Your Super XL and XL-12 stories and pics

[shelbythedog]

As many have stated, SXL's hold a special place in my heart as well. First saw I ever ran was the clean, later model SXL wearing the Pro-Lite bar, that Dad bought new in the early '90's when I was barely as tall as his knee. Ironically enough, that SXL was bought to replace a twice blown up 360. As the story goes, the SXL cost less than the parts to repair the toasted 360 so Dad went with the lower cost option. Not to mention he never had to buy another set of rubber anti-vibe mounts for the 360 ever again, which as I'm told was a regular maintenance item no different than bar oil with the 360. Dad had a gross of 20" bars and chains he had collected over the years and those could be carried over to the SXL as well, all he ever ran was a 20".

I found the second, older, rougher SXL on craigslist a few years ago and paid the man $25. Met a neighbor that day also, as the man was only a few miles from me, third generation on the family farm. I didn't even bother to start it until I got home as it was wearing a brand new Stihl RSC chain which was worth 80% of the total sale price so I knew I couldn't go wrong. All was well as the saw starts and runs like a champion and I use it several times a year for no reason other than the grin factor. Sure is a good saw for noodling the odd log or two at the splitter. Other than the cracked filter cover and the bar tip that got a little hot before I had her, this saw is as good as new. It bears a sticker for a small engine shop that is about 50 miles from here, the area code changed to (989) +/-15 years ago so it must go back a few years!

 

[ChainLightning]

As many have stated, SXL's hold a special place in my heart as well. First saw I ever ran was the clean, later model SXL wearing the Pro-Lite bar, that Dad bought new in the early '90's when I was barely as tall as his knee. Ironically enough, that SXL was bought to replace a twice blown up 360. As the story goes, the SXL cost less than the parts to repair the toasted 360 so Dad went with the lower cost option. Not to mention he never had to buy another set of rubber anti-vibe mounts for the 360 ever again, which as I'm told was a regular maintenance item no different than bar oil with the 360. Dad had a gross of 20" bars and chains he had collected over the years and those could be carried over to the SXL as well, all he ever ran was a 20".

I found the second, older, rougher SXL on craigslist a few years ago and paid the man $25. Met a neighbor that day also, as the man was only a few miles from me, third generation on the family farm. I didn't even bother to start it until I got home as it was wearing a brand new Stihl RSC chain which was worth 80% of the total sale price so I knew I couldn't go wrong. All was well as the saw starts and runs like a champion and I use it several times a year for no reason other than the grin factor. Sure is a good saw for noodling the odd log or two at the splitter. Other than the cracked filter cover and the bar tip that got a little hot before I had her, this saw is as good as new. It bears a sticker for a small engine shop that is about 50 miles from here, the area code changed to (989) +/-15 years ago so it must go back a few years!

A very nice looking pair of saws! You got a steal for $25 on that. Thanks for sharing.

 

[sawnami]

Back in the 60's my Dad made a living trapping fur and cutting hedge posts in the winter. He bought his first XL-12 shortly after they first came out and cut with it daily for several winters. Cutting hedge isn't the easiest on a saw but the Homelite stayed tough. He bought rolls of chain from a company called Zip-Penn and made up his chains as he needed them. By the end of winter he would have a huge supply of fence posts, brace posts and corner posts that he would sell in the Spring. After his first Homelite, he became a very loyal customer and all saws after that were Homelites.

I've got a "couple" of Homelites now.:monkey:

Here's one that my wife picked up for me at an auction a while back.

 

[Eccentric]

Great stuff guys. PM me your address if you'd like me to send you an AF cover for your $25 special. It's the later type (with the "Homelite" decal across the front edge) like what's on your Dad's late production SXL-AO.

 

[shelbythedog]

Great stuff guys. PM me your address if you'd like me to send you an AF cover for your $25 special. It's the later type (with the "Homelite" decal across the front edge) like what's on your Dad's late production SXL-AO.

PM inbound! Thanks!

 

[Ax-man]

Here are a few pics of my newest XL's with the bow bars. They are not done yet as they need more cleaning and hopefully get the bars repainted along with the guards . I haven't altered the clutch covers that came with these saws but used what I had . I am happy for now both saws have electronic ignitions, good oilers and run good so when I do use them they won't give me trouble. My collection shrunk , I sold my two blue ones to help finace the money I shelled out for these two.

