What's Your Favorite Saw You Own?

stig said:
Frankie, for an internet saw guru, you are remarkably lacking in information.

The " World's first injected chainsaw" was invented by a Norwegian.
Rasmus Wiig put the " Comet" into production.
Later Jonsered acquired the license to build it and produced it as " Raket" ( Were they all a bit space fixated back then?, even before the faked moon landing).
It is not a true injection system, but still brilliant in it's way.
Just the idea of using the handle bars to hold the LPG or whatever was used to heat the firing point was a true stroke of genius.

Magnus is the 'Houser with most knowledge about them, might actually be the one person in the World with most knowledge about them.
He is the one, who showed me both tyhe Comet and the Jonsered lookalike.
Click to expand...
OK. Hold on to your hats.... Here is a long story in somewhat short version.
Rasmus Wiig made Comet for Norske Sagbladsfabrikk on a goverment contract. They could not see the use for it so the 1000 made was it.
Como in Stockholm got wind of this and bought the project. They made saws in several versions with R.Wiig at the helm up to saw number 3999. All diesel's... The injector is indeed just that as real as it can get. Pressorized fuel tanks and injector in crankcase like many larger hotbulb engines has in the past.
After this Jonsered got in charge of project in its entirety. They had made parts for it and as Como could not meet the demands really full out they stepped up. They were still assembled by Como a long time after this as part of the deal. Last Como assembled Jonsered was XF. Saw number 4000 is an Jonsereds Raket P around 360 of these were made then things got speeded up and sales got going. Rasmus was still with Jonsered and helped get the ignition in these called EL-Raket "Electric Rocket" and this was beginning of Jonsereds domination and Rasmus end with Jonsereds fabriker as he thought he had better things to do. This was another saw, another story.
 
Jonsereds Fabriker still exist and they still do stuff. Jonsered is a city just Like Hhusqvarna and its factories has a lot longer lives than chainsaws. Jonsereds fabriker started about 1832-33 by William Gibson.
Elux bought the saw part only. It was a small part of them anyway..
They sold the crane manufacturing to Hiab and closed wood tool manufacturing I think. This was 1/3 of the factory..
They sill make canvas and tarp one thing they always were big in.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #129
That's interesting. Who was the big saw player in Sweden 50s-60s?
 
Frankie said:
I never considered myself an “internet saw guru” , but I can build a mean saw that will produce prodigiously(in the right hands) thank you very much ... Now , Rasmus Wiigs’ saw did not run on petrol or as we say here in the USA gasoline ... It ran on diesel, kerosene or distillate and was apparently Rube-Goldberg-esque in its starting procedure - it was discontinued because of safety issues and complications of starting it ... Jonsereds introduced their diesel saw to USA in 1954 using 2d batteries to run the glow-plug ... If battery died saw could not be started ! This issue and weak power led to its demise ... The STIHL 500i isn’t the First non-carb saw but is the First to be F.I. AND run on gas to the best of my knowledge! I know you sleep next to your 500i but for me I use ported 462c and ported 572xp ... with 20-24” b/c ... Cut circles around stock 500i using less fuel ... 500i is a fine saw but imho there are other older/modern saws that cost considerably less , perform as well or better and most importantly use less fuel than that gas hog
Click to expand...
The point of this engine was that it could run on anything. Both Comet and Raket could and often ran on Gasoline if there was any.
It ran on pretty much anything else as well that could burn and was liquid. Alcohols even...
The battery Powered Jonsered XC (1955, year after XA) was never series produced and it was made a few for US market. I know of one, still unused demo ex, one more used one, both in a private collections. One is said to be here, I have yet to see it...
If chamber was heated with Propane or battery it could still be started and run if it was hot enough for the fuel used.
Some fuels like thicker oils needed heat all the time.
XC was not discontinued as they never started series production.
XA was discontinued as most thought it was too much hassle with it after XB (also 1955)got out and gasoline was easier and cheaper to get now.
Weak Power I don't know... For a 50cc saw in its time, I think it did OK.
It was less than most needed at the time though.
 
lxskllr said:
That's interesting. Who was the big saw player in Sweden 50s-60s?
Click to expand...
This was regional and I would saw Partner was the leading manufacturer over Jonsered.
Husqvarna got started 1959 and had a lot easier to get going as they already had a well functioning dealer network.
You could bring your waffle iron one day, drop of saw and stove as you picked it up next day...
Not as easy for other brands here. Companion as example had no dealer network. You got a bunch of paid shipping bills to send the saw to them and offered to buy two saws even with one bar and chain if you needed saw every day.
 
Partner was Started by Gustav Holm. He had made the first one man saw here very successfylly and sold tens of thousands of it by the time next model was in planning. It was named model Partner and as this got in production Partner company was made and it was renamed model C6.
 
Running Gasoline in glow plug engine designed to run diesel will result in catastrophic damage to the engine , the fuel will ignite at its leisure instead of at the appropriate time ... Running diesel in an engine designed for gasoline is no good either as the spark plug will most likely not ignite the diesel ... The Jonsereds XC diesel used 2 D batteries instead of propane to heat the glo plug ... 2947E847-C512-4B4D-94B2-865CD7E20414.jpeg I can see possibly run on gas/oil mix but not on gas only
 
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Gas engines have been known to run on diesel, it's the sparks that allows them to run. Then there's that issue of how diesel detonates, but the high octane rating of gas slows it's burn, so maybe if designed properly, gas might work out ok. It was old fashioned gas in the day to so maybe it was still a little like diesel?
 
