Homelite, Poulan, and Mac all used to rule the day. It doesn't take long for China to ruin a saw name.

FATGUY said:

you're preaching to the choir there, I love the old Poulans

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My brother had me run a 655 that a guy had dropped off for a tuneup and a sharp chain. He said the guy preferred it next to running his 3120. I had a hard time believing why until I ran it through a 30" doug fir.:jawdrop:

Reams could be written, and probably have...

Poulan might not make my list, just because they were never well-supported in my region. The only places that sold them got them through the hardware chains, and weren't particularly interested in service or parts. There were a few glimmers of hope during the early Poulan Pro days, when a few Pioneer/Partner dealers had access to the good ones, but we all know that didn't last long.

There's some difference of opinion regarding what McC and Honie saws were the last "good-un's...I won't support the idea that the 605/610/timberslugs were "good saws", and the similar year Homie pro saws were hard to get hold of and made overseas.

I'll nominate the SP700 and Eagle80 McC and 360 and SXL Homie as the last real saws. The Macs and SXL were available until about 1994 or 1995, mostly because there were still some laying in warehouses. Maybe somebody like Bailey's or another big dealer still had some for a while after that. Even as I nominate them, let me say they were outdated design saws (the SXL was outdated in 1975, let alone 1995), and they probably sold an awfrul lot more to nostalgic sawyers than working pros.

Afterthought: Homelite supposedly had a saw based on the same motor as the last abrasive saw...(8800?). I've never seen one in the flesh. Must not have sold many...

2010 EPA regs are going to kill what is left of the good chainsaws. 371/372, 360/361, 440, etc. are or will be gone.

The Husqvarna Group is completely split off from Electrolux now, even though in the US they are still tied somewhat by distributorships. Poulan, WeedEater, Gardena, Flymo, Zenoah, Jonsered, Klippo, Dixon, RedMax and Partner are all owned by Husky. They also own the Mac name now. You will never see any pro model Poulans becasue they are organized under the Consumer/Homeowner Products Group of Husqvarna now. Husqvarna, Jonsered, Klippo, Dixon, and RedMax are all under the Porfessional Group of Husqvarna. Those brands are where you will see the pro model saws and other tools.

Didn't mac make a variant of the 10-10 design with AV well into the 90s? I know Homelite had designs like the 410 that were somewhat modern, but those were gone when China took them over.

I guess I started this thread because i was looking at a dayton saw i have on my bench now (poulan s25da clone), and next to it was a poulan wild thing i got for free (needs a bar). Well, it goes w/out saying the differences are tooo many to list. Its really a shame. I think the dayton wanted to pop to life and cut that plastic p.0.s. in half! how many of the saws made today will we be running 25, or 30 years from now? will a wild thing have the appeal of a Poulan s25da in 2030? I hope not!

A Poulan PP655 is just a Pioneer/Partner P65 in disguise...

Gary

I had a Poulan Pro years ago that I bought used from a guy to cut fire wood. It was a great saw and I sold it before moving to Nebraska. I also had Homelites which I think were trash. I finally bought a Husky 257 in 1997 and it has been great.

I bought a small Echo a few years ago and it self destructed after one year. Not impressed. I will stay with Stihl and Husky as I believe they are the only viable option as far as dealer support. Unfortuneately, they are like tractors in that there are NO American-owned companies left. We are in the hands of the one-world-order.

A sad state of affairs.

sbhooper said:

I had a Poulan Pro years ago that I bought used from a guy to cut fire wood. It was a great saw and I sold it before moving to Nebraska. I also had Homelites which I think were trash. I finally bought a Husky 257 in 1997 and it has been great.

I bought a small Echo a few years ago and it self destructed after one year. Not impressed. I will stay with Stihl and Husky as I believe they are the only viable option as far as dealer support. Unfortuneately, they are like tractors in that there are NO American-owned companies left. We are in the hands of the one-world-order.

A sad state of affairs.

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Yes, it is a sad state of affairs. Wall street is just about to ruin us because companies are trying to make it cheaper because of GREED. When our companies sacrifice quality for profits it sucks. Our economy is tanking and we don't make anything here anymore. Plastic in place of metal on cars, trucks, saws, well you get the picture. It's all about the almighty dollar and as far as I'm concerned it sucks. I'll buy quality over cheap every time I can. Now I'll get down off my soapbox and return to the regurarly scheduled program. Thanks for your support.

Speaking of the old faithful Homie SXL,
Yes it was a fantastic saw for what it was.
But don't forget the Lombard AP42 model.
I believe was still made here in the USA and
was a kick butt saw back in there day.
I sold many in the late 70's on into the very
early 80's.


Lee

romeo said:

Poulans used to be pro grade like Mac. If you ever ran a 655 you would know what I mean.

Unfortunately, they are just a ghost paint job on a Chinese Walmart saw, like McCulloch.

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I know what your trying to say, but get it right. No matter what you think of them, Poulans are still USA made.

The 655 is actually a Pioneer saw.

My opinion is that the Poulan Pros, did have some decent saws well into the 90's. The 330,335, 365, 380 etc were decent.