Questions about some old saws

[bg147]

I am new here and my only experience is rebuilding a Homelite Super 2 that was handed down.

Last week, I was at a country auction and had the "privilege" of buying 4 saw for $1.00 each.

I just was wondering if someone can help identify and maybe some ideas on what to do or if it is even worth it. All 4 have compression.

The Craftsman 2.0/14 has a very worn chain is apart right now. It has a model number of 358.352090 which I don't see anywhere online. It looks like it should be a 358.352070 based on searches.

The McCulloch has no numbers at all, just that it is a Power Mac 6. The chain is very worn.

The blue homelite is a Super XL12 with serail 1761048. The fuel line looks new, has a clean air filter and the chain is razor sharp and not worn.

The red homelite... I don't know what it is. The model is B6083 and the serial is 43113773. I had to pull the serial tag off and place it on a white paper to read. The chain is not worn. It pullls but stops half way.

Advice, ideas, criticisms? It will be something to mess around with over the winter. Thank you

 

[Ck0461]

I would have bought them for that! I have no experience with craftsman or homelite, but I know lots of guys are into the ole homelites. For me half the fun is just seeing if you can get them back in working order. There's tons of knowledge on here so the only issue I will be finding parts and cost. Nice score!

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Looks like the red Homie is a Super EZ which is a nice running saw but but not collectible as they made lots of them. The blue Homie is either a Super XL or an XL12 depending on whether it has automatic oiler or not. The red Craftsman is a Poulan micro 25 or some version of it and the other one a McCulloch Power Mac 6. I guess the first one, a Super 2 is the one you already know about. The Poulan is easy to work on and since it's apart I would work on it first. Since these saws have compression I would check for spark next and if it has that then all you need to do is clean out the fuel tanks, replace fuel lines and clean and kit the carburetors. In my opinion the Mac is the hardest to work on so I would do it last..
Yeah, you can't beat the price!

 

[KYsawman]

If you need any super ez parts just let me know I have several parts ones

 

[leeha]

The Craftsman is a Homelite XL or XL-2

 

[a. palmer jr.]

The Craftsman is a Homelite XL or XL-2

The one that has "Craftsman 2.0" is a Poulan 2000, look at the top cover in the background..

 

[NPKenny]

The Craftsman 2.0 / 14 is a simple saw to work on. High likelihood it leaks bar oil into the crankcase. Simple to split and rebuild the gasket there. It's no powerhouse of a saw when it's done, but yours looks to be in good shape cosmetically.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Yeah, I forgot about that one way valve that runs the chain oiler, many of them are bad and not easy to find one. I tried rebuilding one and wasn't very successful at it.

 

[Little Al]

If you're looking to have use from the saws I would work on the 2 Homelite's either when up together & running properly will get your firewood cut if that's your requirement Parts are easy to obtain as a lot were produced

 

[leeha]

The one that has "Craftsman 2.0" is a Poulan 2000, look at the top cover in the background..

Yep, My bad.

 

[pioneerguy600]

The SuperXL is an early version, it may have points condenser = good or it may have the electronic module = bad if its lost spark. They can be found but are a tad expensive to put in old saws like these.

 

[Pioneer]

All of the Homelite's are worth working on, the hardest to work on is the super 2. However, once the super 2 is set up right, it is a nice powerful trail saw especially when you give it a muffler mod. The Poulan/Craftsman is an OK saw except for the problematic pressure oiling system, the one way valve has a tendency to fail. Never did a small Mac, heard they are real PITA to work on.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

All of the Homelite's are worth working on, the hardest to work on is the super 2. However, once the super 2 is set up right, it is a nice powerful trail saw especially when you give it a muffler mod. The Poulan/Craftsman is an OK saw except for the problematic pressure oiling system, the one way valve has a tendency to fail. Never did a small Mac, heard they are real PITA to work on.

They are. The Super 2 is a pleasure to work on in comparison..

 

[bg147]

Thank you for the feedback. That is good to know about the little Craftsman/Poulan 2000. It is ready for new filters, fuel line and carb kit, and all cleaned up. I plan to start it today. It has spark and compression. The oiling valve sounds like a nightmare. Hmmm, it has oil in the tank and pump. I am not going to spend much money on it right now until I figure that oiler out.

Next, I will take the advice and work on the Super XL12. Thanks for the id on the Super EZ.

