Lousy weather today, so I have been inside watching youtube and saw your video. It is interesting how the power head stayed unchanged, but the handles, mufflers, guards, etc. were changed over time. I have only 3 modern era Homelites (1970,s) and the rest are older models. I have used and collected saws for 40 years , but never had an XL 12 or Super till this year. I recently did videos of them, talking about the history, and also show them cutting. Great old saws. The area that I used to live in, had a huge McCulloch dealer, and the Homelite dealer was just an old shack with about a half dozen saws for sale at any one time. I was out collecting VINTRASH recently, and picked up a Homelite water pump, that uses an XL powerhead with the pump attached. It is new in the box with all the hoses etc. and I will put it in a video at some point for the Homelite collectors, an interesting piece.
I saw your video of the Xl12, I love your videos! It's cool to see others like me who appreciate the old stuff! Yeah its crazy, they made quite a few tools with the XL12 power head - Generators, Water pumps, Augers, Brush cutters, Skilsaws - pretty versatile engine! Keep the videos coming!
A friend of mine has a generator for powering a house from the time before rural electrification. It's very old. That's how they got their name- home- lite.
I inherited one from my great uncle. I got it the other day probably hasn’t ran in 20 years. I put some fresh gas in it and some bar oil. It started on the first pull.
The metal was magnesium, not aluminum, the Super XL-12 was blue and was a manual oiler, the red one you have is Super XL Automatic which was a auto oiler. You have three differnet saws, XL-12, Super XL-12, and Super XL Automatic
Well now I'm not so sure which all of mine are exactly. I have XL-12's for sure, and you are saying that the auto oiler one, with the oil fill up front, is a Super XL Automatic? With paint labels missing and no Canadian service manuals, how can I tell the difference between a XL-12 and a Super XL-12? Is it just horse power or are there obvious differences? The ones made in Canada are a bit different again, having for example chain breaks on some.
@@markluxton3402 Yes, Mark, the Canadian saws are a little different. Mine has missing decals (it's a well-used saw), although the nameplate is still there and says "type 50003" where you would expect to see "XL-12". I'm doing some detective work right now, but it appears to be of the XL-12 family, built in 1973. But the Canadian Homelites were built by the Terry Corporation in Pointe Claire, Quebec and varied a little from their American cousins. Handlebar shape, location of oil filler, gas cap style, colour of paint, choice of muffler, these could differ greatly from model to model. It makes it difficult for me to exactly identify my saw, but I'm working on it.
@@paulmaxwell8851 I have a few blue and red ones. Hard to find parts. Most online manuals are for US made versions. An old Homelite repair business near me closed several years ago. The owner died. He had Homelite chainsaw manuals; I haven't been able to find them :-( I have some parts, about 5 saws that can be used, and the main bodies of several more. I was cutting some trees on my property just days ago with a red one. DO NOT USE an XL-12 without ear plugs; they are VERY loud. They will make water run out of your ears.
I had one of those red ones, put myself through college with that saw. Climbed, topped, bucked and felled with that saw. I sold it to my buddy when I bought a husky 394.
The square bar is to balance it better so you can put oil in it. A lot of folks don't know that's why it's like that. Other than oil on bottom of xl 12 they're the same creature. I've used em to cut a lot of Rick's of wood and just feel what real saws felt like instead of plastic lol
Don’t know if ur still reading comments on this video but i found it helpful, just bought a blue xl-12 that i from your video learned was a super. It is getting shipped today and i am super excited. Bought it for 5$ so i would say a great deal, i live in Norway so these are more rare since their American. The seller said the saw had been sitting in a garage for years so i hope it starts, wish me luck.
@@KainKustomGarage Hello once again, i found out the coil wasnt good, and the throttle lock was missing. Piston and cylinder great shape, i looked online in Norway but no parts. Ebay is expensive with the shipping so that was no option either. Finally a guy sent me a message saying he had a Xl-660 automatic. It is more rare than the xl-12, or so i was told bye some guys on facebook. The saw’s buttom handle was broken. So im wondering is the buttom handle from the Xl-12 a fit to the Xl-660? Thank you😁
I got an old Homelite Super XL Limited Edition through some work I did for a man several years ago. I was a young man and my uncle and I got it running again and to me it was just my first saw. Come to find out it has some collector value. I didn't know people even collected old saws but I've since caught the bug.
On the saw with the 28" bar to pick up a little more chain speed switch to a skip tooth chain , You will pick up a little more chain speed in the cut for that longer bar . I run 24" on the two i have an my old gale ( 1955 Homelite ZIP) has 36" this saw is family it was my grandfathers past down from father to sons an when my time time comes I'll pass it to my son . We were a longing family here in central Pa by Altoona. Loved the video .