Diesel has an octane rating of 30 vs 89+ for gasoline ... if you put it a lawnmower it might run with a electric drill rotating the engine but most likely will need to be constantly primed and won’t run on it’s own meaning you won’t be able to mow the lawn :lol:
 
Frankie said:
Running Gasoline in glow plug engine designed to run diesel will result in catastrophic damage to the engine , the fuel will ignite at its leisure instead of at the appropriate time ... Running diesel in an engine designed for gasoline is no good either as the spark plug will most likely not ignite the diesel ... The Jonsereds XC diesel used 2 D batteries instead of propane to heat the glo plug ... View attachment 103933 I can see possibly run on gas/oil mix but not on gas only
Click to expand...
This pic is of Marshal Trovers XC, never run. There is one more in US I know of.
You can run XA/XC on just about anything as said. You need same gasoline mix in XA as XB, all engines need lubrication. No flushed two stroke can run without lubrication, diesel, gas or other....
8/1 with gas, 4/1 with diesel as example. Mix ratio is stated in manual also for the different fuels.
Here is one running gas:
I ran one on gas at an collector friends place. I ran one of my comets on diesel. Never tried the XA and the P is missing injector.

It was not much gas in houses on country side as after as this was not cheap or easy to get. There was no gas stations that had gas as they did before war and after.
So to run saws you needed it and it was often a hassle to get. It was better if you ran on other stuff. These engines are designed for this purpose. It was an great idea.
 
The video is unavailable on my end unfortunately ... Be kind of neat to see/hear it run and cut wood !
 
Well, I bet you find more on Youtube if you look again...
Here is one:

They sound the same on gasoline as this. But run hotter, less smoke.
You still need lubricant regardless of fuel.
 
True they made multi fuel" engines meaning gasoline or light distillate like kerosene but those were low compression engines with special intake manifolds that heated the fuel so it could vaporize .John -Deere for example .They were spark engines not diesel with compression ratios of about 4.5 to one .Just for reference most Stihls are 9.5 to one .On the JD's they started on gasoline then once the operating temp reached 190 F you could switch them over .They had a shutter that blocked the air flow to the radiator so you could maintain it ..If they ever made a multi fuel chainsaw I really can't say but if so it would be a cumbersome thing . BTW gasoline is octane rating, diesel fuel is cetane rating not one in the same .
 
See the old girl run ! A lot of smoke is being produced from that saw and the cut speed is very slow ... Idk maybe it needs a tune-up / new or sharpened chain to come alive ...I would not be making much coin with that unit 😂 ... For a collector or enthusiast but not my cup of tea
 
Saws that old you don't use for work .The battle is making them run to begin with .Fact I've got an old Lombard that came over on the Mayflower with a float carb sitting at a 45 degree angle .To make a horizonal cut you have to tilt it to the right .Slow as an old snail .
 
Yah , I’ve seen some of those Rube Goldberg set-ups in my day ... I’ll stick to modern STIHL and Husqvarna saws to put steak on the table :)
 
Small displacement geardrive saws don't have much chainspeed.
Take Mac 33 series as examle, even slower chainspeed than XA/XB...

It was faster cutting than most did with wip saws at the time. They could work more hrs too. Larger pile at the end of day, more €£$ in wallet!
 
I’m sure it was better than using a misery whip to cut the wood ! I was watching an old film about PNW loggers ... They used axes to make the face cut and 2man misery whips for the felling cuts all the while perched on springboards. Those men must have been like iron after a few years of doing that work - we do not know how good we have it nowadays in comparison! I learned something new about those old “diesel saws” and that’s a win any way you slice it ! :)
 
I tried and know. Not so hard for you to try and know either. I can tell you haven't as you say you take the whip.
I have a couple hundred one and two man whip's. I learned to file them and Learned from guy's here that used them in forest work.

As the saws got better and loggers started to think there was options they got out faster in woods.
It was not the saws that needed changing and get better it was the loggers and forestry. That takes many years, decades even...
Change a saw in its making takes minutes..
Most loggers before that was 30+ in 1955 here had no car, motorcycle or experience of engines in any way.
Generation after got the saws out in woods!
We had a couple avid whip users here well in the 70's.
Some still use whip in clearing and thinning. But no logging as far as I know now.
 
My dad talks about dropping three feet diameter oaks in the late 30's on the farm .They would make the under cut on the fall side with a cross cut and cut the wedge loose with axes .Then make the back cut with a cross cut and run like the wind to get out of the way .I've got one of those same 6 feet long cross cuts in my shed they used and have no intentions of ever using it .
 
You can find some interesting examples of the evolution of the power saw .For example the use of huge electric saws that weighed 95 pounds powered by portable gasoline powered Caterpillar generators .Mall tool made some of those heavy things .Coincidently I have a Bridgeport milling machine circa 1938-1940 with a brass tag --Mall Tool Company ,Chicago Illinois .How it got to Ohio .I'll never know .
 
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