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Homelite super xl 925

Started by millstead, April 08, 2013, 09:18:04 AM

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millstead

I just got a homelite 925 it's in great shape I don't think it was ever used much it had  a 31" bar I haven't cut anything with it yet  I was wondering if anyone else has used one and what there thoughts where on them I doesn't sound like a high rpm saw I mead a large saw so I'm hoping it will work good for dropping large trees

sawguy21

That is a heavy slow saw that is getting on in years. Fun to play with a a hobby but really not very practical as a daily worker, parts are getting hard to find. Suggest you look for something more modern, your arms and back will thank you for it.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

HolmenTree

The 925XL Homelite is not a heavy slow saw. My first saw I ever owned was a 922XL, a few years older then the 925 and it put out good speed  for limbing and good power in large diameter timber. Plus no heavier then a Stihl 650/660.
There's lots of miss information on the web, sources spec the 925's weight varies from 14 lbs to 18 lbs.
But from a official Homelite 925XL brochure it is 16.7 lb powerhead only. It sports 82cc, electronic ignition, heavy duty auto and manual oilers. It states maximum h.p. at 8,000 rpm, but don't let that fool you, that is the operating rpm while buried in a log. With no load it's rated for 11,500rpm [even that sounds too "rich"].

Adjust the Hi-speed setting with just a safe light flutter in the "sweet spot" at WOT and that 925 will match or beat the rpm of a Stihl 660.
I wouldn't advise someone who makes a living with a saw to run a 925XL there are far better choices, but for occassional wood cutting they're excellent. Just beware of no anti vibe and no chain brake.
There is more XL Homelites [not just 925s] around the globe then any other saw, they sold millions of them and many are still running. Parts are still easily available.
Google up the House of Homelite website, all the info you need. ;)
Making a living with a saw since age 16.

scully

My very first mew saw was a super XL I got it because Dad had one when I was a kid he got it from some french loggers who built it out of parts ,that thing cut our fire wood for over 15 years ! These days I am into PRO saws for what I do but I would never turn my nose up at an ol Homelite ! To me the define and era in chainsaws and it was a great era ! The high rev stuff came along and we all know what happened ......
I bleed orange  .

jocco

Eqivelent of Mcculloch Sp80 and 850 Holmann is right a very good saw just getting old. Not a high value saw collector wise. :)
You may check out but you will never leave

SAWMILL BUDDY

I ran a super XML 925 for 10 years. Now have a 460 and a 660. Neither one would keep up with the 925. Wish I could get another one.

petefrom bearswamp

Homelite was THE SAW  in earlier days.\ her ein the east.
I haven't run the big guys but only the XL 12, 15 etc in the 60's.
I still have the Super XL 12 that I bought new in 1973 which still runs.
It stays at my camp in the Adirondacks with ethanol gas in it and it starts on the 4th or 5th pull every time.
Just seems awkward to operate now as regards the lighter Husky stuff and no chain break.
Also had an xl101 and xl 103 in the 70's. light but shook apart especially the 103.
I just ordered a new Husky 45cc saw and will retire the old guy with honors this spring.
May put the super xl on ebay, or retire it to a place of honor in my shop.
Pete
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

martyinmi

I have a Homelite 923 XL(25") and a 550(30"). The 923 is 82cc's and the 550 is 84 cc's.
Even by today's standards, they are both great cutting saws. The 550 has BARELY more power than the 923.
The only kinda sorta big saw I've ever ran either one against was my buddy's 2172 J-red(72 cc's).
I sharpened the chains and filed the rakers on all three, so they were done right and the same.
The old Homies will EASILY out perform the J-red! 8)
I have an old Mac 250 that is 80 cc's that runs descent, but not even in the same league as the Homelites.

I think you'll love that old saw for dropping larger trees. I had both of my Homelites out about six weeks ago and knocked down a 32" Ash and bucked it up. That was fun! Those old Homelites have their own unique, cool sound.

Almost any part you might need is still available on good 'ol flea bay.

DanG it! Now I have the urge to go out and buy an even bigger Homie!

What's the next size up from a 1050 Auto?
No God, No Peace
Know God, Know Peace!

Al_Smith

Quote from: HolmenTree on April 08, 2013, 11:13:04 AM
. With no load it's rated for 11,500rpm [even that sounds too "rich"].

