A Roper chainsaw

[Ax-Man]

I promise I won't post any more pics of saws with that dumb cardboard box for a background. I thought I could get the camera in close enough to not see the edges of the box, I was wrong.

I don't if any of you guys have ever seen a Roper but I came into this one plus one for parts. There isn't much info on these saws on the net and no pics that I have been able to find. Roper was never a big player in field of chainsaws. They made saws for Sears as I also have one that is the same saw only in yellow and white with a Craftsman label

The saw is next to worthless. As a performing chainsaw it isn't much better, typical point ignition of the era, a modular engine that is a little better design than the ones found in Sthils 021,23 25 series. The saw does have a decomp valve on it, it is very hard to start without it. The saw does have some decent power for it size but with those Tilly HS carbs in them they suck down a tank of fuel quick. No anti-vibs, solid bodied saw that really vibrates you to death. Lot of plastic on this saw too. They also ran on very odd chain on them at least to me it was .325 pitch - .050 gauge.

Ropers were made in Bradley, Illinois which is about 40 miles from where I live.

What is the point of this thread, I don't know. If you ever hear the name Roper you can at least say you saw one or at least a picture of one:lol:

[JonnyHart]

Cool.
So any idea what became of the company?

[Ax-Man]

No idea, a little before my time. I guess they just folded because they couldn't keep up with the big boys like Homelite and Mac. Maybe they got swallowed up by another company. I dunnno know.

[Paul B]

:D love Google...

"In 1966 The George D. Roper Corp. purchased David Bradley as part of the buy out of the Newark Ohio Company. Roper went on to produce lawn and garden equipment for Sears until the late ‘80s, when Roper sold it’s outdoor equipment division to American Yard Products."

clipped from : http://www.davidbradley.net/FAQ.htm

[Al Smith]

Well now that you mention it,my dad had several of the 3.7 cu in version.Those ran 3/8" chain.

He kept tweeking the things to the point they would break the crankshafts.My youngest brother has the last one he owned and it seems to be holding together .I think the old man broke two or three cranks before he gave up on them.

They weren't bad for their hey day.Just a tad slower than a Mac pm 610 but actually had just a tiny bit more torque.

[gf beranek]

That's a Homolite XL12 if I ever seen one.

[gf beranek]

Or 925.

[Chisel Tooth]

Good looking saw Larry, is there a tag on it that has 917.XXXXX on it? Here is a pic of two XL12s Gerry, they kinda look a like.
See Ya
Mike

[Al Smith]

That's a Homolite XL12 if I ever seen one. The XL-12 was the most copied saw of all times.These are Lombards,a copy of the XL-12.

[gf beranek]

Sears craftsman had their version too. Homelite made the XL for a lot of brands, just a little different cover or handle.

[Ax-Man]

I thought that saw had some Homelite in it. It reminded me alot of a Homelite XL while I was tinkering on it. It cleaned up pretty good too. Didn't take much to get it going either.

Mike, The model numbers are under the air filter cover, dumb place for this to me. The Roper I have starts with a C ???? whatever. The Sears saw I have starts with that 917.xxx for a model number.

I need to start painting my saws, everyone elses saws look so much better but I always feel it is a big accomplishment for me just to get the old buggers going again to cut some wood, then I move onto the next one and forget the cosmetic look.

Paul , thanks for the info. At least I know a little more than I did before when it comes to some chainsaw trivia.

[Chisel Tooth]

That's OK, get the numbers after the C? What cu.in. do you think it might be, like a 3.7? Any who the three numbers after the C is going to be the model # the best I can figure.
See Ya
Mike

[Al Smith]

I heard this story once from an old time Homelite dealer.As it was told to me whoever designed the Homelite XL-12 also peddeled the design to several others.

Those that I have been told were Lombard,Remington and several others.According to the story certain things were changed to circumvent patents such as displacements in some cases.I also heard these off shoots were granted under license by Homelite so I don't know what to believe.Whatever ,there are certainly a lot of them,painted different colors that look very much alike.

It would be interesting to know what parts would interchange,I for one have no idea.

[Ax-Man]

Mike, the model on this is C 35437R , it has 61 cc on the air filter and just behind the rewind which equals to 3.7 cu. in if my math conversion is correct. Just like you said.