Thanks Tim! That's a good tip, I'm gonna have to try it! That's cool you have the old Zip as a Family member! I was handed down a Mercury 2 man saw from my wife's Grandfather, It's considered Family as well! She runs great too! 👍👍
I seeing a pattern of why I have as many as I do of these old saws. The men who owned these badass pieces of machinery are dying! And people have no honor to their uncle,Dad,Grandpa, They can't get rid of their belongings fast enough! And I've seen some pretty nice saw pulled out of the goodwill drop off box! My neighbor used to pick up stuff from goodwill every morning, And he had me get a homelite wiz 66 running for him that paid $25 dollars for and shipped it to someone in Minnesota for $440 dollars! And it's pretty sad that people won't even take a minute of their lives to research and try finding out what or why it won't start because they are to busy watching pure stupidity being pumped into their brains How could you even think of pulling yourself away from an episode of The Big Bang Theory to enjoy bringing back to life a chainsaw that your Grandpa passed down to your father right?🙄
I just found a running XL12 at a flea market for 20 dollars. I had been looking for an older chainsaw since I was maybe 17 and decided on a home lite but I could never find one.
First I had one red xl 12 like new. I liked it so much I bought 7 more. Why not? They are cheap and good. I'd love to find an xl 400 or 500. Or just a good piston and cylinder to make a "sleeper" xl12.!
The one thing I really dislike is the 90 degree fuel fitting on the carb. Such a pain to run the fuel line. I saw another channel where they found a tillotson carb with a straight fitting and drilled a hole in the side of the cover and rerouted the fuel line. I have two of these. Lots of torque. Not the speediest of RPMs but they pull pull pull.
I love your passion for saws, I just picked up my first XL 12. It was my grandpa's back in the day and can't wait to get her running again. Also you have a very Jack Black esque way of talking which makes me laugh. Happy cutting!
Congratulations on 10,000 views!!! I may even have one of these ol’ girls. I haven’t had much luck with homelites but if you say they are good I might try again to bring one around😎👍
You referred to the blue saw with the long bar and muffler cover, as a Super XL-12 Automatic. It is a Super XL Automatic. I thought all my Canadian made ones were XL-12's too.
If ur ever interested in parting with one lmk, we don’t have these very often in my part of the country. If we did I would have one. Awsome vid love ur work.
Thanks Jay, I do love my XL12s! Sometimes you see one reasonably priced on ebay. Just depends on if you want a fixer upper or not...Thanks for the kind words !😊
Just a couple corrections in your post. When a saw has the manual oiler it is not an override to the mechanical oiler. It was an extra to allow the operator to add more flow if they dream necessary...... There are 3 models. Super Xl, XL - 12 and if you happen to come across one they did make a Super XL-12. Guess I can't post a Pic but what you ha e are XL-12's and Super XL's...
Well, according to the Chainsaw Collectors Corner, the earlier saws had only a manual oiler. Later models had automatic oilers but retained the manual oiler for when the going gets tough. They were definitely, positively an override to the automatic oiling. I need to dismantle my saw to see which is the case.
Again, looking right now at the CCC website, the XL-12 had manual oiling, the Super XL-12 also had manual oiling and the Super XL-12 Auto had automatic, worm-gear driven oil pump with the manual override. I hope this helps!
I got another one super xl 79 model hasn't run since 1985 my neibor gave it to me wasn't firing and piston scored rings stuck been in the dry I used the carb on one my super xl 79 model just rebuilt the carb it runs awsome
Great video, I love the history of these legendary saws. That's a nice collection! I run an 18" MS250 STIHL, but i got a handed down red Super XL12 with a 20" bar. I cleaned, tuned and sharpened it up.
I have one of the mid 60s regular xl 12 with original bar all origi Al parts amd halfway decent paint, with the straight stack and she runs like a dream.
Yeaaaaaa budddddyyy. Those super xl with the strait pipe stock. Is one hell of a saw. I’m exited to see MAC131 ported in the wood. 💪🏻 Great video. Great gerage. Kindness and love 💙🤍👊
Those old xl 12 will cut circles arond that sthil lol. Worked for small sawmill in the late 70's. All we ran were blue homelite. They bought some stihls and took them all back. Nothing but problems
I’ve got two blue XL-12’s. One was given to me and I found the other in the landfill! Both have the ear cracker mufflers! My buddy has one that I just got going wow what a beast! My father-in-law just gave me two XL-101’s. Do you have any of them or any info about them?
I have 7 of the XLs, one might actually be an XL12, but the bar cover plate I think it was changed out, it has the angular handle, which is not par for an XL
Tuesday I scored some mor saws. One is a 64 super Xl 12. So now I have two of the 58 CC XL12 that are auto oiler delete. This one has the wierd spark plug and the wick fuel systen has been converted to a hose & filter.
