which saws

[tony marks]

i was reading a post on another forum ,
of a guy who had a 20yr. old homelite 360 that was running fine still.
it got my curiosity up as to which of the homelite an mac saws were good
dependable saws and which were responsible for their rep as ,lets put it nicely [not up to snuff. ]
i owned an old blue homy that u couldnt kill . but at the time i didnt pay the various different saws any attention.
im more interested in individual saws that were on par than, the period in time, when the brand went south. thanks tm

 

[Stumper]

The Super EZs and XL12's were pretty tough.The 460 (or was that 440 or 405-so many numbers ) was a tough saw-in some areas it was popular with small timber loggers.My dad ran a 360 for several years and really liked it-but when it got tired he started buying Huskys. A lot of guys say good things about mac10-10s -I knew one commercial forest thinner who liked them-he ran them till they wore out then rebuilt them into a bigger saw within the same case.-I don't remember what the numbers were on the jug and piston swap he was making.

When both companies turned their marketing strategies to consumer grade saws their pro lines started to falter but they did continue to make pro saws for quite a while. I think Homelite maintained a pro line almost until the end. An old saw mechanic told me that they were still actually producing some quality saws but the consumer junk had backfired on them-the Pro's didn't want to be seen carrying a Homey. Since Stihl and Husky/Jonsereds had the reputation as pro quality AND boasted slightly better power to weight figures Homelite's pro line was mostly ignored-they sold them to central american countries or something.

P.S. Thanks to Bill G. I remember the number! Change that 460 to a 410.

 

[Saw Man]

Homelite Super XL, and the Whizz. Super XL was their best seller.

Mac's 10-10 and it's cousins.

 

[logcutter429]

Mac. sp80s, sp81, 105s, and the 125 were there most dependable at the time.

 

[tony marks]

thanks for the info.im pretty much set with the saws i need but occasionally
see these older homelites and macs at the fleas. not long ago i had a fella offer his whole table [4 running homelites for a hundred buck]. didnt need them but it was tempting. one was an old blue super xl..his wife had started out asking 75 an a hundred for each saw,but the old man called her over ,an she came back ,offering the whole deal. guess he was tired of the place. does seem to me like a hard way to spend a saturday. thanks again.

 

[shoot501]

Pro Mac 10 10, Super XL 925 and Super EZ. I've run these saws a lot and they do a good job but are tough on the hands.

 

[Bill G]

Homelite: Super EZ, Super XL, XL-12, 925, 1050. I am sure there are more. I would think all the later "50"s 450, 550, 650, and 750 are all good saws. Some swear by the 410. I had one and it seemed fine. The 540 according to Marty was a good saw until they got hot and cooked themselves. I was talking to a long time Homelite dealer about the 750 he was trying to sell me. I mentioned a 650 and he basicaly said I was crazy and that they never made one. I guess the 650 in my shop must be an allusion.

As for Macs I personally have never owned a good one but that is only because I have only had a few and they were all consumer ones I bought because they were free or cheap. I do have 1-41 that I would like to get running but it has me stumped.

Bill

 

[John in MA]

The Homelite C series were reliable but slow and heavy, the later 2100/3100 that grew from that design was wicked. Maybe had clutch problems, but they were real monsters. They made some nices saws with the 410, 540, 8800 with Solo's help in the '80s. I think Homie tanked before they could sell many of them.

One saw you don't hear much about in history conversations are the XL-100s. Modernized, lighter-duty Super XL's. I like my VI-123.

Also have the previously-mentioned SXL-925. The later XL-700/800/900 series were quite sharp for the time.