[Chisel Tooth]

So that would make it a C354. Here's what I came up with on Mike's site.
http://www.acresinternet.com/cscc.nsf/ed1d619968136da688256af40002b8f7/8a7c14c0e3b5102388256b55000befd7?OpenDocument

[RaisedByWolves]

Heres a handy lil list of who made what for sears.


Homies were 517.


http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/sears_numbers.shtml


Book mark that, it comes in handy.



.

[gf beranek]

Al, the body of the saw remains the same in nearly all, but in later years there was some minor changes in it. So the clutch cover, air filter cover and the rewind cover off either saw would fix the body of another.

The XL was probably one of the most produced saws ever. Back in the day when I needed parts I just went to a garage sale. Everybody had one, or two.

They were hell cold starting and for their displacement they just moped along. Had a very familiar XL sound, that every once in a while I still hear today somewhere in the woods. Dinasour.

[Al Smith]

In the day,some decades ago,on every farm in these parts one of two saws could be found.Either a Homelite XL-12 or some other Homey,usually blue. On the next farm down the road it was either a 250 Mac or a 10-10 in later years.

It was just as comical then as it is now because they would bad mouth each others saws.:D Then too they bad mouthed each others tractors.One would have Farmalls the other John Deere. This Ford/Chevy thing will never end.

[Stumper]

Gerry. Before the Poulan Top-handles did you climb with a Super E-Z?

[gf beranek]

I did, Justin. The Super EZ-25, I believe it was. Had two of them in fact. Good running saw for their size with plenty of power. Only draw back to them was their periferal parts were easy to break off. Swinging around the tree with them tethered on a rope was rough on them. And their swept back handle bar was highly prone to catching on limbs. That was an expensive fix if you broke the top handle bar mount.

That's where the Poulan's body sold me, because the smooth design allowed them to slide through limbs rather that catch on them. Plus the Poulans were a little bit lighter and had better chain speed than the EZ.

[Magnus]

The last XL12's were sold here as XL12 Economy.

Low cost saw at the time.

These I have:

Homelite XL 12 Super 1687498
Homelite XL 12 1753772
Homelite XL 12 1704083
Homelite XL 12 1673663
Homelite XL 12 Ekonomi 2004191p
Homelite XL 12 Ekonomi 2060743

[Stumper]

To continue my little hi-jack of Larry's thread. One of my early memories was a job I was on where my dad fell. -He ran up a ladder to cut one dead limb and didn't "bother" saddling up for one cut. When he made his cut the limb supporting the ladder broke and he fell with the Super EZ. He kicked away from the ladder and got his feet under himself before he hit and took up the impact with his legs...and the Super EZ. He sprained his wrist a little but broke the handle and case all to pieces. When I started climbing I made the switch to Poulans and loved 'em. (Dad had gone to a little Echo) but I have a Super EZ that I get out about once per year to remember the old days -and appreciate modern climbing saws.

[RIVERRAT]

Gerry. Before the Poulan Top-handles did you climb with a Super E-Z?
The EZ {had 2 triggers} & a power Mac where the first 2 saws I ever used in a tree.
That EZ smoked & caught fire while I was in a tree. I tossed it to it's death. Landed on the clients driveway. Ended up in the trash. Being to busted up for me to want to mess with.

[treetx]

Cool.
So any idea what became of the company?


Yes, they are alive and well. Thought they no longer put their name on saw or appliances (you can still find it on old fridges too).

They are still around but their focus seems to be on products with wider margins than fridges or saws.

http://www.roperind.com/?businesses

[Stumper]

Jeff. I think your 2 triggered monstrosity would have been a Super XL or an XL2. tHe EZ was bigger ,older,magnesium cased and rearhandled but a little 2.5 CID powerhouse in its time.

[RIVERRAT]

That EZ was heavy but I was glad to have it. In light of what we have today there was noting at all EZ about it!
The power Mac closely resembled the 020 Super in size,shape & was on par with it in power.

[Al Smith]

Jeff. I think your 2 triggered monstrosity would have been a Super XL or an XL2. tHe EZ was bigger ,older,magnesium cased and rearhandled but a little 2.5 CID powerhouse in its time. They must have made a zillion 2 triggered XL 2's.I have myself.They sold for about 100 bucks or less and were competing with the Mini Mac. A mini isn't much but it will run circles around the little Homies.The little Homies were only about 1.8 cubic inch and I think the Mini is a tad over 2.