The Sally Saw is one of those tools that makes you stop and look twice. It isn’t quite a chainsaw, and it isn’t just a circular saw either. It’s a gasoline-powered, one-man portable saw built around a round blade mounted out front, with a long shaft and engine behind it.
In old advertisements, it was pitched as a practical answer to hard wood-cutting work: felling small trees, cutting firewood, limbing, and handling pulpwood without the constant axe work that usually came with the job.
The Sally Saw
The saw was introduced in the mid-1940s. Cummings Machine Works of Boston promoted it as a new portable power saw, and the related patent was filed in 1945 and granted in 1949. Period ads also show it being sold through the Sally Saw Division of the Frazer Farm Equipment Corporation in Auburn, Indiana, so its main production and sales window seems to have been the late 1940s into the early postwar farm-equipment market.
What makes the Sally Saw interesting now is not just that it looks unusual, but that it sits right at a turning point in wood-cutting history. It came along when manufacturers were trying to solve the same problem from every angle: how to make tree cutting less exhausting without requiring a crew, a crosscut saw, or a heavy industrial machine. The Sally Saw was one of those experiments. It was practical enough to be advertised seriously, strange enough to be remembered, and just dangerous-looking enough to explain why the modern chainsaw eventually won.
Sally Saw advertising
THE SALLY SAW
ONE MAN PORTABLE POWER SAW REVOLUTIONIZES WOOD CUTTING
ECONOMICAL • SAFE • LABOR SAVING
- Equipped with a standard 1½ HP 4 cycle engine
- Clutch easily operated by wrist motion
- Hand clamp screw for angle of cut
- Front handle
- Guard over blade
- Adjustable saw support
- Leg supports
- Shaft housing
- Oil-less bearings
- Driving gears of hardened steel
- Saw can be replaced in one minute or less
ORIGINAL SELLING PRICE $287.50
NOW ONLY $165.00
SALLY SAW ELIMINATES THE HARD WORK OF WOOD CUTTING
A power-driven portable one-man saw that will fell trees or cut up hard or soft wood. The Sally Saw is unusually light in weight and can be easily carried and operated by anyone. Advanced simplified design and use of light weight materials help to make the Sally Saw the most modern saw on the market today. There are upwards to ten thousand of these saws in use today all giving very satisfactory service.
The Sally Saw complete is low in price and weighs crated but ninety pounds. The net weight is only sixty-nine pounds making it an extremely maneuverable saw. Its low price can easily be paid by the time and labor savings you will make by operating this most modern of portable saws. Try it yourself. You’ll want yours NOW.
CUTS TREES UP TO 18″ IN DIAMETER
SALLY SAW SWIFT, SAFE AND SATISFACTORY
Due to the advanced design of the Sally Saw’s 16 inch diameter cutting member, the standard model will cut through an 11 inch diameter tree or log with but one pass and in quick time. By a slight movement around tree, it is possible to cut 18 inch diameter.
THE FRAZER FARM EQUIPMENT CORP.
SALLY SAW DIVISION
AUBURN, IND.
The SALLY SAW — ONE MAN PORTABLE POWER SAW
SALLY SAW SUITABLE FOR LARGE OR SMALL OPERATORS
Whether you are a large operator in pulpwood cutting or an individual with a wood lot for firewood cutting, the Sally Saw will be found to be economical in first cost and low in operating cost. Sally Saw will save both time and money for all wood cutters.
SALLY SAW ECONOMICAL FOR ALL WOOD-SAWING OPERATIONS
The designers of the Sally Saw have used every idea of modern design to bring the cost of the Sally Saw and its operation down to as low a point as can be rendered and still offer a quality saw for all purposes. Remember, too, that in felling trees, no axe notching is necessary—simply make slight Sally Saw cut close to the ground and saw tree through from opposite side.
IMPORTANT
Every effort has been made to make the Sally Saw a rugged and dependable device. A very complete stock of all parts for Frazer Farm Equipment Corporation implements is maintained at the factory in Auburn, Indiana. This assures you of quick dependable service and speedy maintenance when parts are needed. You need only to write, wire, or telephone us and your requirements will be immediately taken care of.
New Sally Saw Accessories!
INVALUABLE NEW SAW TABLE. Easily attached . . . No lifting—Saw rests on ground or bench . . . Small wood cannot be jammed . . . Cuts fire and cordwood, slabs, branches, etc. to any desired length easily, quickly and safely. Priced only $12.80.
ANOTHER LABOR SAVER. Set of 8-inch rubber-tired wheels . . . Easily attached . . . Replaces two short legs on tripod under engine . . . Relieves operator of weight when cutting or moving about. Priced only $8.95.
BOTH OF THESE ACCESSORIES ARE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE
Sally Saw With Many Useful Advantages
The Sally Saw is an extremely versatile saw. It can be used to cut small diameter logs, limbing trees, preparing logs for fireplace use or to cut up kindling wood around the home. Everyone who has a wood cutting job to do should have a Sally Saw.
Sally Saw Division
THE FRAZER
FARM EQUIPMENT CORP.
AUBURN, IND.
NEW! One Man Portable Power Saw
[RETAIL PRICE $175.00 F. O. B. BOSTON]
SALLY SAW ELIMINATES THE HARD WORK OF WOOD CUTTING
A revolutionary new idea in a power-driven portable one-man saw that will fell or cut up hard or soft wood. The Sally Saw is unusually light in weight and can be easily carried and operated by any woodsman. Advanced simplified design and use of lightweight materials help to make the Sally Saw the most up-to-the-minute saw on the market.
