best homelite ever?

[hoss]

Alright guys lets let the opinions fly. Durability,power, serviceability,user friendliness wich homer was the best combo of these factors? Could it be the 750,2100,990.superXl the 923xl,xp1000,1020? Theres lotsa good ones and I'd appreciate your opinions.




Ah luvs me some cubic centimeters

 

[Dadatwins]

650 / 750 series great workhorse, plus had some anti-vibe built in make it a great saw, just heavy to carry around. xl925 my favorite of the homelite series, great power and profile, lot of low end cutting power and balanced enough to drag up a tree with a 24" bar strapped on it. If they only had an anti-vibe system I would still use it today.

 

[bugfart]

Something about the SXL925
Ballance is unrivalled and the heavier fly-wheel was worth it's weight in gold for low-end torque. Easiest saw to mod and the gain is substancial. (remove spark arrestor in any 900 series and crank up the volume)

XL12 was the "Dodge Dart with a 225 slant six" of saws. If they still made them I would buy one new and use it for 30 years.

It's the 330 360 models that "sparked" the death-null of enjoyment. I blame these saws for unfortunate events through-out the coarse of history sinse their inception. Special this special that. It was the anti-industrial revolution. Eli Whitney goes through all that focus on interchangeable parts with his cotton gin and...

I thought Homelite captured that with the 900 series.

 

[weimedog]

I vote for the S-XL 925. I use mine everywhere....and I have the choise of
many new and old.

(Dada..if you want a 925 with Vibration Dampening..go for a 955VI)

 

[Ax-man]

Wow, didn't expect so many 925 fans, add my vote to the list.

 

[Lawn Masters]

I like my Super 2, but thats only cause the 330 I had didnt exactly thrill me in terms of weight/power. the super 2, on the other hand, is VERY light, and quite nice for those little pruning cuts.

If I had to choose a bigger homelite, I dont think I know which one I'd select.

 

[458_lott]

I guess I would have to agree with the Super XL-925. Everything was good about them. Plenty of power and grunt. Handled the 24" bars I used on them well. Not too heavy and relatively quick cutting. Perhaps a close second would have to be the Super XL-12 or the plain XL-12. Still run them and they were (are) darn good saws. Simple to maintain and durable. People always laugh at me touting my Super Wiz 66s, but they were beasts and refuse to quit. Not what guys are looking for now, but I am an old man and remember them well and still use one weekly. Love the saw, love the concept of that big chain moving slowly but refusing to be stopped by anything. I have cut alot of wood with Homelites and certainly at the front of the list has been the Wiz. I guess I will still vote for the XL-925 as it is more in line with today's thinking of saws (even though it was horizontal design). Fast cutting for its time and still had plenty of torque for the thick stuff.

 

[hoss]

Personally I value my xp1000 very highly.It always starts easy and cuts hard.Although it may seem heavy to some it has always been comfortable for me(did add a full wrap handle though).However for plain old power-tripping enjoyment nothing(that I own or have tried) can match the pleasure I get watching my 990g(48 inch bar)rip through the really big stuff. I would love the chance to try a 2100 or 750 to compare.The guy that cuts with me uses a super xl and swears by it.I have never seen it let him down.



lotsa old saws,most running,some dirty

 

[Bill G]

One that has been overlooked is the best small saw they made was the (SEZ) Super EZ. They were a lightweight saw that had good power. As already mentioned probably their best mid range was the SXL/XL-12 family. As for large saw there are many that have been mentioned 925, 750, and of course the 2100. The 925 seems to have have quite a following. I think I have a few around here. I will try to post a pic of some.

Bill

 

[NWCS]

i have to put a vote in for my 1130G with 60" roller tip bar
its a sweet old saw, just wish i had a 404 sprocket for it, or a loop of 1/2" chain for that big ol bar.

 

[eyolf]

I thought pretty highly of the Xl-100 series...pretty good power, and light weight. The S-EZ was similar, but kind of a consumer version. I agree with Bill G about the S-EZ too, not bad power for a nice light saw, and for a while you could get them everywhere for a bargain basement price.

Some will laugh, but my fave is the model 17, 5/20, and 4/20 series saws, Heavy, loud, slow, but bulletproof dependable and I just like the looks of them. They were Homelite's first dependable, all=purpose, all-position saws, and became popular nationwide. They were just plain handsome.

 

[Bill G]

i have to put a vote in for my 1130G with 60" roller tip bar
its a sweet old saw, just wish i had a 404 sprocket for it, or a loop of 1/2" chain for that big ol bar.

I can put together a small group of the 1100 and 1130G's also.

Bill

 

[Former Saw Builder]

Probably be plenty to disagree but I think the XL101 was a great light weight saw with a lot of snot... I wish you could still buy them I'm restoring one now in my shop can't wait to get her running again. It don't cut as fast as my
026's but for it's day they are real runners.

 

[weimedog]

My 1130 is a fun saw.

