Thread: Assistance with saw refurb

Destroy the handle pm. Those handles are uncomfortable and ugly. There are plenty of patterns on the net of handles that you can make. Try your local tip shop for old saws that you can salvage saw nuts from and make something that at least looks decent.

They are certainly uncomfortable . I have an older "unbreakable" S&J handle on a panel saw. You wouldn't believe it was the same manufacturer.

I would drill out the rivets, reshape the handle, and return it with new bolts.

The handle can either be reshaped, or it can be replaced with new. Here is a Stanley mitre saw (by Disston) that I reshaped about 15 or so years ago ...



Regards from Perth

Derek

I have a Tyzack saw that had a handle like that. It did come with brass screws however. The handle is beech and can take a bit of reshaping however. Those rivet things will need to be drilled out or cut off. I had a go at a panel saw with those and there is no other way I could find. Pics of reshaped handle.
Regards
John

Pianoman

1. The rivets can be drilled out and discarded.
2. As burraboy, derekcohen and indeed yourself have observed, the handle is poor: Make that very poor.
3. This is the perfect opportunity to make up your own handle. Source the saw screws from where ever you can or pm me if you have difficulty as I have spares.
4. Beware. Others will point out this is a slippery slope towards addiction.
5. The movement in the handle will be resolved with a new handle unless the holes in the saw plate have been made too large. You will have to compare the holes drilled for the rivets against holes suitable for saw screws. The holes for saw screws need to be a close clearance fit or even a slight interference fit for the male half. Rob Streeper, who contributes to this Forum, recommends drilling the hole undersize and then reaming to fit. The rivet holes and screw holes may not be the same diameter. However you can drill new holes if that is the case, but using the existing holes is much less hassle as the saw plate is hardened (but not super hard, particularly with this saw, and of course relatively thin) and you will need good drills and preferably a drill press to form new holes.

This is a link to some templates that you may find useful. These are some of the best looking handles ever produced:

http://www.tgiag.com/saw-handle-scans.html

Even if you decide not to use them, you can gain an idea of sizing and angle and design/modify your own handle.

Regards
Paul

PS: If you plan on using a "special" piece of timber for the handle and as this is your first attempt I would recommend knocking up a practice handle from any old rubbish first. The order of business is to cut out the rough shape, cut the slot for the saw plate, drill the holes and only then finish shaping. The saw slot and holes are the parts most likely to go wrong on you.

Many thanks Bushmiller . Especially for the advice around dealing with the movement and the workflow for creating a new handle.

Alasdair

Actually, PM, to fulfill the purpose for which you acquired the saw, there is no real need to remove the handle - a bit of rattle is annoying but doesn't really affect use all that much unless it's extreme. You could practice away at sharpening & setting, and nake some alterations to the handle, without having to remove it (in fact leaving it on the saw makes it easier to hold while you attack it with rasp & sandpaper). If you get to like the thing, then think more seriously about replacement down the track.

Be warned, the holes in the saw plate were likely punched with the handle in-situ, which pushes a flange of metal into the wood on the far side. So when you get the rivets out, you'll find the handle still won't come off easily, it will require quite a tug. It may not be so, but it's pretty likely from my experiencee. If you need help, there are a few tutorials on handle-making in old posts, though they have probably lost their pics.

My first 'good' saw was a Tyzack, a more up-market, brass-backed model of about the same vintage as yours, & it had 'proper' Glover type bolts, which made removal of its equally fugly handle a lot easier. I replaced it pretty soon after I got it. I was rather taken with pistol type handles at the time, and thought they looked very smart on small saws, so that's what it got (also easier to make on a first try than a closed handle ): Original replacement.jpg

It was my first serious try at making a handle & I had no idea what I was doing, so I borrowed an old Disston with a handle I liked, & traced its outline. That saw had a closed handle, so to get my pistol-grip, I simply left out the return from the toe of the grip to the cheeks, which explains the slightly odd shape. This led to my serendipitous discovery of the importance of 'hang-angle' - the rather upright grip made this saw perfect for cutting dovetails, and for the next 25 years it was my go-to saw for that purpose.

A few years ago, with many, many more saw handles under my belt, I decided to return it to its original closed-handle status, with something that would look a bit more 'professional'. Both handles are Black Walnut, which is an easy wood to work & quite a good choice for saw handles if you happen to have any: Second replacement.jpg

Since learning to make my own saws, I've made a dovetail saw I like even better, so despite the freshen-up, the old girl doesn't get taken out much any more.....

Cheers,

Pianoman

IanW makes a good point about removing the rivets and the way the holes are punched. Early saw plates were drilled with a multiple drilling head, but by the time rivets were used I am sure they would have been punched. Both methods leave a burr on the exit side.

When refurbishing a saw I normally remove the burr by rotating a large diameter drill bit. It can even be done by rotating the bit with fingers. That is after the fact and does not help with handle and rivet removal. I have a device to help, which is just a three inch nail in a handle and used upside down. It does not have to be in a handle, but cut off the point. Prise the easy half off first and then use the nail to drive out the remaining half.

P1030576.JPGP1030577.JPG

Although I have shown three sizes I only ever seem to use the smallest. The handles are quite unnecessary for your purposes, but at the time I was trying to compete, in my mind at any rate, and futilely I hasten to add, with the likes of IanW, derekcohen and others who all produce beautiful work even down to these most menial of tools.

If you decide to remove the back this is a childishly simplistic device to do that if you have an engineers vice (and a hammer), but remember to use some soft jaws (timber cushions) to grip the inverted sawplate otherwise you'll be sorry. Really sorry!

P1030101.JPG

It works just as well if the kerf in the timber is cut straight .

Regards
Paul

Thanks for the tips about the rivets and plate removal IanW and Bushmiller. I had a suspicion that they might not be straight forward to remove .