I meant to write the the Super 2 Homelite is my old saw that I use. Wasn't sure how to edit. Very easy saw to work on and probably the reason I decided to tackle more... which could be a mistake. As stated, it sounds like the Power Mac 6 is a bit of a nightmare and parts are hard to find. That was the one I was looking to buy and now after learning about it, not sure. When nobody bid, I just took all of them. I try to give a second home to the auction things I buy because it is usually an estate sale and someone has passed on. I will try to post some videos if anything fires.

Thanks again.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I didn't mean that the Mac wasn't worth fixing up, it's just a bit harder than the Poulan and Homelite, some people, including me, like a challenge. The Poulan chain oiler may work just fine and you can put the saw back together without tinkering with it. If it doesn't oil right then you can try fixing it. You don't have to split the engine apart to do anything to the oiler, at least I didn't..

 

[Little Al]

The SuperXL is an early version, it may have points condenser = good or it may have the electronic module = bad if its lost spark. They can be found but are a tad expensive to put in old saws like these.

Iv'e had good results with the later POINTLESS model with fitting a points coil & a NOVA 2 chipjust make sure you get the same brand coil as flywheel either Phelon or Wico nova works Ok on either

 

[bg147]

I said I wasn't going to spend much on the Craftsman until I had it running well. Well, I went to the shop and the owner was going out of his way to help with the sprocket and talk about the saw and this was after I told the girl I wasn't going to buy a sprocket. So, I guess I felt guilty after all of his help and ordered the sprocket. Plus, I later bought a chain. What a waste of money, $50 later and it runs like crap. By the way, he said it is a Poulan Micro 25. The high and low screws are not acting predictably. I can turn the low all the way in and it keeps running. If I back the high screw out wanting it to 4 stroke, it never does. It is as if the screws have no effect. One thing I didn't do was adjust the needle lever height and I should probably spray the carb out better. All I did was swish around some mineral spirits. I rebuilt it and the process seemed ok. There was one crescent shaped gasket that had fewer holes than the one I removed. I just picked the closest looking one. It isn't running with a chain on it if that matters.

Ah, forgot to mention, she is smoking. I assume that is the oiler check valve... could that be causing the running issues? The bar is receiving a heavy dose of oil from the oiler... so, could the check valve still be bad? The motor runs super fast but I have no control over it with the adjusting screws and she smokes.

 

[Okie]

It appears you are asking if it might be burning bar oil which would cause the smoke.

Just remove the bar oil and make a test run. (if smoke reduces the check valve is bad)

 

[undee70ss]

The motor runs super fast but I have no control over it with the adjusting screws and she smokes.

Almost for sure a air leak. Not familiar with that saw, but if it has a boot, I would check that first.

 

[Okie]

Just some general info:
Yep, you can get in over your head and pocket book on a Craftsman/Poulan $125 when NEW saw real fast when you go buying a chain, sprocket, especially before the saw is running correctly.
AND just getting close using incorrect carb gaskets usually won't work out very good either. I like to have a pile of craftsman/poulans for parts.
If you can find the Craftsman model number and get a carb part number maybe from sears parts direct site then flea bay with the kit number you can usually get a CORRECT kit for around $12. A cheap way to clean the carb is to us a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water slightly heated to soak the carb then use not over 15 psi air pressure to blow out the carb but do not direct inject the little holes with air pressure. Keep he air nozzle backed away from the carb or you can blow out internal and external stuff like welch plugs and check valves for example.

That Homelite EZ is worth taking time to properly check ad maybe repair. It's quite common for the 4 jug nuts to become loose to the block causing an air leak and if operated with such the gasket will blow out. (and the EZ carb adjustments will act kinda like you are describing and the H jet will really be critical and even have a large affect on the idling) Look at the flywheel on the EZ and see if you see a wico stamp or a Phelon stamp logo. Wico is the preferred type of ignition and easier to find parts. If you see a Phelon logo and a blue coil and no fire at the plug, you have the BLUE COIL OF DEATH ignition system. (expensive magneto coil that is know to fail) Also you have to be careful when re-installing a EZ carb and keep your tongue retracted when trying to restab and not chew the end off of your tongue. (we can help you with some EZ carb restab tip mods about such if you get into such)

If you want to start playing with chainsaws you need to think about pressure/vac tester and a correct reading compression gauge. A regular auto compression gauge most generally won't read correctly on small cc engines compression. (pressure/vac test is one of main tests when a saw is running erratic and a carb not adjusting correctly, especially after a carb is correctly re-built and the saw is still squirrely)

Lots of info on this site about pres/vac testing and chainsaw compression testers.