I have a xl12 still runs, great saw. It was given to me, it sit on the back porch of a person house out in the weather for 15 Years, I cleaned it up put fresh gas in it. It still has the original plug. Runs great now though.
I have a small collection of XL-12's Two blue, several orange. My Grandfather had a box of XL-12 and Lombard parts. I assembled a saw of many colors and it ran. Many years later my Grandfather passed and I got his working blue XL-12 and an older blue one that he and my uncle and father could not get running. Just needed a carb kit. I have been using the good one for 18 years, and it needs another carb kit, but will still work good. Well, I had told a few people how much I liked these loud heavy little saws, and the next thing I know I have 4 running now, and parts enough to assemble/repair at least three more. They are heavy for the size, loud enough to drown out several new saws running at once, and as old as they are, they are still outlasting new saws. My dad had a brain fart and brought unmixed gas to the woods where we were cutting very large firewood. We both filled up with straight gas :-( He melted his aluminum alloy engine. Destroyed! The XL-12 I was using got hot, and started to smoke a bit around the muffler and started sounding odd. I shut it off immediately. Two different saws failing within minutes? Figured out we used straight gas, so I added a small amount of mixing oil to the gas tank, shook the saw, back to work. My XL-12 saw still works; dad has gone through a few more new saws since. One of mine has the forward oil fill and automatic oilier. I did not know this was a super XL-12, nor that it is more powerful. Clearly though there are differences in performance of all of them, but this explains why a couple go like scared cats and a couple are....more peaceful? They all need some work. One even has electronic spark. No points/condenser. You would find a couple of my XL-12's very strange...having chain breaks! Canadian made. I find it hard to locate parts and Canadian version service manuals. Makes it guesswork whether the parts I have are exactly correct for a particular XL-12. I love these XL-12's but would trade them and parts for a new more powerful/faster Stihl or Echo. Thinking about making a chainsaw mill. Have you noticed how much the Echo saws resemble the XL-12's? Or is it just me? lol
Love your Story Mark! I love these old saws, easy to work on, basically indestructible! A true legend amongst saws. Yeah, alot of companies copied the design for sure! Appreciate you Brother 😊
@@KainKustomGarage Update. My Grandfathers blue XL-12 is back in the game. Didn't need a new kit; thank you alcohol free gas and Lucas. The fuel pump screen was completely filled, over filled, with what looked like fine wood splinters??? How that shit and that weird mud gets in I do not know. Cheap gas filters? I cleaned the carb., gave a little stretch to the needle valves rocker spring, a slight adjustment to the metering, dug up a solid nose bar and nice chain(off of a Remington I think lol), and tuned her up. The diaphragm's if anything, were a bit soft??? She runs nice, again. Now if I can just get some tiny O rings, I may be able to get the oiler working better. OH! My red/orange automatic oiler saw, with the oil fill up front, is not a Super XL-12, nor a Super XL, nor a Super XL Automatic; it appears to simply be an XL Automatic. I just learned that I have most of another Red/orange XL Automatic(not Super), and this one has a chain break and oiler below the spark plug, like the XL-12's. Not unicorns lol, but Canadian versions. I think though there are also American XL Automatic's that are not Supers.
I also have a number of XL12s. I actually use mine cutting firewood ect. Saturday I bought another early 60,s 54 CC chainsaw. However its not a Xl12 its a 101 touted as the lightest saw in the Xl series. It only weighs 10 pounds and the XL 12 weigh 12 pounds.
chain saw @@KainKustomGarage Right on the side of the 101 it says lightest saw in the Xl series. I looked up the specs on cc and weight in the Chainsaw collectors forum.
@@KainKustomGarage those xl 101s are t the first of a long series of saw going up to xl 76. They are high compression and are faster running than the XL12s. 101,102, 103 have a weak spot on the back where the oil tank is glued together. 104 up are screwed together also. I think!
@@wesleycallison2079 I think it was only the early 101's that had the glued tamk. My 101 has a screwed together tank. Yes it does seem to have higher compression and more RPM. I Bought my 101 at a auction sale for $35 and it has the factory carrying case. Needed fuel line & filter to get it running. Had a 20 inch bar. I installed a 12 inch bar and new chain. Used it this week really like it. Its really loud.
Nice collection of saws. Do you have a john deere 66sv. It is a 2 cylinder saw. i have one and need a carburetor. don't make anymore. if you know where i can get one please let me know
Awesome video! A friend gave me a blue XL that sat in his barn for 40 years. I don't think it has but 10 hours on it. So, I ran new fuel lines, cleaned and reset the points and rebuilt the carburetor, 2nd pull and off she went! I've got a quick video of it on my channel. I've been working on power equipment since 1974, back when these were a very popular saw. Anyway how can I find out exactly what year it was built? Thanks!
