The 150

[MCS]

Instead of adding to the 150 forum about oiler leaks I though I'd start a new thread. If you saw my first posting, it says I worked in my Dad's hardware store for about 2 1/2 years. During that time the 150 came out. My first take was that it had some shortcuts in manufacturing that wouldn't hold up but I was wrong - the saw had a place in the Homelite lineup.
The 150 was the first Homeline that used a ported cylinder instead of reed valves. It also used a torrington clutch for the rewind instead of the spring loaded dogs or the friction operated fingers like in the C. The oiler was also a diaphragm instead of of a shaft driven pump like the SXL. It had plenty of power to run a 16 inch chain and we sold lots of them to occasional users. At the time, early 70's, the Super XL retailed for $209, the Xl12 was $189, the Super EZ at $199 and the 150 was $159. Go to any store now and look at the price of new saws. Hasn't changed much! Saw chain and bars have actually got cheaper. 60 drive links of Oregon 72 was $18.95 and a 16" bar was $22.95.

[quiverpup]

man ,if you had shown me a 150 a few years ago i would have laughed and said "nice little pancake".i have come to realize that most outdoor power equipment sold nowadays is garbage,unless you want to spend big bucks on good stuff.ALL of my stuff is vintage and solid iron.most of it was free,none ran when i got it. am in process of restoring 1974 polaris colt to ride with my boy(he has 73 skidoo oly),a early 70's jd 826 snowblower,and now a couple of homelites.they expect me to work a real job on top of this!anyway,i think the 150 is a neat,easy to work on design and cant wait to use it for a little limbing and small firewood cutting. speaking of design, i threw a piece of firewood on my 360 and broke little tab that holds throttle for starting.dont know what its called yet but im sure i will hate replacing it.the 150's would be easy to fix. hope to hear more about this saw in this thread

[lesorubcheek]

I've very often wondered about the origins of the 150. If ya look on parts like the starter housing, you'll see "made in England". Did Homelite have a subsidiary in the UK? I don't think I've ever seen any other parts from there. Canada yes (Terry), but not England. This always seemed a bit odd to me. It was no doubt a home-owner saw based upon price, yet it had a larger engine than the SEZ (same bore, longer stroke) and was piston ported with no reeds like the upcoming pro series saw. In fact, as a7ecorsair mentioned above, it was Homelite's first ever piston ported saw. Extreme departure in design from saws like the XL-12, SEZ, etc. Many similarities with the little XL and Super 2 which would follow. My theory is the 150 was developed as Homelte's answer to saws like the Power Mac 6. The XL-12 was light for 1964, but after a few years "small home-owner saw" was taking on a new meaning. Only a theory since I wasn't even old enough to drive a tractor at that time.

Whatever the reasons behind their development, one thing for sure is I like the feel of 'em. That wide flat pancake just somehow feels very balanced with a 16" bar. For small limbs, I usually grab a little XL or super 2, but for branches or small trees that are 8-10 inches or so, I love my 150s! SEZs are a fine looking saw and cut great for their size, but a 150 always seems to feel better to me. and like quiverpup has said more than once, they are an easy saw to work on. Well, OK, I admit I have a bit of trouble putting the throttle and choke linkages back on a carb and getting that high tension lead situated so its not jamming the cut-off switch is inevitable, but otherwise they're not bad.

Dan

[angel]

Dont think I have ever seen a 150 in person, plenty of Super 2's floating around though, most everybody says theyre junk, I don't think they're that bad.

Thats interesting about those prices. I have seen a new el-cheapo Made in China saw for sale at Menards for only $97. I dunno how many dollars that is in 1972 dollars, maybe $35 or something. Bars and chains are alot cheaper now too, and even things like appliances, you can get a brand new clothes dryer with a warranty for about $200 nowdays, but you usually get what you pay for. Any power equipment you can buy new for less than $100 is pure throwaway crap.

[lawnmowertech37]

Sept 9, 2008 7:29:18 GMT -5 lesorubcheek said:

I've very often wondered about the origins of the 150. If ya look on parts like the starter housing, you'll see "made in England". Did Homelite have a subsidiary in the UK? I don't think I've ever seen any other parts from there. Canada yes (Terry), but not England. This always seemed a bit odd to me. It was no doubt a home-owner saw based upon price, yet it had a larger engine than the SEZ (same bore, longer stroke) and was piston ported with no reeds like the upcoming pro series saw. In fact, as a7ecorsair mentioned above, it was Homelite's first ever piston ported saw. Extreme departure in design from saws like the XL-12, SEZ, etc. Many similarities with the little XL and Super 2 which would follow. My theory is the 150 was developed as Homelte's answer to saws like the Power Mac 6. The XL-12 was light for 1964, but after a few years "small home-owner saw" was taking on a new meaning. Only a theory since I wasn't even old enough to drive a tractor at that time.

Whatever the reasons behind their development, one thing for sure is I like the feel of 'em. That wide flat pancake just somehow feels very balanced with a 16" bar. For small limbs, I usually grab a little XL or super 2, but for branches or small trees that are 8-10 inches or so, I love my 150s! SEZs are a fine looking saw and cut great for their size, but a 150 always seems to feel better to me. and like quiverpup has said more than once, they are an easy saw to work on. Well, OK, I admit I have a bit of trouble putting the throttle and choke linkages back on a carb and getting that high tension lead situated so its not jamming the cut-off switch is inevitable, but otherwise they're not bad.

Dan

dan i have seen some packages Homelite Textron ones that say made in england also
as well as canada and usa
its possible they had a outlit in england

[quiverpup]

dan, are the xl's smaller than the super xl's? . i like my superxl for the limbs and small trees.figured the 150 would be for branches and a "leave in truck for emergency,bonfire,free wood,or small animal" saw. due to the lighter weight of 150.was also wondering about recoil.did homelight use this on other saws?i think a7ecorsair said it was "torrington"? never seen one. mine works so i will leave it alone(for now) but will have to research it. i think a diaphram oiler might be good too. seems like it would be cheaper and easier to fix than mechanical,gear driven unit. maybe free up h.p. (less drag) for rest of drive? what advantage does piston porting have over reed valves? in vintage sled circuit the yamaha reed valves destroy other 1 lung sleds.they dont spit back into your lap either? dont want to misdirect thread,just wondering if im missing something.

[lesorubcheek]

The "little" XL I was talking about is a tiny little saw that's I believe 1.6 cu in. It looks like a Super 2 except has 1 thottle trigger and is a bit smaller displacement. XL is a term that I wish Homelite would have been a little more sparing with. Somebody can talk about their XL and it can mean many different saws. The first XL-12 and Super XL made sense to me. But then came the XL-101 and all its kin folk (nice saws, but why stick an XL in front!!) and then there's the XL-700 and family (VERY VERY nice saws, but again, XL). And then to really confuse things they made the "little" XL which is an entirely different animal and doesn't belong in the same stable as the others.

Torrington is the name of a company that makes bearings. I haven't googled 'em so they may make other stuff as well. The "torrington" on the recoil of the 150 spins freely in one direction but grips in the other. C51/71/91 saws used this as well, but it was a much larger bearing than the 150 uses. I think I've seen the term "overrunning" bearing in reference to this arrangement.

Dan

[MCS]

I'm sure most of us know that the "XL" stands for extra light. That is why there was never a XL ZIP, XL Wiz, XL 5, or XL 51. Even the XL 700, 800, 900, series was pushing the extra light envelope!