SALLY SAW SUITABLE FOR LARGE OR SMALL OPERATORS
Whether you are a large operator in pulpwood cutting or an individual with a wood lot for firewood cutting, the Sally Saw will be found to be economical in first cost and low in operating cost. Sally Saw will save both time and money for all wood cutters. Weighs only 63 pounds.
Pictures show Sally Saw in actual operation and ease with which it is operated either for felling or cutting up.
SALLY SAW ECONOMICAL FOR ALL WOOD-SAWING OPERATIONS
The designers of the Sally Saw have used every idea of modern design to bring the cost of the Sally Saw and its operation down to as low a point as can be rendered and still offer a quality saw for all purposes. Remember, too, that in felling trees, no axe notching is necessary—simply make slight Sally Saw cut close to the ground and saw tree through from opposite side. Cuts through 11″ trees with one pass.
- 1½ H. P. 4 cycle C M W gasoline motor
- Clutch easily operated by wrist motion
- Hand clamp screw for adjusting angle of cut
- Front handle
- Guard over blade
- Adjustable saw support
- Leg supports saw
- Shaft housing
- Oil-less bearings
- Driving gears of hardened steel
- Saw can be replaced in one minute or less
For further details call CUMMINGS MACHINE WORKS, 9-11 Medford St., Boston 10, Mass.
Specifications
| Spec / feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Product name | Sally Saw |
| Tool type | One-man portable power saw |
| Saw type | Portable power-actuated rim-driven annular saw |
| Primary use | Felling, trimming / limbing, bucking, and cutting wood to length |
| Manufacturer | Cummings Machine Works |
| Manufacturer location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Address seen in sources | 9–11 Melcher Street / Medford Street, Boston, Massachusetts; the ads show “9–11 Medford St.” while VintageMachinery reports “9–11 Melcher St.” |
| Later seller / distributor shown in ads | Sally Saw Division, Frazer Farm Equipment Corp., Auburn, Indiana |
| Inventor / patentee | Henry A. Chase of Newtonville, Massachusetts |
| Patent assignee | Cummings Machine Works |
| Patent number | U.S. Patent 2,490,255 |
| Patent applied | October 5, 1945 |
| Patent granted | December 6, 1949 |
| Earliest documented date found | 1945, from a reported Sally Saw manual copyright and patent filing |
| Introduction period | Mid-to-late 1940s; described by collector sources as introduced just after World War II |
| Exact production years | Not confirmed; likely late 1940s, with no reliable end date found |
| Original advertised retail price | $175.00 F.O.B. Boston, from the ad you provided |
| Other reported retail price | $233.50, reported by collector sources |
| Weight | 63 pounds, from the ad you provided |
| Engine | 1.5 horsepower / 1½ H.P. gasoline engine |
| Engine type | Four-cycle gasoline engine |
| Engine maker / marking | CMW gasoline motor in the ad; collector sources identify it as a Lauson RSC four-stroke engine |
| Blade type | Flat annular circular saw blade |
| Blade drive | Rim-driven by gear engagement near / around the blade rim |
| Blade size | 16-inch circular blade, reported by collector and sales-listing sources |
| Blade tooth options | Different tooth configurations were reportedly available for different work requirements |
| Drive system | Engine drives the saw through a shaft; patent describes an internal-combustion motor driving the saw through a flexible shaft |
| Shaft / frame layout | Drive shaft runs through a tubular handle / frame section |
| Cutting head | Arcuate frame surrounding a large segment of the annular blade |
| Blade support | Frame and complementary support members hold the blade in its plane of rotation |
| Thrust control | Patent describes gears / supporting members arranged to resist blade thrust during cutting |
| Cutting angle adjustment | Hand clamp screw for adjusting angle of cut |
| Blade orientation | Designed to be positioned horizontally, vertically, or at intermediate angles |
| Clutch | Hand-operated clutch, advertised as operated by wrist motion |
| Handle | Front handle plus tubular shaft / handle structure |
| Blade guard | Guard over blade |
| Saw support | Adjustable saw support |
| Leg support | Legs support the saw |
| Bearings | Oil-less bearings |
| Gearing | Hardened-steel driving gears |
| Blade replacement claim | Saw blade can be replaced in one minute or less |
| Advertised cutting capacity | Cuts through 11-inch trees with one pass |
| Advertised wood types | Hard or soft wood |
| Advertised portability | Carried and operated by one woodsman |
| Advertised felling method | Make a slight Sally Saw cut near the ground, then saw through from the opposite side |
| Axe notching claim | Advertised as requiring no axe notching for felling |
| Approximate physical size from one sales listing | About 5 feet long and 2 feet tall |
| Known serial-number example | Serial no. 2510 reported in one sales listing |
| Machine classification | Handheld power tool / woodworking machine / circular saw / annular saw |
| Company background claim in ad | Cummings Machine Works described as building machinery since 1881 |
| Guarantee claim in ad | 5 Army-Navy “E” guarantee against defective workmanship and materials |
| Notable design limitation reported by collectors | Four-stroke engine orientation made transitions between felling and bucking awkward |
| Successor context | Became obsolete as lighter, more practical chainsaws became common |
