Repair / Rebuild your Own Chainsaw and / or Add-On Big Bore Kit

[H60 Hawk Pilot]

I have a couple older (XL12 & Super XL12) Homelite saws &  newer Super 240 that need's freshen up. I have done some search's and found out that some of the folk's are doing their own repairs.

I have found some supplier's of: ring sets & piston's and other parts too.

Also, folks are adding on >> bigger bore kits, and this add on was from  Bailey's... but done after the warranty period.

The purpose of this post is to hear  Pro's & Con's  on reparing your on saw, and good part suppliers for older saws (if that's Ok to ask here) ?

Thanks'


 

[Cut4fun]

I just placed another big order with Scott. Top notch  8).  http://store.chainsawr.com/

[Magicman]

I retired two XL12's this year.  A '76 and a '79 model.  I didn't junk them, just retired them.  They've cut many cords of firewood.

[Bill Gaiche]

MM, I have a super XL 12 that has a bad coil that I retired also. That old thing had cut a many stick of wood till coil failed. Settin on shelf, wish someone need it for parts. bg

[HolmenTree]

I have a couple older (XL12 & Super XL12) Homelite saws &  newer Super 240 that need's freshen up. I have done some search's and found out that some of the folk's are doing their own repairs.

I have found some supplier's of: ring sets & piston's and other parts too.

Also, folks are adding on >> bigger bore kits, and this add on was from  Bailey's... but done after the warranty period.

The purpose of this post is to hear  Pro's & Con's  on reparing your on saw, and good part suppliers for older saws (if that's Ok to ask here) ?

Thanks'


 

Hawk the old Homelites were excellent saws in their day, the XLs even revolutionized the industry in the mid 1960s. But that was so long ago. Today you can buy a Stihl 044 or a Husqvarna 372 that is seized up for under  $100. Then you can go to Baileys and spend another $100 and you now have a strong running modern saw. I have never gone that route, I always bought new. But the possibilities are endless if you want to save money and go used and do your own repairs.

Willard.

[sawguy21]

Those old saws are fun to play with but unless you have unlimited time and money (and a masochistic streak), forget about hopping up with big bore kits and other such foolishness. My early XL-12 still cuts but I want something smoother, faster, and QUIETER for  regular use.

[Magicman]

I've seen XL12's that had been rebuilt from several old saws.  Some parts were red and some parts the older blue.   :D

[H60 Hawk Pilot]

The XL12's are my Daddy Saw's and passed on to me, the worth of these saws are priceless.  I just wanted to freshen them up, they may have set with old gas in them and need carb. kits & going over. The saws have low hours and look like new.

My biggest goal is to get my Son more involved in working on things that are mechanical (he's a computer nut). The Homelite's were his Grandfather's saws and a prime candiate for his 1st job with me right behind him.

I just bought two new saws about a month ago & posted picture's. I like them both, the 681 Solo has good power and the 251 Efco is good too. The 251 cuts a lot better than I expected. The Efco (currently) has a starting problem and gas feed problem. It started on the 3rd tank of gas. The 251 ran perfect for 5 minutes or so and then weened it's self out of fuel.  I cant' imagine the tank filter being clogged up yet but it's a fuel feed problem. When I prime the engine by dropping a few drops of gas in the cyl.  >> it start's right up.. till it runs out of gas. The fuel primer bulb is wrong too, when you press it in, it takes forever to re-inflate again, meaning fuel line restriction and won't pull fuel from the tank (as it should). I tried cracking the fuel cap too, thinking the fuel tank vent was blocked up but not the case.   

I guess I will fish out the tank filter and check it all from there.

I missed the boat a little, the Chainsawr is Right On with Saw Parts. It's good that I don't hunt rattle snakes for a hobby, I'd have been bit' and died several times over with the >. Chainsawr in the very site I'm posting on ! 

Thanks'

 

[HolmenTree]

Hawk good luck with your son and introducing him to saws cutting wood. My 18 yr old son is a "computer nut" too. When he worked with me last summer I saved his life when he answered his cell phone and didn't see the tree that almost fell on him, and then he got mad at me for interrupting his text call. When I was his age I was doing a mans job as a logger and had lots of interest in mechanical things.
But to my son mechanical technology is text messaging on a cell phone , facebook YouTube etc.
Now look who's talking I'm doing the same thing.
Willard. :D

[beenthere]

The best one can hope for with 'sons' is for them to become interested on their own and ask for some help. Always be quite willing to show them and let them see how there can be some satisfaction taking things apart, see how they work, and finding the problem if something is broken.

I was told a long time ago by a helpful Uncle.

You can't climb a fence leaning toward you,
you can't kiss a girl leaning away from you, and
you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.

I believe it is true.

