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US shame

Started by bandmiller2, January 17, 2009, 07:53:55 AM

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bandmiller2

I bumble around with alot of wood people assume I know chainsaws and want to know what to buy.I hate to tell them but if you want a real good saw its not made here.[I know Stihl has a plant in Va.for consumer saws]Its a shame all we make is consumer box store crap.Please prove me wrong.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

snowman

When I was a kid the fallers all used Macs, on the landing we used Homelites. Both were good saws then.When the euro saws came around mac and homelite decided to not keep up.They just turned into hardware store saws. Ill never really understand why.

argyle1

your dead right snowman,when i was starting out it was all mac,home-at-nite,and pioneer---i never understood why they just layed down and let the europeans take over

underdog

We do not make much of anything in America anymore.
It seems to be more inviromentaly friendly (for us) and cost effective to have manufacturing elsewhere, and if they need some assurance of quality maybe assemble here.
And they wonder why this house of cards is folding up.

Cut4fun

I think I read that the MS 361 and under is made in VA. I dont consider them consumer saws.  They have a pro size price tag to go with them.

cheyenne

The only thing made in this country today is excuses....Cheyenne
Home of the white buffalo

SwampDonkey

My pro brush saws, Sthil 550, are German made. Anything under that model isn't productive enough to make it worth while for pre-commercial thinning. You might get bye with a 400 series, but I can cut yards around anyone with a lesser saw. Just don't have the torque in hardwood or softwood in the upper diameters.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

sawcollector

The STIHL plant in Virginia Beach made almost 4 million units in 2008, and exported about 65% of that out of the country. Says something about not having unions and not being on the stock market.
I explained in another post the difference between a "pro, semi-pro, and homeowner" saw a while back, and just so everyone knows, the MS 260 and MS 361 are made here.
If the first digit of a STIHL serial number starts with a 1 it was made in Germany, a 2 it was made here, a 3 it was made in Brazil, and a 4 is China. No saws are being imported from China, I think maybe a hedge trimmer is all.
So you can get a quality US made saw if you want to.

Rocky_J

McCulloch and Homelite are no longer American companies. Both got bought out 20-25 years ago and are foreign owned names. This comes up about every 6 months and after a quarter century there are STILL people who think they are American companies.  ::)

sawcollector

Yes Rocky, the American saws are now Chinese, and a German saw is now American!   ???

bandmiller2

I have been a fire dept. mechanic for thirty something years.When I started they had three Homelite chainsaws not new then.I had absolutely no trouble with them ,bouncing around in the trucks for years.Still kept one for old time sake they were safe enough for the old guys but the kids needed ones with the chain brake.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Kodiakmac

Well, with our unoly trinity of Big Government, Big Business and Big Unions, it's a wonder we're manufacturing anything on this Continent.
Robin Hood had it just about right:  as long as a man has family, friends, deer and beer...he needs very little government!
Kioti rx7320, Wallenstein fx110 winch, Echo CS510, Stihl MS362cm, Stihl 051AV, Wallenstein wx980  Mark 8:36

Bernhard

I know times in the 60/70`when homelite saws have been offered ind catalogues and having a saw wsn´t that common here then today, casue they have been very expensive.

Later on Homelite and McCulloch had been sold by agmachinery shops.

Then, when the first DIY markets came up thy made decission, to move over to this kind of salesnetwork and that was there fault.

By loosing sales they lost quality, too.

Al_Smith

 You can blame a lot of reasons for manufacturing leaving north America I suppose .All NAFTA has done is speed things along . but it was already well under way before its' inception .

However if it were not economically advantageous to make things on these shores companies such as Stihl ,Honda ,Toyota and the like would not have build plants here .

It kind of stinks though when companies like Ford ,Chevy and others feel it's necessary to move off shore .The bottom line is profit .Of course there is also "cooking the books " too but that's another subject .

When McCulloch and Homelite no longer were leaders in small power equipment  it was as stated because they failed to keep abreast of new methods and model types .It wasn't because the products weren't good at one time ,just became obsolete towards the end .Just a part of history with the exception of the few of us that collect and maintain a few examples of a bygone era .

