Vintage chainsaw Identification Challenge - My dad's very first chainsaw - Late 1940's??

My dad bought his very first chainsaw from Sears & Roebuck. It was back in the early-mid 1930's era I'm thinking!???

*edit* "The mid to late 40's"

Can anyone help me pinpoint the make and model of the chainsaw my dad is using in this picture below!??? Thanks in advance for any I.D. help as this is the only picture I've got of the saw. I'd sure like to have one for sentimental value some day....but need to know what I'm looking for!!!

made by Reed-Prentice...

McCulloch powered.

Craftsman 1200B.

Gee, aren't those top handle saws strictly for climbing?:msp_tongue:

Cripes, looking at that pic makes me want to reach for the Xanax myself. That is one scary looking saw. Pretty cool, though. Hope you find one.

and according to here VINTAGE CHAINSAW COLLECTION: CRAFTSMAN/REED PRENTICE 1200B. produced from 1947-1948.

I don't think there were any one man saws prior to the war, were there ?

Now that is a climbing saw... It's top handled, you see?

I think I still have a couple of the 1200B saws here. They are a interesting design.

Bill

I am amazed and pleased with the responses to my inquiry!!

WOW.......thanks sooo much for everyone's response to my inquiry!!

@ RandyMac; you were the first with the I.D. and the knowledge that it was McColloch powered!! Thanks!!

@ Jacob J. ; was the Reed-Prentice company a flash-in-the-pan company or ?? It was noted by another that the saw was only available for 1 year!?? Any other intel on the Reed-Prentice company........did they make other chainsaws or just this one for Sears/Craftsman?? (I'm a newbie on the vintage stuff )

@ Mr. Bowsaw ; Sir, you just happened to "make my day!!" with your pictorial response!! That first picture showing the same side of the saw that my dad's picture was taken from just blew me away....Thanks SOOO much!! I would have never known that it was a variant of a two man style saw with the handle on the end of the blade. Do you know the history of your saw and is that orginal condition or restored and used since??

@ Battenkiller ; :msp_laugh::msp_lol: Thanks for the laugh about the needing the Xanax regarding the scary looking saw! I so hope to someday have a running one just to know what my dad experienced back in yesteryear!!

@ tdi-rick ; Thanks a bunch for the link to the collector website with the info there. I really missed it on the date........by about a dozen years according to the website. I know my dad built a really ingenious saw mill in his early 20's which would have been the 1934-1936 era........sooo was going off that time frame. Interesting that the Mac engine used was of a "square" bore/strock configuration!! The one bit of info that wasn't shown there was the weight.........I seem to recall that my dad said it was about 50-ish lbs. !?? I'm thinking that Mr. Bowsaw or Bill G will have an answer to that missing specification.

@ pro-mac 610 ; I will display my lack of chainsaw terminology knowledge and ask what a "climbing saw" and "top handled" reference!?? I've got ideas but maybe you could clarify?

@ Bill G ; That's certainly a double slice of history in your possession. Are they runners or ?? If runners how tempermental are they and is the Mac engine specific to that one saw or ??

Once again, a BIG thanks, to you folks for sharing your chainsaw expertise in I.D.-ing a peice of machinery I've always been curious about!!

A little kick back from that bad boy and its lights out for the user thats for sure.

Reed-Prentice 1200B

The first of these saws was made by Reed-Prentice in 1946 and the last in 1949. They weigh about 85 pounds. I doubt that one man could use one very effectively. Every one I've seen, including the one I own, has a bar about 36-37 inches long and a helper handle on the end.

Reed-Prentice has a long history in manufacturing, beginning almost 140 years ago. The company goes back to 1872 when it was A.F. Prentice & Co. F.E. Reed bought the company in 1877, the same year A.F. Prentice joined two other brothers to form Prentice Brothers Co. F.E. Reed retired in 1912 and the two companies merged to form Reed-Prentice Co. They have a long history of manufacturing woodworking machinery, including lathes and mills. Today they make plastic molding machinery. Originally located in Worchester, MA, R-P is still in business today in West Springfield, MA.

They made the very earliest Wolf chainsaws from 1927 through 1940. In addition to the R-P model 1200B, they made the Reed-Prentice Timberhog and the R-P model 50. They made pneumatic chainsaws during WWII and after. They got out of gas-powered chainsaw manufacturing in 1953 after McCulloch, Homelite, IEL/Pioneer and many other companies flourished onto the North American market. R-P decided to go back to their basic manufacturing strengths in lathes, mills and other industrial machinery.

The R-P 1200B was made with Reed-Prentice nameplates, and also badged for the Sears-Roebuck Company with the Craftsman name. There are still a few dozens of these 1200B saws in existence today, including some in good operating condition. The cylinder and piston in the McCulloch-made engine are round.

One curious feature of the 1200B's is the hollow bar. There are channels within the bar for oil to travel through to various points in the rail channels to lubricate the chain. The very earliest of this model had a spark retard lever for easier starting and adjustment at different rpms operating speed. This feature was discontinued in early-to-mid 1947. The fuel tanks are pressurized at priming and during operation. A metal plate on back of the powerhead gives starting and operating instructions.

There's a long discussion thread of the R-P 1200B chainsaw in the chain saw collectors forum History section. You have to register in that forum to be able to read it.

