Two Scottish surgeons invented a small hand-powered bone saw with a small chain, and it was used to remove diseased bone. As painful as that sounds, it’s widely credited as being the first use of what we know today as the chainsaw. This Vintage Titan Chainsaw can be found listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the seller is asking $280. Here is the original listing, and thanks to “Generic member” for the tip!
Talk about a great winter restoration project! If this were local, I’d snap it up in a heartbeat. It’s much better than restoring another kid’s bike, although I still have three or four tiny motorcycles waiting for their turn on the bench. Believe it or not, this is the very first chainsaw featured on Barn Finds. That’s hard to believe since we’re all about old gas/diesel/fuel-powered engines here. I wonder what else would fit in that category?…
I’m sure that a similar muffler could be found somewhere; this one has seen better days for sure. The history of using a saw with a rotating, spinning cutting chain to cut trees or other wood products goes back to the late 1800s. 1883 saw the first Wild West Show with Buffalo Bill Cody, in of all non-“western”-sounding places, Omaha, Nebraska. It was also when the Brooklyn Bridge opened. 1883 was the year when Frederick L. Magaw of Flatlands, New York, patented what is believed to be the first chainsaw for use on wood. More patents and models came later from other inventors and companies, as in 1905, for use on giant redwood trees.
The first portable, handheld chainsaw came about in 1918 in Canada, and in 1927, a gentleman named Emil Lerp invented the first gas-powered chainsaw. Andreas Stihl, a name most of us have heard of, invented his first chainsaw in Germany in 1926, powered by electricity! Remember, in that era, even automakers hadn’t 100% agreed on a source for powering vehicles, and electric-powered chainsaws are still a thing, mainly battery-powered ones. I have an old Wards electric chainsaw. There isn’t a ton of information on Titan chainsaws, other than that Stihl chainsaws were popular in the U.S. up until the late 1930s when Germany invaded Poland, and then they were banned. Companies scrambled to fill the need for handheld chainsaws, sometimes known as “widow makers” for the incredible danger involved in using them and the lack of safety features.
Robert Gillespie of a Seattle company called Mill & Mine Supply came up with the Titan Chainsaw, and it was, at one time, the biggest manufacturer of big timber chainsaws. There were single or twin-cylinder models, and this is a single-cylinder. The ad doesn’t have a lot of information, but they say it has a 32″ bar (the part where the chain wraps around and spins to cut the wood), and they say the bar can be changed out for an auger or other attachments. Very cool! It isn’t currently running, but I’m sure most of us could have it running again in no time. Are any of you into restoring or collecting non-automotive things like chainsaws?
(In the voice of Crocodile Dundee) Now THIS is a chainsaw!!!!. 32 inch bar is indeed a big bar. I think there’s a few individuals on here that have had experience with monsters like these. The biggest I ever used was a 20″ Dolmar ( also German). I saw this on Fast Finds and said…… Scotty is going to write this up!! And you did!!! I’m wondering how old it is. This will make a great restoration project. Not sure about parts availability though. Thanks Scotty. You have officially written up the first chainsaw on Barnfinds. ( I’m kind of surprised by that).
I heard the 2-cylinder was a 2-53 Detroit!
Well, 1st of all, what happened to the format? No longer authors name? Wait,,,there it is. I’m not sure I like that, even though seasoned viewers know full well who wrote this up. The photos are giant, and I shudder to think what will happen when I hit submit? What gives, you guys? Like when Google changes its format, I’m stumped. JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!!! And who could “generic member” be? HA!( hint) In your face Mr. Tipline, I found a loophole,kidding,,Thanks SG!!
