new toy ;o) but arrived damaged :o(

[captain dangers]

my new toy arrived this morning whilst I was at work it's a Homelite XL900 with a 30 inch bar and chain. bought as a non runner £70 all in including postage here in the u.k, which I thought was reasonable for what was a straight honest saw with good compression. unfortunately it has arrived with a damaged rear handle due to insufficient packing in the box (why do people do that? and expect them to arrive in one piece?) any way it's arrived damaged and I wandered what? if any other rear handles fit? and would it be possible to get it welded I believe they are magnesium which I know is hard to weld due to the flammability of magnesium. last photo shows damage to the tip of rear handle.

 

[spudulike]

The packing of ebay purchases is sometimes near to a joke. I don't believe you can weld this Mag alloy but am sure someone will say you can. I would craft a couple of plates and bolt them through either side of the break and use a bit of JB weld to strengthen it.

 

[captain dangers]

thanks for your reply ;o) I know there's many way's you can cobble it up but I like them to look as original as possible, as it's a collectors piece and not many over here in the u.k. apparently magnesium can be welded with a tig welder and a magnesium filler rod but not many people will do it as the filler rods are very expensive. specialists job. I have done a quick look on google and I think? it has the same handle as the homelite xl 800. it's different to the 925 which I thought strange as I thought all 900 series would have the same.

 

[olyman]

cant weld mag alloy/

The packing of ebay purchases is sometimes near to a joke. I don't believe you can weld this Mag alloy but am sure someone will say you can. I would craft a couple of plates and bolt them through either side of the break and use a bit of JB weld to strengthen it.

who did you hear that from???

 

[olyman]

thanks for your reply ;o) I know there's many way's you can cobble it up but I like them to look as original as possible, as it's a collectors piece and not many over here in the u.k. apparently magnesium can be welded with a tig welder and a magnesium filler rod but not many people will do it as the filler rods are very expensive. specialists job. I have done a quick look on google and I think? it has the same handle as the homelite xl 800. it's different to the 925 which I thought strange as I thought all 900 series would have the same.

mag is welded with a tig machine.. the near pure argon gas used in welding,, keeps if from igniting.. just need to find a guy with a tig machine,, and the mag rod...

 

[67L36Driver]

cant weld mag alloy/

who did you hear that from???

Fellow at my local Yamaha dealer welded up part of a Homelite 2000 for me. Filler rod is expensive. You have to use stainless steel wire brush to clean up the mating surfaces. And it needs to be oil & dirt free.

There are some on this forum who can do a much better job by the way.

You should be able to use a handle/carb box form several models of the XL-700, 800 & 925 types. Pay attention to how the compression release mounts to the carb box.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Can usually use aluminum filler since it's an aluminum alloy.

 

[captain dangers]

Fellow at my local Yamaha dealer welded up part of a Homelite 2000 for me. Filler rod is expensive. You have to use stainless steel wire brush to clean up the mating surfaces. And it needs to be oil & dirt free.

There are some on this forum who can do a much better job by the way.

You should be able to use a handle/carb box form several models of the XL-700, 800 & 925 types. Pay attention to how the compression release mounts to the carb box.

thanks for the comment ;o) I thought the 700- 800 series looked the same, I wasn't sure about the 925 as it looked like the manual oil pump fitting holes may in different places ? (it may be just my eyesight ?)

 

[67L36Driver]

Yes, Homelite moved the oil pump from above the muffler on the 700 & 800 to the left of the handle on the 900 types.

There may be other minor differences.

 

[captain dangers]

Yes, Homelite moved the oil pump from above the muffler on the 700 & 800 to the left of the handle on the 900 types.

There may be other minor differences.

mine is a 900 and the pump is above the muffler on the right, with the lever to the left side of trigger for thumb. or were you referring to the 925 oil pump been in a different place ?

 

[captain dangers]

the seller has agreed to give me a full refund as he thought a £30 partial refund to cover the damage was too much so the saw is now going back , £30-£40 is about what it would cost to buy a used handle from the USA and have it posted. no telling some folk.

 

[drf255]

Fellow at my local Yamaha dealer welded up part of a Homelite 2000 for me. Filler rod is expensive. You have to use stainless steel wire brush to clean up the mating surfaces. And it needs to be oil & dirt free.

There are some on this forum who can do a much better job by the way.

You should be able to use a handle/carb box form several models of the XL-700, 800 & 925 types. Pay attention to how the compression release mounts to the carb box.

It can be repaired with AZ92 rods. Each filler rod costs $2-3. It's done with AC Tig, just like aluminum. But it welds very very dirty. The repair shown above, by your dealer, actually isn't that bad. It does not have the aesthetically pleasing look of aluminum welds when it's done.

Can usually use aluminum filler since it's an aluminum alloy.

No, you cannot.

 

[drf255]

Here's an AV mount I repaired.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

It can be repaired with AZ92 rods. Each filler rod costs $2-3. It's done with AC Tig, just like aluminum. But it welds very very dirty. The repair shown above, by your dealer, actually isn't that bad. It does not have the aesthetically pleasing look of aluminum welds when it's done.


No, you cannot.

Yes you can.

 

[drf255]

Yes you can.

Please explain how and tell me how many times you've successfully done it.

I've tried with 5356 aluminum Tig rod, because it has the highest Mag content and it just made a mess. I finally spent $120 on a pound of AZ rod and all was well.

 

[drf255]

@srcarr52

 

[olyman]

It can be repaired with AZ92 rods. Each filler rod costs $2-3. It's done with AC Tig, just like aluminum. But it welds very very dirty. The repair shown above, by your dealer, actually isn't that bad. It does not have the aesthetically pleasing look of aluminum welds when it's done.


No, you cannot.

no, you cannot, what?????

 

[Marshy]

no, you cannot, what?????

He was replying to this from VF.

Can usually use aluminum filler since it's an aluminum alloy.

 

[olyman]

He was replying to this from VF.

all I seeed,,was ls driver.......didn't see brain dead Alaska.....

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Some of those Homelites have replaceable handles and a lot of different models look like yours so you could probably find a handle for it. I just replaced one today that I thought was made into the case but it was not, three or four bolts and the handle and airbox were off, along with the back of the saw. I would check into replacement before welding or glue..
I looked up an IPL for this saw and the rear handle/air box assembly looks like the rest of the 900 series saws. They have one on ebay for around $40 but it's for a 925 which looks like the same thing.