 | CSI MAY 1962 Beaird-Poulan purchases Tom Moore Tractors Inc. builders of the FARM-ETTE small tractor.
It seems they begin with Poulan's first chainsaw, the model 2400, which Claude and his brothers Harry and Fletcher started making in 1946, using a Homelite 24x1 engine and using the name Poulan Saw Company. Beginning in 1951, the Poulan brothers made the 4400 and 5200 models (which show those model numbers on their tags, although they have "44" and "52" cast into the body of the saws), and are all two-man saws. Throughout the 1950's Poulan made a series of sand-cast saws, including the B100, F100, F3-100, K100, and F200 models, all of which are gear-reduction saws, and the H100, H200, FD100, KD100, and XD100 models, all of which are direct-drive. I have the K-100 and KD-100 models from that time. In 1953, the A900 model was introduced as a "one-man" chainsaw, made only with bow-bar, but the A900 looks to me like quite a handful of chainsaw for one man. I'd sure like to get one, though, because the bowbar is sure nice-looking...
Sometime during the 1950's the company was incorporated and became Poulan Manufacturing Corporation. In 1958 the Poulan brothers sold the corporation to Charles Beaird and it became the Beaird-Poulan Corporation. Throughout the 1960's, Beaird-Poulan made a series of sand-cast gear-reduction models which I've identified so far to include the 32, 42, 44, 46, 48, 54, 62, and 68 (all with roller chain reduction), and the 64, 66, Super 68, 72, Super 72, 82, 84, 86, and 92 (all with gear reduction). These sand-cast, gear-reduction saws were all made at the same time Beaird-Poulan was also making a number of direct-drive saws, also sand-cast, and the gear-reduction models seems to have ended production when the model 92 was discontinued in 1970.
You can find all (I think) the sand-cast Poulan models listed on Mike's site
but the listings there show them all under Poulan Manufacturing Corp., when, in fact, many were made by Beaird-Poulan. Mike's site has very few photos, but there are photos of some of the sand-cast Poulans here in the Models Library and scattered throughout this forum in different threads...
Beginning in 1971, Beaird-Poulan changed its production methods from sand-cast to die-cast in order to better compete in the chainsaw industry's quest for lighter-weight saws when it brought out the model XXV. When sand-casting of the saws body parts was discontinued, it was the end of an era in chainsaw history. |