Poulan Micro VS Homelite XL, XL2, Super2 VS McCulloch Mini Mac

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ChainLightning

Vintage Saw Stalker
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What a great way to start off the new year. Which of these do you like the best? Feel free to post the downsides and the advantages to these various small budget models beginning from the 1970s that lasted until the 90s.

First of all I will start with the Poulan Micro 25. I bought one of these Craftsman versions used from a friend's dad a few years back. He had bought it in the late 80s and only used it twice, then stuck it in the case for 20 years. It was too small for him so he bought a 3400. I got this Craftsman version of the Micro 25 for $20. It was all red and made out out aluminum. All it said on it was "Craftsman Solid State" Then it said 2.0 or something like that on it. Took it home and replaced the lines since they were rotted. Also cleaned the tank and carb. She fired right up. I used that saw a few times but was having problems with the rope pulling out of the starter. I kept on rewinding it back in but once in a while it would pop back out again when cranking over. It had a little black plastic piece at the end of the rope that locked into the recoil. Must have been gotten worn out or something. That thing had a very short rope and was a pain to pull over anyways. (back then I did not even think about getting a longer rope)Long story short I decided to sell the saw mainly because it was too small. Put it on Craigslist fro $40 and ended up selling it for $30 because with my luck, when I went to show the buyer that it ran on the 3rd pull the rope came out again :laugh:. I talked with that guy a year afterwords and he told me that he got it rewound by a pro small engine mechanic and it still popped back out. I still kick myself for selling that because it did not have a chip of paint off from it. Every thing on it looked new. If only I would have known that in the future that I would collect old saws...:msp_mellow:. It would have made a beautiful show piece.
Next I will go on about the Mini Mac. I have never personally tore into one but I have one that I want to dig into this summer. (A Mac 110 with a 16in bar. Gets spark and compression but needs the carb cleaned) I have heard too many bad stories about headaches associated with these saws and I know a few pro mechanics that will work on any saw but a Mini Mac. But I have also heard some good stories about them. Especially that they cut really good when running and tuned properly.
Next is the small Homelite's. I have completely tore down and rebuilt a XL, and a Super 2. Put all new lines (theres a million gas and oil lines in em :laugh:) and cleaned the carbs. They are not bad at all to work on but the only little problem that I had was getting that throttle linkage in there. I really do not like the "fixed clutch cover" setup on these. I find it to be a pain to get the bar and chain on quickly and tensioned right when you have that cover in your way. Overall the older ones made out of cast look a to be quite a bit better quality then the newer plastic ones. The dual triggers on the Super 2 is also very handy for limbing.
Overall I will say that I have really never cut that much with smaller saws like these. I work on them all the time for others or if I find a freebie or a cheap one in the scrap yard, but I find myself using the big saws even for limbing. Hopefully we will have some people post some stuff about performance! View attachment 271286View attachment 271287
 
I thought before of firing them all up and doing a "shootout" just for a laugh but in the end couldn't be bothered.Maybe a "how far can you throw one" or "which one sinks the fastest" contest instead-the possibilities are endless.;)
 
So its official, there absolutly good for nothing then? :laugh:

Maybe if you filled the gas tank, oil tank, crankcase, and cylinder with cement and had a bar and chain on it, it might make a good boat anchor...
But on a serious note if you can get them running, they will usually stay running. That Super 2 I had would start with 2 pulls..always. 2 on choke then you had to flip off the choke super fast. Too bad I did not have a bar and chain for it :laugh:
 
So its official, there absolutly good for nothing then? :laugh:

Glad you said it and not me :hmm3grin2orange:: I had five of those little Super 2's at one time when I stated out in the tree biz as a climber , good ruuning saws but I could never keep one together for very long the darn things kept coming apart because the screws kept falling out of them. They all went bye bye after I got an 015 for a top handle climbing saw, then onto a square bodied 020. Mini Macs I avoided like the plague.

That red craftsman Chain is talking about I think is a Poulan S25 or a very close cousin to one because I have one in my junk pile that is similar to what he is talking about. I would like to get my hands on one of those Poulan S25 that run good. I never had one as a climber because I always favored Sthil because that what what was popular in our area but the guys out west favored the Poulan over an 020 due to the rounded body style and they would cut just as fast as an 020 and some say faster than one. I'd like to see this for myself but can't seem to come across a saw locally to do a comparision. I almost came close today because I was fooling around with two Craftsman/ Poulan 2000 and 2300 that I have had around for a long time. I got both of them running but the 2300 has a bad bearing and air leak. The 2000 runs ok but I don't know enough about these Poulan's to know if it is quite the same saw or not. Looks similar but different.
 
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HEY.....this is a STIHL and HUSKY free zone :hmm3grin2orange: Just wait til Aaron gets on here and roundhouse's you for that comment :laugh:
 
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Glad you said it and not me :hmm3grin2orange:: I had five of those little Super 2's at one time when I stated out in the tree biz as a climber , good ruuning saws but I could never keep one together for very long the darn things kept coming apart because the screws kept falling out of them. They all went bye bye after I got an 015 for a top handle climbing saw, then onto a square bodied 020. Mini Macs I avoided like the plague.

That red craftsman Chain is talking about I think is a Poulan S25 or a very close cousin to one because I have one in my junk pile that is similar to what he is talking about. I would like to get my hands on one of those Poulan S25 that run good. I never had one as a climber because I always favored Sthil because that what what was popular in our area but the guys out west favored the Poulan over an 020 due to the rounded body style and they would cut just as fast as an 020 and some say faster than one. I'd like to see this for myself but can't seem to come across a saw locally to do a comparision. I almost came close today because I was fooling around with two Craftsman/ Poulan 2000 and 2300 that I have had around for a long time. I got both of them running but the 2300 has a bad bearing and air leak. The 2000 runs ok but I don't know enough about these Poulan's to know if it is quite the same saw or not. Looks similar but different.

Come on over, I got some S25's you can run!
 
i like my S25's i have 4 :D. i like my micro too but i just keep picking up the S25's, my buddies have xl's and super IIs' there fun...but theres just not another little saw with the raw power of a good running S25...or ear piercing:laugh:
i have a few mac's but just haven't gotten around to getting them running so i don't know how they cut
 
The S25 seems to always get brought in to these types of discussions. They shouldn't though, but it seems a lot of people seem to confuse them with the Micros and I still can't figure out why. Must be because there the same color green.

They should not be confused with them as there nothing alike really. The Micros, the XL's and the Mini Macs are all in the same class of homeowner saws and none of them are even remotely in the same class as a S25.
 
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