OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Chainsaws and Concrete Cutters Old Chainsaw Pictures Atom 708

Atom was the only Australian designed and produced chainsaw, they built 5 different models between 1972-1976.
Atom's chainsaw production ceased in the late 1970's as a result of the then government abolished tariff protection on locally manufactured goods in 1974.
This one is 75cc, it's only done a few hours work & runs like new.

gmax

I had a white one with yellow sides, I don't know the year. It was 2-3 years old when I got it, and hadn't done much work. It is the only chainsaw I've ever had that I was seriously dissatisfied with. Took a miracle for it to run an hour without having to be dismantled. Worst problems were the recoil starter and the chain-oil pump system. I don't remember trouble with the engine, but I had to keep a second junk saw so that I could swap parts to get the rest of it through a couple of hours' work. I was ambivalent about the little Dolmar I had much later - too hard to start, and the spark plug cover kept falling off, but it sang a beautiful song once it started. The Atom, though, I really disliked. My other saws I was really happy with, especially the old Partner R14.

I've heard mixed reports about them, some loved them and some hated them, this one has a decompression valve ,without that there would be a lot of strain on the recoil starter. Atom chainsaws look like a copy of a Solo 640,they look remarkably similar,

If the Atoms were all like mine, its no wonder they disappeared promptly when the import restrictions were removed. Mine didn't have a decompressor. If my recollection is right Atom made Waterboy outboards too. I had one of those, and didn't love it but it was considerably better than the chainsaw.

If you had a choice between an Atom and a bowsaw or one of those ancient tubular-frame American chainsaws that you had to be Governor of California to hold up for long, I'd say the Atom would be my choice. However a two hour session with it only delivered about 20-30 minutes of run-time. The Partner was at the other extreme - it just ran until it needed fuel or sharpening. (IIRC I got two tanks of fuel before I had to refill the chain oil tank.)

Not having a decompressor on the early Atom's was a big mistake,the
later ones also had AV & electronic ignition.
I only wanted it for my collection, I mainly use Oleo Mac for firewood, or a 95cc Sachs Dolmar 143 for the big stuff.
Partner chainsaws look pretty good, I'd like to try one.

Hi Wayne and Grumpy, Is the Atom company that makes lawn edgers connected at all to the chainsaw concern?

Darryl, Yes they make "Drill Attachments" for chainsaws, I believe
the "Stihl" Drill Attachment is also made by Atom.


gmax

You can put most of the story together by reading this site:
http://www.atomindustries.com/index.php?x=history
I haven't found any mention of Atom building Waterboy outboards, so I was probably wrong about that.

The drill attachment is listed on the Online store of the forum HERE

Grumpy, I agree with you regarding the "Atom", the cutting performance is very poor, my old 50cc "Oleo Mac" left it for dead even though the motor is 20cc smaller,

[video][/video]


gmax

If that first one - the green one - was the Atom, it performed about like my yellow Atom except that the Youtube one made a whole cut and still seemed to be in working order, which would probably have been a better-than-average run for mine. Yes, it cut slowly, and it seemed to rev about as enthusiastically as a 1935 motorcycle engine, which seemed quite reminiscent of mine. It was the first chainsaw I ever had, and I moved from that straight to a medium-sized Poulan. I didn't like the Poulan, but it buried your boots in sawdust in seriously quick-time, and gave no trouble except for being more or less untunable. If I tuned it for maximum power, then dropped the throttle suddenly from full speed, it would stall. If I richened up the main jet it wouldn't stall, but didn't rev as nicely.

Yes the green one is the Atom, it would cut a little quicker if it had a sprocket tip bar rather than the solid nose bar. I had a poulan 2450 ( mid 90s 38cc)once the muffler is modified they perform a lot better. I removed the spark arrestor screen then drilled out the baffle it was easier to start,and revved harder, just had to richen the mixture a little.

Thanks grumpy and gmax for the info, I didn't know that they made augers and commercial edgers....quite a good website as well...

Hey Wayne, that is a great comparison video between the different machines,the "Oleo Mac" is a ripper isn't it!!

Yes Oleo Mac make decent chainsaws but they suffered from poor marketing just like Solo.

I had one of the yellow ones in the 70s, and yes, when I finally got rid of it, it still ran like new as well. That is, hardly ever! It was also heavy, and I couldn't keep the oiler working. I graduated to a 75cc Echo, second hand, and that was a magic machine for ten or more years. I only upgraded to get something a little lighter, which is a Husquvarna, even better than the Echo. The Echo also had an unreliable oiler, but because of the Atom, I thought all saws were like that! The Husky doesn't have a downside, in my experience, and that experience is providing all our firewood, our only source of heat for 30 years or more. Merry Christmas all.