Now, chainsaws are a touchy subject, and if we can refrain from the injuries many may have had, chainsaws are remarkable inventions. Why, in the Nort’woods, a decent chainsaw is almost better than a good woman. Common sense is paramount. My old man had a old chainsaw, yellow, similar type, cut a lot of wood with that saw. Many fear the dreaded “kickback”, usually associated with old chainsaws, and I believe was related to the angle of the cutting teeth. Modern chainsaws are much better in that regard. One must have respect for a chainsaw, as they can do a lot of harm, Hollywood had a field day with chainsaws, and I actually like cutting wood. And never any hearing protection,,oh, like grandpa said, “I hear what I want to hear”, seriously, wear ear protection. The best saw I’ve found,,,Stihl. Cutting downed wood is one thing, cutting standing timber is tense, and where most accidents happen. Trees do strange things when they are cut. Some splinter, or twist, in a defiant act of refusal,, and it’s not for wimps. This thing? Purely for discussion, unless you have the grapes to actually run this thing. They made great go-kart motors.
And, nervously hitting submit,,,
yellow probably = McCullough (state side then) but Husky owned now (sweden, churmanie, poland). We used them for limbin only, not as
durable/strong as the european.
McCulloch had some real man-killer saws in the 60’s. I cut my chain-saw-repair teeth on them, just before the Mini-Max and Power Mac units showed up.
This is a really informative write up! I am in the industry and still learned a few things I didn’t know.
I’m not sure a chainsaw was ever called a “widow maker”. That usually refers to branch falling out of a tree that has being disturbed by the faller, either by the chainsaw, by pounding wedges or just a change in the balance of the tree. Most deaths occur withing a 10′ radius of the stump. It doesn’t take a large branch to kill and the job is still dangerous as hell and is one of the most death prone jobs on the planet.
This is an interesting saw in pretty good condition. Because it is is a four stroke engine, I find the fact the they don’t turn the saw sideways to make the cuts, rather the bar swivels to horizontal for falling then to vertical for bucking.
It doesn’t look like it would take much to make this run, but I think it is better left on the shelf.
feller/logger is more dangerous occupation than astronaut~
Modern chainsaws are a ER trip waiting to happen, at least for me! Couldn’t imagine using this thing, way before they made kevlar chaps. Which btw have saved me a few times.
Our grandads were tough fellows no doubt.
BTW don’t ignore my favorite chainsaw, Dolmar. Fine german saw and first gas saw in 1927. Sad they’re now owned by Makita, and made no more.
Mine is a great saw.
It’s cool to see different things on here. Cars are awesome but other items such as this is interesting
So is this a barn find?
Yes, most likely found / stored in a barn.
I have an old dolmar. Thing weighs a ton lol runs like a scald’did hant when it’s actually running.
Had a dead ash twist and spin as I was cutting a notch a few years back. Came straight down. Ran my exit route, dropped saw. Landed on my Dolmar 5100, destroyed the case.
Fortunately a local shop had several with burnt pistons, from ethanol fuel, swapped my guts, good as new.
About 35 years ago I used the old heavy Poulan saw on the ash in back of our house after a large limb came down after a storm and brushed against the house. That tree is still alive though all that in danger of hitting a structure is cut back. I hollowed out the rotted center recently. That saw has gear drive. I use chemical yearly to prevent emerald ash borer.
I wouldn’t run a saw without a chain brake.
To Jay E., pretty sure this is a 2 stroke, the 2 gas caps were for oil/gas and for chain oil. The term “widow maker” has gotten a lot of use, from a Kawasaki triple to some ski run in the hills. Not sure about #1 death prone jobs, generally, only the experienced use chainsaws, although today, modern saws can be used by anyone, almost. Not so here, from what I found, this saw is from the early 50s, and the gear drive is unique, and I see that swivel now, but more for keeping the motor and controls level. I never saw something like that. Modern chainsaws have “pumper carbs” that allow even upside down operation, but not here.
@ old greybeard: yeah, they took many a lump, but they didn’t know any different. To them, this was a stark improvement over the 2 man bucksaw, that probably caused just as many ER visits, but they didn’t call the ER, it was “Doc Sawbones” 2 towns over, and he did what he could.
Yup, my grandad was working in a sawmill around 1920. Cut off a finger, and 1/2 another. He just cut the rest of the finger off.
Different world, different men.
We come from tough stock
I think you are right. I assumed it was a 4 stroke because of the swivel feature.and carb. Interweb says Titans were 2 stroke, but I can’t find anything on this specific model. In fact this is the only one I could even find, so rare it is.
