XL-12 - 12 pounds of fun

[MCS]

I stumbled across an ad on craigslist about a month ago for 2 XL-12's. For a mere $20 dollars I could have both. Now how could I go wrong on a deal like that ;D
The guy lived just a little off the beaten path between my home in the Twin Cites and my lake cabin 210 miles to the NW. I called him and said somehow I'd make a connection when he'd be home and I be heading north. I picked up those two saws Thursday night, one blue and one red. Of course they weren't without a few problems the worst being a Stihl bar mounted on one - a 12.4mm slot instead of 9.5mm, but you know, I might leave it on - its a 20" bar. The oil slot matches pretty good so I'll chuck a 12mm bolt in my lathe and drill a 3/8" hole in it and the cut it into two spacers.
The saws came out of Iowa, a family deal I guess, but farmers have a funny way of fixing things. The blue saw has a replacement fuel line - just a piece of tubing - but they plugged the gap where it leaves the tank with some black stuff. The gas and the black stuff really turned to a sticky mess. That saw runs but the oiler doesn't work because it's missing the check valve.
The red one had no spark so off came the rewind and I found that someone had converted it to "no point" ignition with some little module made in Australia. Since the blue one leaks gas and I don't have a fuel line yet, I decide to swap the ignition part. That and a new sprocket and 10 or so pulls on the rope and off she goes. It is a female right?
So after all this, I'm cruising the net because it's raining and I can't try that XL-12 and I run across this on: inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/Chainsaws.htm

In 1963, a remarkable new saw and new chain initiated the modern era of lightweight, high-speed, direct-drive chain saws. The saw was the Homelite XL12, and the chain was Oregon® 72D, the first 3/8" pitch chain specifically built for such a saw. Both products were immensely successful, and derivative chains based on the original 72D design are still widely used today.

So now I have a piece of history, one blue and one red

Today was a good day for me ;D

[chainsawwhisperer]

Great score on the XL-12's! They're great saws, powerful and bulletproof. But LOUD as Hell!
That's the saw I learned on when I was 12-13, It was probably 15 years old then. Now 26 years later my father still has the saw, and it still runs great. CSW

[mikevan]

Good score for sure - About the only ones I see are 2.2 c.i. Crapsmans here, in fact, I sold one there for 30.00.

[angel]

XL-12's and SXL's are great saws and can often be had for a song. A lot of guys who run newer saws say they are just old junk, but I like their solid reliability, I really like running my SXL-AO. Almost impossible to kill, I have never seen one broken beyond repair. And it's fun running a Made in USA saw that has very little plastic on it.

[MCS]

Yes, and speaking of plastic, that damn air filter cover on my red SXL-AO and the red XL-12 are yukky
Too bad Homelite tried to cut costs with that part.

[angel]

yeah thats brittle plastic, gotta be careful with it and to not overtighten the nut that holds it on.

[angel]

Most saw "Elitists" (we all know what kind of saws THEY run and how much they cost!) think of cheap plasticky homeowner saws when they hear the name Homelite. Even my dad had told me once that Homelites are cheap junk. It's really too bad, Homelites made before the mid 80s are damn good saws!

[daustin97222]

I am new to this board and very happy that I've stumbled across it.

I have two XL12 saws. Both Blue/White. Both running great and I put 20" bars on them (new Oregon from the web). They cut like crazy! I bought the first one for $8 non-running at a garage sale. It came with a 16" bar (since swapped for a 20") and clearly had not been used in 20+ years. The fuel line was shot. I replaced it, primed it, and off it went! That was 10 years ago. I've subsequently sold ALL of the crapsman, mac, and poulan junk I had in the garage - none of it couldn't even THINK of keeping up with that Homelite. The biggest I've cut with it is about 24" (spruce). It will run and cut all day in EVERY position (take THAT, Poulan!! I hate your saws). A couple of weeks ago I found a running XL12 on Craigs for $25, and that's the second one. It had a ding in the tank, but some JB took care of that until I can score a tank. So it now has a 20" bar as well. I am on the hunt for the old-style sprocket (the "pre 17XXXXX S/N") and not much luck but Oregon's selector has offered some clues for a later replacement.

I am no-longer watching for the "right" deal on a used Stihl, and I laugh when I cruise through Lowes and see those $400 Husky saws. No thanks - I have my saw.

[daustin97222]

A couple of questions for any experts here:

I think that the displacement of the XL12 is 54cc based upon some info I found. Can anyone confirm?

What's the HP of the engine?

How big of a bar will it handle? I use 20" but it seems as though it could push a lot more than that (maybe even a 32").

Thanks for any help, and if anyonw knows where to find all specs and parts listing that would be great.