Hopefully your son has some burning desire to tear into the saw. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

[SwampDonkey]

I think it would be a great hobby, if you will. But, I doubt $100 will fix up an old saw. It would have to be really minor fix'n. :D A new muffler will just about eat up the first $100.

[Al_Smith]

History lesson .Back in the day in this area of Ohio which is farming country you had Homelite and McCulloch .Both were basically sold through farm implement dealers .

Early on the two most popular models were the 250 Mac and the C5 Homelite .Later on the Xl-12 Homelite and the 10-10 Mac took over as they were a tad lighter than the earlier models  and would generally cut as fast as the heavier models  in most situations

Today those old saws still abound in numbers although few of them are actually in use .Many still run or will run usually with a carb rebuild .There isn't much you can do to one as far as adding a new cylinder because first of all they aren't a removable cylinder type of design .

They might be okay to restore or tinker with but not so much as to sink a bunch of money into .

As far as the idea of souping one up,there isn't much you can do to them,believe me I've tried .Nice hobby perhaps but that's where it ends .

[Magicman]

Noise and safety were my main reasons for retiring my XL12's.  I always wear ear plugs, but they are still loud.  No chain brake was the primary reason.  This happened years ago, but it still happened.



That's the outside of my right arm.  The saw kicked 180°.

[Bill Gaiche]

MM, that had to have been scary! bg

[HolmenTree]

I think it would be a great hobby, if you will. But, I doubt $100 will fix up an old saw. It would have to be really minor fix'n. :D A new muffler will just about eat up the first $100.

Looking at my 2010 Baileys catalog a complete piston assembly for a Stihl 044 is $45,  the complete gasket set with seals included is $10, and 2 crank bearings from your local  bearing supply  shouldn't  break $40. So $100 can easily rebuild an old saw plus maybe have enough money left over to buy a carb kit too. But if you bought these parts from Stihl, you may need to re-mortgage your home.

Willard. :D

[H60 Hawk Pilot]

Thanks All and  BeenThere.. you have it right with the three lines you wrote.  My Son does as he want's and does have interest in mechanical things but we have not spent a lot of time together to work on things. I was here in FL working and now he's with me in FL.

HolmenTree.. My son must be a twin to your's.  I told him to put his cell phone in the glove box of the pick up. He had too many calls and quite a distraction. I told him it was not the way to work in the wood's, to be distracted for a second or two.. can.. get you hurt or dead.

I tried him out on the 681 Solo and he was not ready (I was standing beside him) yet, thought I'd have heart attack. This is the 2nd time I had him on a saw. He held the saw... real wimmpy like, he's 6' 2" and built lean & long arms.  I guess he does not have a lot of arm strength and the base knowledge of what he's doing.  I told him we'd work on building his saw skills up and he needed more work on his how to saw knowledge too.

I thought of my Dad, he alwyas said, Watch Me and Learn. He turned me loose at  12, 13 in driving tractors and the pick up on the farm. I started sawing pulp wood at 14 and at 16... I was on my own.  I'd run 5 loads a week to the mill. Everything had to go right to get 6 1/2 cords out & loaded on the truck and run the next morning at 4:30 AM.  We had decent equipment and grapple loader trailer in 1965. We backed the truck into a 3 sided pit and loaded this way. One draw back, we had to haul the pulp wood about 3 to 4  miles one way on the trailer from the woods.

When I messed up... I have to laugh again when I think about getting punished by my Dad. He was like a Army Drill Sgt. and would get in my face.  If I really messed up and broke something bad (real money), then, a little wacking was added in. When he was in his 80's... I told him that.. by today's standards... I was a abused child. My Dad was always quick headed and said... You were Not Abused in Any Way, You were a No# 1 Problem Child !  You should have been disciplined a lot more... we both laughed  !  My Dad was Right On (his No# 1 Problem Child) Usual !  He said, you turned out Ok in the end and that's because I disciplined .. just about right !

When I went to the Army.. I thought the Driill Sgt's. were just like my Dad and it was No big deal when they got in my face.. just like >> Dear Old Dad  ;D

My Son (Avery III) will have a chance to expand his mechanical skills on the Homelite's and a 650 Honda I bought to make into a trike. If he does nothing or something, it's really his life and I understand this. However, I don't want him to have... nearly zero mechanical skills in this area and know computer stuff only.

I went out to fix the Efco 251saw because it would not start and just completed the repair.  It was simple enough, my Son put chain oil in the gas side and gas in the oil side. I opened the gas cap and saw the oil when I was about to pull the tank filter out. I drained everything from both sides and flushed twice. Pulled the gas filter and cleaned and (lightly) forced fresh gas into the gas feed line & gassed her up up and starts & runs 100%.

After thought, I wonder if my Son was converting this saw to diesel and forgot to tell me (big smile)  :D.  

Take Care Out There !

Avery