(This was a pic of the 1130G with other stuff including my ratty old S-XL925 that does the bulk the cutting around here!..they ALL get used and were used that particular day)

 

[Stumper]

If Homelite hadn't ruined their reputation chasing the consumer market (through several different ownership tenures) and been in a downward spiral near the end of it all I think the 540/8800 would have gotten some rave reviews. Unfortunately Homelite had already lost the Pro Market when they came out with a modern Pro saw.

 

[458_lott]

weimedog and Bill G,

Great looking Homelites. I wish I still had a good Super XL-925. I have one here that I got from a friend of mine before he was killed in a logging accident. Ran a limb through the gas tank and patched with jb weld. Doesn't leak or anything but I haven't gotten it running. Seems to have plenty of spark and compression. I just haven't fooled with it. I grabbed an XL-123 off of dookie-bay last year. The saw seems in great shape (needs a sprocket). The guy said it ran with gas in the carb, but I couldn't get it to fire. It does have good spark and compression. I just haven't worked on either much. I have a new Stihl MS-460 coming and I hope I will be satisfied with it. I was so used to the power band of the XL-925s for that basic sized saw. I hope the Stihl will impress me. I am loyal to my Homelites. They were the saw to be used back so many years ago. I built my small business running them. They were durable, reliable, reasonably priced, and generally easy for me to work on with no formal mechanical training. As I said above, my favorite for felling was the Super XL-925, but my all time favorite is the Wiz 66 which I still run. I always liked the C-72s with their .404 pitch chain. I got used to oiling heavy anyway, so the manual oil only of the Wiz and the C-72 and the XL-12 was no problem. Some of my partners in the business would only run the Super XL-12s because they didn't want to have to manually oil. That is one of the things that freaks me out about the MS-460; no manual override. I mentioned that to my Stihl dealer and he, of course said, "no problem" as the automatic oiler is adjustable. But what if it quits? He said, "Stihl wouldn't even know how to answer you because it just doesn't happen often at all". I hope I'm not the dope it happens to. I am just so used to the manual over-ride the Homelites gave you. That is why I bought the Echo CS-670 a month ago.

 

[Dadatwins]

The auto oilers on todays saw works adequatly under most conditions. Turn it all the way up when you get the saw. The only time I may add oil to the bar would be on a flush cut (bar horizontal) with the bar buried in wet wood.
The oilers are durable as the dealer stated but the bar oil hole on some bars will clog on occasion. Simple maintainence, clean up the saw, cleaning the bar groove as needed will take care of this. Personally I would like to see a manual oiler on some modern saws. The closest I have seen is the 084 Stihl has a manual oiler. Good luck with your new saw.
Back to thread, I used a bunch of ez and sez and they were great saws, until they got hot then they were a bear to get started. Same with XL-12, That old design with the metal fuel tank sitting next to the crankcase made for some fun gas tank boil overs in the hot summer.

 

[458_lott]

dadatwins,

Ditto on the hot Homelites in the summer. The gas used to boil. And of course the vaporlock was no fun either. Thanks for the tip on the oiling. I always clean my saws when I come back from cutting. Tear the bar or bow off and clean real well with air compressor and clean the bar and oil hole. I just get nervous. I am so used to using the manual oiler on saws. My Poulan 3700 has both auto and manual, as does the Echo CS-670. I just naturally tap on it with regular intervals. Or course the Super Wiz 66 is manual oil only as is the XL-12 I still run. Heck, even my Super Mini VI (Super EZ with vibration isolation) has both manual and auto oiler. I just get nervous. All of you guys have made me feel confident about the MS-460, so I am feeling better. I was going to add an Echo CS-8000, but at the last minute ordered the Stihl. I loved my Homelites and have run Stihls, but never owned any. They have enjoyed a grand reputation in West Coast logging, but here on the East Coast, my guys and many other operations always ran big Homelites or Sachs-Dolmars. I got a lot of goofy looks when I was running Beaird-Poulans. They were fast cutting, but I couldn't get them to holdup like the Homelites. The C-72, Super XL-925s, XL-12s, and Super Wizs just held up for me really well. One of my partners went to the Homelite 360s and 450s when they came out and they were really poor saws, at least that was my experience with them. Fast cutters, but didn't take the beating the XL-12s and Super XL-925s did. I never switched. I just kept using the XL-12s and 925s.

 

[Bill G]

If Homelite hadn't ruined their reputation chasing the consumer market (through several different ownership tenures) and been in a downward spiral near the end of it all I think the 540/8800 would have gotten some rave reviews. Unfortunately Homelite had already lost the Pro Market when they came out with a modern Pro saw.

Obviously I wish Homelite would have survived but I belive the 540 had a bit of heat problem. They tended to cook the jugs. I had a nice one here but I let it go. I wish I had kept it.

Bill

 

[ol'homey]

The older C-9 had the same displacement as the Super XL-925. I wonder how close they are in HP? I wonder how they would compare if you updated the C-9 with electronic ignition, 3/8 chain and roller nose bar equivalent to the 925?