I was given one of these and I tried and tried to get it running and couldn't, put it aside for 2 years. yesterday I pulled it out of the garage, put gas in it and it started 2 pull and ran perfect.
My neighbor just put one of these and an old echo 302 out on the side of the road with a free sign. I took them both home and got them to fire up within a couple minutes.
The muffler guard is part of a west coast logging requirement. It was to keep muffler part that were over a certain temp from touching the ground and starting a fire. It was put on west coast saws in the late 1070s.
@@KainKustomGarage my late brother bought a new 1966/67 light blue with white faced chain cover, automatic oiler only, it had the round chrome exhaust, throttle lock on, full choke, then after a couple of pulls she would splutter, choke half on and away she would fire. half pint of Castrol XL oil to a gallon of petrol, no two stroke oil back then in Ireland
Great vid! Good little saws...I have three myself. I'm about to tear one of mine down, it needs a new piston and cylinder. Where did you get your piston and cylinder?
@@KainKustomGarage sorry to be the bearer of bad new..I enjoy your videos...yes I cut my teeth on a super XL...smoked so bad in kept the insects away... always started...ran...and geisered on the second tank...vapor locked in warmer weather....one time it got hot piston frozen...my father pulled the spark plug out poured bar oil in the cylinder and pounded the piston loose with a scrench and a rock...no kidding....got it running again...it ran several years after that I sold it for $50 and bought a brand new Stihl 032 ...that was a huge improvement. Shoe
I read that the engineer who designed the XL12 quit homelite and went to work for Lombard. I used a new Lombard for about a hour 50 years ago. Looked like a XL12 but was more powerful and louder. Eny Road a couple weeks ago I scored a Lombard from Ebay. Really crusty looking saw. JB weld on the bottom. No bar. Cost$56 with shipping and taxes. So I put a new fuel line and filter on and it ran. So a new chain and 20 inch bar. Ran like the one I used decades ago. Those Lombards have 68 CC and not one part from a XL12 will fit them. There was a Homelite XL 500 on Ebay this week. They look exactly like a XL12 except for paint. However they are 74 CC. I thought I would bid $50? That saw sold for $417 plus shipping & taxes! In 1964 my Father Bought a band new XL12. First saw I ever used. I still have it. However its a Super XL12 has a 58 CC engine. Wick fuel system. And you fill the oil on top. However its a Manual oil only saw. Doesnt have the automatic oiler. Dont even have the casting & threaded holes for auto oiler behind the drive sprocket.
Wow! That's cool Randall, I had one of those Lombard's years ago, I think There is an old video of it if you look back at some of my older videos. Yes definitely louder and dare I say more powerful? Love all these old saws, appreciate you being here man!❤❤
@@KainKustomGarage There are variations that have the oil fill up front and automatic oiler, but are not "Super". Understand I am no expert, I just listen to a bunch lol I think to actually be the somewhat rare "Super", it has a bigger piston giving 58cc. If the label or decals are on the saw, it will state Super. I also think the Supers were blue. All my XL-12's and the XL Automatic are Canadian versions but I heard a fellow going through all the models, and he was making good sense. The video was titled something like "If you think you have a Super, you probably don't"
@@KainKustomGarage I now have 4 XL-12's and an XL automatic ready to cut some wood. I have more parts, almost enough to put three more together. I was updating my service notes and realized that my newest red XL-12 which came to me dissembled and missing a couple things, is not in fact an XL-12. It is another XL Automatic, with no mention of Super; however this XL Automatic has a chain break, so the oil fill is like the XL-12's, below the spark plug.
..as far as facebook, craigslist, yard sales, flea markets, etc...I have never found any even close to $15.00..usually $25-$30 for a stripped carcass, $50 for a very rough running one, or one that needs work...$75-$125 for a halfway decent one, $150-up for a nice one...way more than that on Ebay...yet another reason I like getting them at the scrap yard :)
I've been collecting XLs for decades. They're tough, cheap, reliable plentiful and they have mostly steel and copper parts instead of plastic. They're simple to repair.
..I like picking them up at the scrap yards for scrap price...couple bucks each...they used to turn up there all the time-some of them pretty intact..they still turn up from time to time, but they are definitely getting thinner in numbers....
Nice collection. I've picked up my Super XL at a thrift store awhile back. Runs good as is but I was thinking about putting a new piston and cylinder in it to do it justice. Got a couple E-Z's too and those are little tanks also.
You'd be better off finding one around there, the shipping would be like 75 bucks just for one saw..keep looking on craigslist and Yard sales, youll find one!
It is red with a black air filter cover, but parts of it look like it has been repainted. Oil tank is on the right rear. It runs good and has a 16”, 3/8 inch bar on it.
