Bow Saw Chainsaw HomeLite Super XL 12 Bowsaw 1978 

You get a whole atta boy from me for putting the saw on the ground enstead of drop starting it! That tells me right from the start of your video im dealing with an expert operator from the start. I own a chainsaw collection of around 135 chainsaws, And half of them are vintage homelites! I have six red and two blue super XL automatics in the heard! And they are die hards for damn sure brother! I have two XL-101 homelites in my collection that were manufactured in the same plant on the same day 240 units apart from each other. I think that's incredible after fifty years + they have reunited once again and I got ahold of them from two different people about twenty miles apart! I live in Portland Oregon and I don't know who told you those chainsaws didn't make it out this direction was pulling your leg my friend! The northwest is nothing but beautiful timber all the way up to Canada and Alaska area and they were logging this area with chainsaws since they were made! They are addictive though! If you get your hands on a beautiful bright red homelite with metal side covers your hooked! You now have the need for the different models they made because let's just put facts where they belong! Homelite made saws that looked as good as they performed, and I love to disturb the peace with one! 😁

That sound took me straight back to 1976 ,Dad and my Brother in law sold wood for a few winters when work was scarce, we used a Homelite XL100 16 inch. I was in 8th grade so after school I would split what they brought home the night before and load the pickup truck to a good Half chord, $35.00 was a good price then split and delivered. The splitting maul and wedge I used got me in n pretty good shape back then, what I'd give to go back to that time, best years of my life, I had all of my family still, I was healthy, young and strong for a 135 pound boy that loved being in the woods and when the logs were froze they really split nice!

Bow saws are great. They save one's back muscles for sure.

This is awesome! Another thing that Mack didn't say but very clearly did and was aware of was the saw's potential line of fire. If he did strike another piece of wood or whatever to produce a kickback event, he was standing to the SIDE of the bar - so that in the event of the saw coming back to eat him for lunch, it wouldn't be able to harm him.

I’ve got one exactly like this and yes it cuts downed logs, it’s served me well. Purchased it from a pulp wood buyer who instructed me on how to sharpen the chain. Original cost $275 in the 1970s.

They were used in the south primarily for cutting Pine pulpwood. Mine got me once, The first day&tank of gas. There was a low overhanging branch that contacted the top of the bow/radius that caused a kickback that took the bucking prongs away from the log resulted in a second kickback off the log I was cutting. I looked at my knee and said brand new pair of levies to my friend, which said you better be worried about your knee. Sure enough, it got me first blood, & Last. Really Really Lucky. Looked like only one Sharp cutter got me, and when on past my leg. I had used a regular bar chainsaw several times so I wasn't a virgin to saws. I got it because I saw one in action, saves the back as you said and the bucking prongs made it easy to keep the chain out of the dirt. I had just the regular blue one, not the super and without the handguard. Another good vid of this saw in action. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HUmA12ApozE.html

I love cutting with these. I've never used a real old school one. I have a Stihl MS 390 which carries a 12" bow, as you mentioned, against Stihl's recommendation, but if you use it like you did, you're probably no more at risk than with any other saw. Bailey's and a couple other vendors sold bows up until around 2006 or 07 but apparently a decision was made to stop carrying them thanks to pressure from the saw manufacturers they work with. It's not just idiots that get killed by these, but most were in situations like you described in your video where the chainsaw snagged brush or people used them for limbing and a violent kickback was the result. It's the easiest and fastest way to cut a pile of logs if they are all on the ground and in a safe position.

They were more popular in the south because they were used for bucking pulpwood.

I recall my grandpa using bow saws when I was a kid in the early 70’s. He had Homelite saws. I don’t recall any other popular brands back then other than McCulloch.

My grandfather put 50 stitches in his leg with a blue xl-12 bowsaw when my mom was a child.

1 word,,, Poulan!

I am looking for a saw just like this fella. Any leads would be nice

As someone who has lived in the north in a logging driven community then moved to the south in a logging driven area I believe they were not in the north due to the type of wood we had in the north and type of logging it is less pulp wood logging and more of targeted towards lumber you can’t buck full length large logs with them due to getting pinched in a log pile but I have learned they are awesome for firewood bucking

My dad had one of those that belonged to my grand Dad, pop never actually used it but he kept it for sentimental reasons. I actually wish I had it now just because they are not common to see and find.

Grew up with the super wiz 55 and 66 and xl 12 bow saws as well, never got hurt from one,guess we was a little tougher back then

I finally get it.

To my understanding the south produced alot of pulp wood and poles for fences with abundance of cedar , thats where the bow bars shine.

Nice one!!!

get some guards for the blade, upper and lower !

First invented by Claude Poulan in Shreveport Louisiana during WW2.. evolved over the years to the single loop bow.

My homelite says mix half a pint of oil with a gallon of gas 16:1.

What’s the replacement chain specs? I have one and having a hard time with replacing chain

All the paper companies in the south used these.