[mikevan]

A lot of info here from Mike Acres we

Model: XL-12 I don't think you want a 28" bar on a saw this size. 20 is about the max.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MANUFACTURED BY: HOMELITE CORPORATION
PORT CHESTER, NEW YORK, U.S.A.
SERIES OR ASSEMBLY NUMBER:
YEAR INTRODUCED: 1964
YEAR DISCONTINUED: 1988
ENGINE DISPLACEMENT: 3.3 cu. in. (54.2cc)
NUMBER OF CYLINDERS: 1
CYLINDER BORE: 1.75 in. (44.4mm)
PISTON STROKE: 1.375 in. (34.9mm)
CYLINDER TYPE: Aluminum with chrome plated bore
INTAKE METHOD: Reed valve
MANUFACTURER ADVERTISED H.P.: not advertised
WEIGHT : 12 lbs. 12 oz. (5.8 kg.) powerhead only
OPERATOR CONFIGURATION: One Man operation
HANDLEBAR SYSTEM: Rigid
CHAIN BRAKE: none
CLUTCH: Centrifugal
DRIVE TYPE: Direct
CONSTRUCTION: Die cast magnesium
MAGNETO TYPE: Wico and Phelon, electronic on later series
CARBURETOR: Tillotson HS-4D, 142A, 179D, 195A series
MAJOR REPAIR KIT: RK-23HS
MINOR REPAIR KIT: DG-5HS/T
AIR FILTER SYSTEM: Flocked wire screen
STARTER TYPE: Homelite automatic rewind
OIL PUMP: Manual
OPERATING RPM: 6,000 under load, free speed 9,500 to 10,500
IGNITION TIMING: 30 degrees before TDC.
Position stator plate fully clockwise
BREAKER POINT SETTING: 0.015 in. (0.38mm)
FLYWHEEL/COIL AIR GAP: Position is fixed
SPARK PLUG TYPE: Champion TJ8J, later Champion RCJ-8J
SPARK PLUG GAP: 0.025 in. (0.63mm)
CRANKSHAFT MAIN BEARINGS: Caged needle roller
FUEL TANK CAPACITY: 20.9 fl. oz. (595 ml)
FUEL OIL RATIO: 32:1 with Homelite oil
RECOMMENDED FUEL OCTANE: Regular
MIX OIL SPECIFICATION: Homelite chain saw mix oil
CHAIN PITCH: 3/8 in.
CHAIN TYPE: Oregon 72D
BAR MOUNT PATTERN: 14 link
SHORTEST GUIDE BAR SUPPLIED: 12 in. (30cm)
LONGEST GUIDE BAR SUPPLIED: 24 in. (61cm)
COLOUR SCHEME: Homelite Blue enamel, later Red enamel
PAINT CODES:
bsite

[angel]

I think a 20" is about max for an XL-12. A 24" will fit but it will be slow. My SXL-AO runs a 20" without much trouble and could get the job done with a 24" The torquier reed-valve motors will handle longer bars than a newer saw of the same displacement without bogging, they're not that fast to begin with but longer bars won't bog them easily like newer saws (20" on MS260 anyone?)

[chainsawwhisperer]

Nov 2, 2008 21:01:51 GMT -5 angel said:

I think a 20" is about max for an XL-12. A 24" will fit but it will be slow. My SXL-AO runs a 20" without much trouble and could get the job done with a 24" The torquier reed-valve motors will handle longer bars than a newer saw of the same displacement without bogging, they're not that fast to begin with but longer bars won't bog them easily like newer saws (20" on MS260 anyone?)

Nicely said Overdrive! CSW

[daustin97222]

I had a chance this weekend to give the XL-12 a workout. My new C-5 isn't quite ready so the the XL-12 had to step up to the task.

I think that my wife took some pictures ...

This tree was a Grand Fir, about 35 years old, and 40 ft high. Maybe 18" at the butt. No big deal at all, except that: it fell straight across a pond that is 3.5 ft deep and right at freezing!!

Knocked over by the recent storm.

I hustled up the stem, and limbed it with a bow saw. Then, I topped it with the XL. Then, I tied a ladder off to the stem from the shore, and worked it back 18" per whack with the XL.

I was exasperated at one point, in that I could start the saw just fine on the ground, but once I climbed into the tree I had a helluva time getting it started. By accident, I found the problem. Once I had taken this guy all of the way back to shore and taken the stump down to ground level (the customer's choice), I started having trouble with the recoil. I took that apart to clean everything and replace the cord, and viola! there was the problem. The screw holding the magneto in place was slightly loose. I fixed the recoil and that issue, cleaned it all out, and that darned saw fires every time now (with proper choke).

Did this job freebie as a favor for the neighbor. He was charged $600 earlier for a single small tree by a crew who wasn't there but 45 minutes.

[daustin97222]

Here's a picture of the XL12. This is the girl that did the work over the pond. In one instance, the saw was bound and if not for a pair of fingers, it would have landed (ker-sploosh!) in a froZen pond three feet deep. The tree dropped across the pond, and required some logistics to get it apart.

I admit: I am rather proud of this saw. She did a lot of work, and she's 45 years old. My stepdaughter calculated that the pile was between 2.5 and 3 cords, and for over-water that ain't bad.