Squirt extra bar oil on chain when cutting?

[deserteagle71]

I don't recall what brand it was or how old it was but but I do remember a few of the older saws that we had with manual oilers built in even with the auto oilers.

That's how my Homelite 450 Pro was equipped when I bought in back in 1980. Used to cut a lot of old dead and down juniper - stuff was so hard that the chain didn't produce shavings, more like fine sawdust. The manual oiler was wonderful with that stuff; I kept pouring the extra oil to the chain. If I didn't the chain would get very hot - no way the automatic oiler, though turned all the way up, could put out enough oil to cool and lube the chain in that dry dead wood. I used a lot of chain oil - but it saved me from having to replace the chains so often.

But the wood from that dead juniper was wonderful to burn - like burning coal - very hot fire with little ash, and fragrant to boot.

 

[crazyal]

As a kid my job was to cut up slab wood my father would buy by the truckload. All we had at the time as a McCulloch Mini Mac chainsaw. I have no clue if it had an automatic oiler but it had a manual one. I had no idea how much oil the chain needed so I would just push the bar down every so often. Funny how you read something and images of your past pop into your head that you haven't thought about in decades.

 

[sd455dan]

I don't recall what brand it was or how old it was but but I do remember a few of the older saws that we had with manual oilers built in even with the auto oilers.

I know some of the Old McCulloch Pro saws like the 10-10 and 700 had both .

A bit of a pain is setting the auto oiler because the oil tank cover must be removed to adjust it.

 

[sixdogs]

As a kid my job was to cut up slab wood my father would buy by the truckload. All we had at the time as a McCulloch Mini Mac chainsaw. I have no clue if it had an automatic oiler but it had a manual one. I had no idea how much oil the chain needed so I would just push the bar down every so often. Funny how you read something and images of your past pop into your head that you haven't thought about in decades.

Oh, boy, same memories here. I had an old Skil chainsaw back in the early 1970's. They either merged with or had some deal with McCulloch. It was a low RPM (12,000 RPM ?) stinker of a saw that cut like you were driving fast over an old corduroy road. Hard starting and had a push oiler for the chain which is how I started adding oil in the first place. I thought that heavy saw was magic because I knew nothing else. We cut down huge trees even though it took a while. Sharpened the chain frequently and I think it took a 3/8" file. What a s-l-o-w and rough saw. Wow, have times changed.

 

[Jstpssng]

Oh, boy, same memories here. I had an old Skil chainsaw back in the early 1970's. They either merged with or had some deal with McCulloch. It was a low RPM (12,000 RPM ?) stinker of a saw that cut like you were driving fast over an old corduroy road. Hard starting and had a push oiler for the chain which is how I started adding oil in the first place. I thought that heavy saw was magic because I knew nothing else. We cut down huge trees even though it took a while. Sharpened the chain frequently and I think it took a 3/8" file. What a s-l-o-w and rough saw. Wow, have times changed.

That sounds like a Homelite XL12. They actually were pretty tough saws for their time but turned so slow that you could sharpen the chain while cutting the wood. (Hey kids, don't try this at home!!)

 

[cqaigy2]

I don't recall the first chainsaw i used, but remember bar oil push button. My dad's saw was a blue Homelite from the early 70s, i'm pretty sure it was auto oil, because i remember checking by reving it and seeing how much oil flew off the tip. And like sixdogs, i thought it was pretty awesome saw, though it vibrated pretty good when cutting. My current 80s era Stihl is far beyond that old Homelite, though if i still had it, i'd have mount it up on the wall of my shop for all the memories i had with my dad, harvesting firewood. I rarely put oil to the Stihl, but have found a few instances where i thought it was prudent to add a bit.

 

[Jstpssng]

Those old blue Homelites didn't have an auto oiler. My father bought one to replace his big old McCullough and gave it to me when I wanted a saw. I did a lot of work with one of those before upgrading to a 254 Husky. I didn't like running without a chain brake and put both of my Homelites on the side of the road where they quickly disappeared; but like you I wish I had saved them.

 

[crazyal]

I once complained to my father about my hands getting numb from the vibrations from cutting wood for hours. He took the handle off and slid an inner tube from a bicycle around it. Now it not only vibrated but was much harder to hold onto as the inner tube would spin on the aluminum handle. I'm thinking a file and being taught how to sharpen a chain would have been much better as I'm sure most of my time cutting was with a chain about as sharp as a butter knife. I still have a Homelite XL12 somewhere. I think it's with an old Solo and Partner that haven't been touched in decades. Someday they will become wall art for the garage like the 30's era Black and Decker 3/4" drill I have.

 

[Jstpssng]

I once complained to my father about my hands getting numb from the vibrations from cutting wood for hours. He took the handle off and slid an inner tube from a bicycle around it. Now it not only vibrated but was much harder to hold onto as the inner tube would spin on the aluminum handle. I'm thinking a file and being taught how to sharpen a chain would have been much better as I'm sure most of my time cutting was with a chain about as sharp as a butter knife. I still have a Homelite XL12 somewhere. I think it's with an old Solo and Partner that haven't been touched in decades. Someday they will become wall art for the garage like the 30's era Black and Decker 3/4" drill I have.

My spare saw is a Poulan… great for keeping in the back of the truck to take the occasional tree out of the road but I won't use it for long because of the vibration.

OK, also because it's a Poulan. Years ago besides the Homelite I also had an old Arctic Cat snowmobile which I was using to get into the woods in the morning; again with no vibration dampening. After a while I noticed that I had no feeling in my hands for the first few hours of the morning. The two may or may not have been related but I stopped running that sled and haven't had a problem since.