If you want to get one in memory and commemoration of your father, you should talk to BillG... He might be willing to part with one of his.

Mr. Bow Saw said:

Craftsman 1200B.

Click to expand...

My 5yo son looking over my shoulder says: "that's a strange looking chainsaw"

A climbing saw is one where a guy hauls it up to cut the top of the tree off, before dropping said tree.

Top handled means the handle is on top of the saw/engine, rather than behind as is with the majority of saws.

For example: a Stihl 019T is a top handle saw

And a McCulloch Pro Mac 850 is the rear handed style saw we all know

I doubt anyone actually used that huge Craftsman as a climbing/topping saw... it was more of a joke some of us like to make on a saw that happens to be in excess of 100cc and is top handled to boot...

Thanks!

promac610 said:

A climbing saw is one where a guy hauls it up to cut the top of the tree off, before dropping said tree.

Top handled means the handle is on top of the saw/engine, rather than behind as is with the majority of saws.

For example: a Stihl 019T is a top handle saw

And a McCulloch Pro Mac 850 is the rear handed style saw we all know

I doubt anyone actually used that huge Craftsman as a climbing/topping saw... it was more of a joke some of us like to make on a saw that happens to be in excess of 100cc and is top handled to boot...

Click to expand...

Thanks, you confirmed, complete with great pictures, what I was thinking/presuming after reading your initial response. I've got a lot to learn but spending time here and asking questions is getting me spun up on the learning curve. :msp_thumbsup:

Old Mac Guy said:

The first of these saws was made by Reed-Prentice in 1946 and the last in 1949. They weigh about 85 pounds. I doubt that one man could use one very effectively. Every one I've seen, including the one I own, has a bar about 36-37 inches long and a helper handle on the end.

Reed-Prentice has a long history in manufacturing, beginning almost 140 years ago. The company goes back to 1872 when it was A.F. Prentice & Co. F.E. Reed bought the company in 1877, the same year A.F. Prentice joined two other brothers to form Prentice Brothers Co. F.E. Reed retired in 1912 and the two companies merged to form Reed-Prentice Co. They have a long history of manufacturing woodworking machinery, including lathes and mills. Today they make plastic molding machinery. Originally located in Worchester, MA, R-P is still in business today in West Springfield, MA.

They made the very earliest Wolf chainsaws from 1927 through 1940. In addition to the R-P model 1200B, they made the Reed-Prentice Timberhog and the R-P model 50. They made pneumatic chainsaws during WWII and after. They got out of gas-powered chainsaw manufacturing in 1953 after McCulloch, Homelite, IEL/Pioneer and many other companies flourished onto the North American market. R-P decided to go back to their basic manufacturing strengths in lathes, mills and other industrial machinery.

The R-P 1200B was made with Reed-Prentice nameplates, and also badged for the Sears-Roebuck Company with the Craftsman name. There are still a few dozens of these 1200B saws in existence today, including some in good operating condition. The cylinder and piston in the McCulloch-made engine are round.

One curious feature of the 1200B's is the hollow bar. There are channels within the bar for oil to travel through to various points in the rail channels to lubricate the chain. The very earliest of this model had a spark retard lever for easier starting and adjustment at different rpms operating speed. This feature was discontinued in early-to-mid 1947. The fuel tanks are pressurized at priming and during operation. A metal plate on back of the powerhead gives starting and operating instructions.

There's a long discussion thread of the R-P 1200B chainsaw in the chain saw collectors forum History section. You have to register in that forum to be able to read it.

If you want to get one in memory and commemoration of your father, you should talk to BillG... He might be willing to part with one of his.

Click to expand...

A very nice write up!

I have often thought of trying to make something like a hollow bar to oil the bar.....this thought has come up while reading about aux oilers used during milling..... Anyone else out there have any thoughts?

OP....I hope you get one of these saws!

manyhobies said:

A very nice write up!


OP....I hope you get one of these saws!

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Many thanks to 'Old Mac Guy' for the superb write-up about the Reed-Prentice saws!! Just hearing your name soooo reminds me of my dad and as far back as I can remember he'd had Mac's......started with the old 33/35 saw that he'd bring in to warm up over night (in the middle of the winter) before going out the next day to cut firewood. As he got older he switched over to the Mac 6 saws and wore a couple of them out.

Thanks, 'manyhobies' for your positive thought.........I hope I do get one of those saws some day soon before I can't handle it any more!! :msp_biggrin:

One man vs. two man operation on a 1200B

Model Profile: CRAFTSMAN 1200B

In that model profile it said this;
OPERATOR CONFIGURATION:
One Man and/or Two Man operation

My dad worked alone in the woods most of the time. Sometimes he had a hired hand, a big Swede guy named Hans, but when he bought his 1200B I can't imagine him buying a 2-man version!?? I'm presuming the primary difference between the two man and one man operation is just the helper handle on the end of the bar?? If so could a person just unbolt that handle end and run it like a regular saw?? Or is there more to it that that!?? I understand about the saw weighing 85 lbs. as mentioned earlier in this thread. I'm just having a problem believing my dad would buy something that required a 2nd person to operate. A mystery of history........... R.I.P. Dad!!

Bill G.........I attempted to send you a PM but your PM box is full.

paccity said:

Click to expand...

Thanks for the picture! I'd be interested in seeing what's on the end of the bar!!??? :msp_confused: