The first chainsaw I had purchased for our off-grid property was an used 1979 Homelite Super XL 12 for $75.00. It worked great, lots of power (54 cc), a 18" bar and with a sharp chain, it cut through Pine logs with ease.
The only negatives, no chain brake and the pull cord rope breaks. I used it for firewood season and the rope broke twice. We had a handy family friend that fixed it the first time, but after the second, the saw was parked and the backup electric Poulan chainsaw was used.
Four years later, after an aggressive purge of the work shop, I saw the protective plastic chainsaw case sitting in the corner. Thought I would pull it out and take another stab at fixing it. Started to dismantle the case that housed the pull cord. It was easy enough, but, after removing the last bolt and taking out the round pulley that contains the pull cord, a coiled up banding jumped out and unravelled all over the shop. I watched a few YouTube videos on how to fix the coiled up spring inside for the pull cord. I took a stab at coiling up the spring, off camera. Had to put the pull cord pulley flat on a board. I kept turning the pulley until it was pretty tight. Then with the aid of zip ties and my spouse's help, I managed to slip the coil into the pull cord case. Wow, that was difficult for a beginner. I wonder how the old timers do it? There must be an easier way.
Once the white and blue case was back on, bolts tightened, chain was sharpened and fuel mixed, I tried it out on a fresh piece of Douglas Fir. Boy, did it tear through the wood. Only had a the throttle open a quarter and it made easy work of the log.
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| The bar is 18" long. Good length for the weekend warrior. |
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| The exhaust adds a cool sound to these saws! |