SwampDonkey

My father cut a lot of wood on the farm with an old Partner chainsaw. When he couldn't buy a new one he went Husky. That was a good saw until some ass tightened down the spark plug and stripped the threads.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

snowman

Quote from: Rocky_J on January 17, 2009, 09:24:19 PM
McCulloch and Homelite are no longer American companies. Both got bought out 20-25 years ago and are foreign owned names. This comes up about every 6 months and after a quarter century there are STILL people who think they are American companies.  ::)
I never knew that, interesting. So I guess the question is why did they sell to china? 25 years ago USA was still manufacturing alot of its own stuff. Seems odd to me chainsaws would be 1st thing off to china.And 25 years ago saws were big business, lots of looging and no feller bunchers. Seems like they let go of a good market,the mystery deepens. ???

cheyenne

   One co will buy up another to protect and broaden market share or get a foothold in a market they don't curently have. I can understand Husky buying Josered but not McCullogh unless it was so cheap due to bankruptcy they had nothing to lose....Cheyenne
Home of the white buffalo

capt n cutz

Quote from: cheyenne on January 17, 2009, 03:27:42 PM
The only thing made in this country today is excuses....Cheyenne
smiley_clapping

I guess I kinda thought that John Deere owned Homelite now, or at least did couple years ago.
Curious, what the future of saws will be like. I bet Stihl will be around for some time, but Husky (which I do like) I don't know.
So...You want to be a Logger? eh!

sawguy21

J-D did own Homelite for a spell. They wanted the Jacobsen consumer line to flog through Home Despot. The story I heard was that they ran afoul of CARB for dumping non compliant product in California, they did not keep warranty registrations so there was no way to trace them. To avoid huge penalties the subsidiary filed for Chapter 7and was cut loose.
McCulloch failed a number of times and the majority was purchased from the last receivers by Husqvarna. They recently purchased the north American arm from the Chinese.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

ladylake

 There's a lot of companys headed the same way as Mac and Homelite, using a good name the sell cheap junk to make money NOW.   Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

SawTroll

Quote from: Cut4fun on January 17, 2009, 11:12:58 AM
I think I read that the MS 361 and under is made in VA. I dont consider them consumer saws.  They have a pro size price tag to go with them.

Yes, the 361s for NA and OZ is made in the US, at VA beach.
Information collector.

snowman

Just looked at Homelite website. They do everything they can to make it look American. Only place I found a clue where it's made is that the comp is listed on Hong Kong stock exchange. Deceptive advertising I think.There should be a law, Bold red letters, WARNING, MADE IN CHINA!

sawguy21

I believe the plant is in North Carolina, that is where we order parts from.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

snowman

Sawguy that's all part of the evil plot i suspect. A mailing address in NC to fool people. Then your orders electronicaly swithed to China.The parts shipped to NC, repackaged and sent to you.This may sound paranoid, dillusional even but I bet it's true. :-\

weimedog

I think those Homies are built here in the USA with corperate ownership in China...so really all the profit goes overseas.

AND I have to plug the little Ranger 33cc I bought as a joke four years ago for $60 bucks plus shipping on eBay. It has been used as a brush cutting saw, a carpentry tool, limbing saw, and countless other less than fun saw work. It has worn out dozen's of chains to nubbs along with a couple of bars; and its exactly what they advertise..Simply reliable. Is and has been an excellent tool.

So now it works just fine but is being retired to trail duty work only, by a new Husqvarna 440e...another saw thats supposed to be "Junk". I can only hope it is as tough and reliable as that litle Ranger.

And ..politics...you folks are right. Over the last 30 years we have had the Wall Street thru Washington political crowd drive the de-industrialization of our country. Dispersed our technological wealth like a dog digging thru trash and spreading anything of value all over the floor feeding on the good stuff to completion and leaving the rest for someone else to clean up. And we wonder why we are in a financial melt down? WE let it happen as a people. We did with our wallets and with our votes. What will our childern do for a living? How does a nation creat wealth for its people without technical and manufacturing capability? Ultimately how do we protect our future if there is no manufacturing infrastructure. None of this really thought about with that instant gratification mentality of the last 30 years. Those who are valued now are those who ride our history and ancestors work like rented mules. AND to add insult to injury..the bailout is targeted to those who would harness our work...thru taxes and interest.
Husqvarna 365sp/372xpw Blend, Jonsered 2171 51.4mm XPW build,562xp HTSS, 560 HTSS, 272XP, 61/272XP, 555, 257, 242, 238, Homelite S-XL 925, XP-1020A, Super XL (Dad's saw); Jonsered 2094, Three 920's, CS-2172, Solo 603; 3 Huztl MS660's (2 54mm and 1 56mm)

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