 

[ChainLightning]

Back in the 60's my Dad made a living trapping fur and cutting hedge posts in the winter. He bought his first XL-12 shortly after they first came out and cut with it daily for several winters. Cutting hedge isn't the easiest on a saw but the Homelite stayed tough. He bought rolls of chain from a company called Zip-Penn and made up his chains as he needed them. By the end of winter he would have a huge supply of fence posts, brace posts and corner posts that he would sell in the Spring. After his first Homelite, he became a very loyal customer and all saws after that were Homelites.

I've got a "couple" of Homelites now.:monkey:

Here's one that my wife picked up for me at an auction a while back.

That right there belongs in a display box. Beautiful.

 

[ChainLightning]

Back in the 60's my Dad made a living trapping fur and cutting hedge posts in the winter. He bought his first XL-12 shortly after they first came out and cut with it daily for several winters. Cutting hedge isn't the easiest on a saw but the Homelite stayed tough. He bought rolls of chain from a company called Zip-Penn and made up his chains as he needed them. By the end of winter he would have a huge supply of fence posts, brace posts and corner posts that he would sell in the Spring. After his first Homelite, he became a very loyal customer and all saws after that were Homelites.

I've got a "couple" of Homelites now.:monkey:

Here's one that my wife picked up for me at an auction a while back.

That right there belongs in a display box. Beautiful. I'd better never catch you cutting wood with it :wink2:

 

[markmdz]

Well, I guess I'll make my first post after having joined the site this morning.

My 'ol man has been scooping up all the cheap old XL's, XL12's, SXL's, etc he's seen at the local flea markets, tag sales, etc but only if he can get them for a ridiculously low price. Over the years now, he's up to about a dozen of them, and has a few little top-handles thrown in his collection as well.

A few months back, I made my weekly saturday trip to the dump to take out the trash and as I do every time I go, I eyed an old red in the metal pile. It looked all too familiar to just leave there and not at least take a look. I quickly snagged it, tossed it in the back of the truck and headed home without even paying attention to what I had just picked. After getting it home I was pleasantly surprised to find it was an SXL 925. Just the head, but most of the paint on the bottom was still intact along with the all the rubber on the handles. A couple good pulls and nearly a broken wrist later, I knew compression was still ridiculously high. I'm not well versed in tuning these up, so I brought it down to the ol man to tinker with and try to get it running. ...a few days later, I got a call telling me it "ran like a r_ped ape" and I couldn't have it back. Not because he wanted it (although that too) but because "this is WAY more saw than you'll ever need. Just use one of my little XL 12's when you need a saw." No thanks, I'll take the saw back, but thanks for getting it running.

...and that's how it started...

A few weeks later, a nice NOS 28" bar with new chain arrived and was promptly installed. What a fine looking saw.

Just last weekend, I was shooting sht with one of the guys at the hardware store when I went in to pick up some mix and bar oil. Turns out he's a Homelite junkie. He showed me his prize saw in the workshop of the store, a 5-30 in very good condition, then as though you could actually see the lightbulb atop his head, he ran to the depths of the back of the stock room and came out with a new Bow never installed, still with the original sticker on it from way too many years ago. He gave it to me for free and thanked me for the good conversation.

During the small exchange with the guy in the store, another customer overheard and offered up his old XL he's had kicking around for a while. He said it ran great and was in decent condition, and just finished cutting about 4 cord this morning. $50 less in my pocket, I drove home with it.

I've had plenty of the old and new stuff (echo, sachs-dolmar, husky, mac, etc) and they're all gone, yet the homelites keep finding their way back into my garage. Hopefully going to pick up 2-3 more this weekend from a guy who doesnt' like to throw anything out, but doesn't have the desire to try to fix em. Dammit, I think I got bit by the bug here.

Pics to be posted up soon.

 

[svk]

Those old Homies sure have a LOUD bark, they'll peal paint off the house and clean the wax outta yer ears too...:msp_w00t:

Thats the very first thing I remember from using my grandpa's saw. My cousin inherited it and I think is still using it.

 

[Chainsaw Collectors]

I just got a Homelite XL12 to add to my collection. It belonged to my great grandpa back in the day. After he passed away there was an auction where my grandpa paid $5 for it 10 years ago. He never did anything with it. Now he gave it to me in return for fixing his Homelite 360. It has minor scoring on the piston, a stack muffler, no spark, and a super worn chain and sprocket. I will fix it when I can afford. Now I’m looking for a Super XL12 to have alongside it in the collection.