Perhaps it belongs in Wayne Sutton’s magnificent collection in Amboy, WA
I have had several chainsaws, starting with a used Homelite with about a 36″ bar when I lived in N CA in the early 70’s. Then shortly after moving back east I bought a used old Poulan saw that is still in the garage, all metal and HEAVY and LOUD, must wear ear plugs. It has the early “beaver tail” shape bar. I think that saw uses 20:1 oil and gas mixture, from back in the 50’s. The original owner’s manual came with it. I have a much smaller and lighter Poulan, also used, from the 70’s that is good for trimming small limbs.
While this might look scary, I think I have one that’s even worse. I have a2 man chain saw. The engine has a dual handle bar while the other end of the blade has a handle for the second person to hold and guide. I believe it is about a 4ft blade. I’ve never been brave enough to try it nor risk a friend’s life at the other end. A rather intimidating machine.
V8 chainsaws are all over youtube. I guess it proves the old adage that anything worth doing is worth overdoing.
Hi Fred, look up “Big Gus” a V8 running saw, at the Yooper Tourist Trap site in Ishpeming. If ever in the UP, you have GOT to check that place out. Edsel Al with agree. The 2 story outhouse was my favorite. That place had me in stitches.
https://www.worldrecordacademy.org/2022/09/worlds-largest-running-chainsaw-world-record-in-ishpeming-michigan-422377
It’s not just the saws that are dangerous. When I was a young man I had a job at a tool rental company. One of my responsibilities was to sharpen chains. I’ll never forget the Saturday afternoon when a woman came in to return the chainsaw that her husband had rented that morning. The husband couldn’t return it because he fell out of the tree he was cutting. I sure didn’t feel like servicing that saw for a while. I’ve done a bit of Harry Homeowner work with a chainsaw but I sure wouldn’t want to make a living at it. A few years ago my neighbor and I hired a young man to fell a very large poplar tree. He was a small guy but using a saw with a 48” bar; he dropped that tree right where he said he would. When it reached the tripping point, the snap from the hinge was loud as a gun shot. And when it hit the ground neighbors from two blocks away heard it. The ground around us shook. Pedro our tree cutter just smiled. Not a job for the faint of heart.
I have had a collection of about 40 chainsaws of which the Mercury-Distons were my favorite. Two of them were two-man models with 5 foot bars. They were made by Kieckhafer Areomarine and sold through Diston.
In the 1990’s , Worker’s comp rate( $$$ ) for a logger in KY was more than the workers hourly wage !
saw length seemed to be what folks spoke abt in the olden days. Any 20 in + today is fine (not too many logs over 3.5 ft here).
Around the stove U hear more abt how many feet/sec a saw spits out, is Jonsered, Stihl or Husqvarna a better product, and for us older guys -which is lighter (@ 20 in) but still spins a chain fast (over 60/70 ft/sec)…
I bet there’s a few ‘chain saw’ museums on the Left Coast or upin PNW. Be as fun to visit asa ‘sno sled’ one…
If you ever are on Rt 6 in PA visit the Lumber Museum. Excellent
it makes no sense to me that if that was designed to cut off limbs, etc. why would the bar be so long?
looks like 1 of Leatherface’s saws
I drove a log truck in WA for a summer 40+ years ago and the saws that intimidated me (even though I never ran one) were those Partner saws with 48″ or 60″ bars. After I came off the long road I went logging in Maine & Quebec. The only saws those guys ran were Husky’s or Steihl’s. There are many collectors of these, and the largest collection I ever saw was in Maine, on display at the Fryburg Fair!
Wow, we all have chain saw stories, mine start in Maine in the 70s. If we didn’t cut down 8 (full) cords we’d freeze in the winter. The real widowmaker was the 36″ cordwood saw on the back of the 53 Ford tractor to cut all that into firewood. About 2 years ago my last gas saw died half way through cutting up a fallen tree and I tossed it to the curb and bought an electric one which cuts like an animal. Think about it, the more you slow an electric motor down the more torque it has.
Non-Ambidextrous =/
Someone grabbed this one; it’s listed as sold!
Roger that Scotty