Anyone have an original 1948 Electric Homelite Chainsaw?

[w30bob]

Hi Guys,

  Well......watching a couple videos and reading about the history of Homelite chainsaws online they all say it started with an electric chainsaw offered as a very popular accessory for the Homelite generators.  The mechanical saws (20MCS and 26LCS) came after.  Well........for something that was 'very popular' I can't find didly squat info on it anywhere.  I found one ad on eBay (below), but would like to see a real-life one.  I mean if they were so popular I'd expect some to still be around.  Or is that story bunk?  Anybody have one that can post a pic??  Did it have a model number?

thanks,
bob

[ronaldt]

I don't have one myself but a collector friend of mine does. I think he has the generator and cords to go with it also unless he's sold it. Anyway, yes they did exist.

[lesorubcheek]

Here's a link to Mr. Acres site with a little info.
www.acresinternet.com/cscc.nsf/3b46158e37ff092688256b5e00219852/21a9a51052e687d488256b86001d0f57

I've seen a few pop on on feebay over the years, but never seen one in person. Usually it's just the saw, and considering you gotta have the generator to operate it, finding the complete set local would obviously be much better than trying to ship. I think there was one with the generator on arboristsite a few years ago for sale, so there are a few still around.

Dan

[w30bob]

Ah.........so the saw was dedicated to the generator. I was thinking it just had a standard 120V plug on the end and could be used with any power source. Probably had a proprietary connector that prevented the saw from being used with other company's gensets.......or from being plugged into the wall outlet. Interesting. Thanks!!!

bob

[sparky]

Some early chainsaw manufacturers made electric models. However horsing a generator and cables around dropped trees to buck them into logs was a logistical nightmare. Even the first two man saws were heavy and cumbersome to work with.

[rarefish383]

My Dad said they tried corded electric saws in the early 50's. There weren't any gas saws small enough to use as climbing saws. There were electrics for homeowner use that were small enough for a climber to lug one around on their climbing belt. He said when the first got one they were surprised by the power it had. But, after you laid out 2-300 feet of cord the power dropped a lot. The cord added a lot of weight, and was always in the way. When I started helping Dad when I was 10-12 years old, all of their climbers still used 24"-36" hand saws. Here are some of my Dad's climbing saws. I spend most of the spring, summer, and fall at farm auctions. Now I have something to look for. I can see a farmer with no electric being sold one of these by a good salesman. You can figure if there was something better, they wouldn't be using these hand saws.

[sparky]

I have actually used a one man saw as they are called around here. Helped Grandpa with a crosscut trimming a maple stump closer to the ground. A crosscut can throw chips but ya gotta have arms to keep up with it.