House of Homelite website, all the info you need. ;)
That's good ole RBW ,Wolfy . I miss aguing with him . :D

millstead

i cleaned the saw up sharpened the chain and used it to cut a white oak and it worked great the saw cur alot faster than i thought it would  itis very powerful after i measured the bar i found out it has a 36 bar

sawguy21

I had a 922, couldn't kill that beast in a log (once I got it started). Still, it was a beast. Heavy for it's size, noisy with more than it's share of vibration. It was fun to play with but if I was working a saw all day it sure would not be my first choice. Wish I had not let it go.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

HolmenTree

   Here's a photo from back in the day when I was a teenager, running my 922 Super XL.

 
Making a living with a saw since age 16.

clww

That's a great photo, Holmen! :)
Background story?
Many Stihl Saws-16"-60"
"Go Ask The Other Master Chief"
18-Wheeler Driver

HolmenTree

Quote from: clww on April 09, 2013, 12:24:20 PM
That's a great photo, Holmen! :)
Background story?
Chainsaw speed cutting competition at Denare Beach, Saskatchewan [near the Manitoba border, best lake trout and walleye fishing in the world.] during the Beaver Lake Day's King Logger events that Simpson Timber sponsored. I took the King logger 3 yrs in a row later on when I was in my early 20's, up until Simpson Timber pulled out and the yearly competition was cancelled forever.

The guy kneeling to the right was Simpson's logging operations scaler, the guy was pretty tight on the scale when I logged for them. When the forestry company Manfor that I worked for had a shutdown, I would go and fall for Simpson Timber across the border. Simpson only took big spruce for peeler logs to make plywood at their mill in Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan.
Good ole days though, lots of work, wages were good for the time, working piecework falling with a powersaw keeping a pair of line skidders busy.
Now today if your lucky to get work logging, it's day and nite shift being a backhoe logger working by the hour with no incentive, or invest millions of $ just to operate a simple stump to dump operation. Only ending up in the end with some worn out iron.
Making a living with a saw since age 16.

Al_Smith

I've never seen the saw in question .However as a comparrison I have both an 82 cc Mac 805/850 and an SP 81 .Now they both cut good and might be able to hold there own against a choked down detuned MS 660 Stihl but on an older style 066 they couldn't get-er-done .

As far as Homelite I have two,the largest ever built of the direct drives and the smallest .The big 2100 will hold it's own against about any thing made but the little XL 2 is a tad lacking in the power department .

Homelite though just like McCulloch were one time leaders of the pack but sadly things are not as they used to be .

yellowrosefarm

The first saw I ever bought was a year old XL925 back in 1979. I've cut wood with it every year since and I've heated with wood almost every one of those years. I updated the 3 piece ignition to a one piece early on and I had to replace the side cover when the clutch came loose and bored a hole through it. Then, when ethanol got into the gas, it disolved the original fuel line and I was lucky to find another NOS one on EBAY. That's it folks. It is without a doubt one of the best pieces of equipment I've ever bought. I now have a couple of 009's, an 026 and a 44 but I still reach for the 925 whenever there is something knarly to be cut or when I have a lot of big stuff to cut and I'm feeling pretty good. BTW, I've worn out 4 bars over the years and who knows how many chains.

weimedog

I ran my 903 and 925 Homies for years and while heavy as compared to something like a 372 Husqvarna, they certainly can cut in a hurry. Had a 20 inch and 28 inch bar setup for the 925 for different situations. That old 925 had no problem pulling that 28 in ash and even hard maple. Very capable saws even by todays standards.

I've moved on to saws from this century simply because I'm getting older and hanging on to those old monsters are fun for a little while but not all day. The newer lighter faster and anti vib technolgy has finally won out on this farm and my old Homies and Mac 660 are retired used for fun once in a while. And sometimes for blocking big stuff....because they are still effective for that. Great old saws that will suprise those who have only run new technology simply because they will stomp all over your expectations of what they can do.
Husqvarna 365sp/372xpw Blend, Jonsered 2171 51.4mm XPW build,562xp HTSS, 560 HTSS, 272XP, 61/272XP, 555, 257, 242, 238, Homelite S-XL 925, XP-1020A, Super XL (Dad's saw); Jonsered 2094, Three 920's, CS-2172, Solo 603; 3 Huztl MS660's (2 54mm and 1 56mm)

HolmenTree

Quote from: weimedog on April 29, 2013, 11:29:22 PM
Great old saws that will suprise those who have only run new technology simply because they will stomp all over your expectations of what they can do.
Well said Frank ;)
And that XL design goes all the way back to 1964 :o
Making a living with a saw since age 16.

s grinder

The xl 925 was like a muscle car of the late sixties,no frills just brute power to get the job done.My farther had two of them when i took over his firewood business in the mid seventies [part time]used them till 77 when a J Red dealer let me try out a 70e for the day.They turned into my back up saws for years

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