Thread: Restoring a Lucky Find

I have never restored a saw Wendy, but I have restored a few old machines. Electrolysis is the way to go in my opinion. It won't damage the saw and it's simple to do. Cleaned a lot of metal both big and small that way! I once made a tank on trailer out of cinder blocks and plastic sheeting to clean a large radial arm saw base.

Oh yea, nice score on that saw!

Jeff

Thanks Jeff.

Geeez, that must have been one huge electrolysis job

cheers
Wendy

Good score Wendy !

Are you going to make another handle for it? Some earlier pattern handles are beauties, and wouldn't be too hard a job to a Wood Whisperer such as yerself.

I could take a pic of one of mine, make it into a pattern & email it or post as an attachment if you'd like.


Cheers......................Sean

Ooo, that's suffered. There's some debate over using electrolysis on saw blades concerning hydrogen embrittlement or summat. Dunno, way over my head - but I do know that all those "in the know" seem to prefer to scrape (if necessary) and sand. Pete Taran has a good tutorial here, although personally with an etch and all to preserve I prefer to use the abrasive wrapped round a block.

Removing the handle's going to be a pain 'cos it's those el cheapo "rivets" instead of proper nuts. But as the handle's not exactly happy anyway, just work a screwdriver under the head and lever them off. If that doesn't work then drill them out. Don't know if you have access to replacements in your neck of the woods? You might have to find an even sorrier saw with reuseable saw nuts in order to pinch them. Then you get all the fun of making a replacement handle.



Cheers, Alf

G'day Wendy,

I have restored a few saws and have tried a lot of different techniques over the last 2-3 years. The quickest and one I have settled on in terms of blade restoration is also the cheapest.

Once you have the handle off, get yourself some wet and dry paper 240 grit should be ok. Pour a little metho on the saw blade and use the emery paper with a cork block to "sand" along the length of the saw. Every now and then you will need to wipe off the gunk with a rag and continue the process.

If you do it right this will not affect the makers marks (I have restored many disstons and if anything you can actually see the markings once the saw is clean). The process is much faster than using a wire brush or wire wheel. Anothe way to do it is a belt sander but that will destroy the makers marks!

By the looks of that handle you will probably want to make another one or find a replacement. In terms of getting the handle off, I tend to make my life easier by avoiding saws with rivets. Having said that it can still be a hassle trying to get the bolts off, some wd40 may help, worst case scenario drill them out and try to get replacements from another saw.

What I then do is try to restore the handle by lightly sanding and filling in a chips. I finish off with wax or 3 coats of poly or shellac (wax feels a lot nicer, poly looks a lot better).

The last step is to sharpen and set the saw which is often necessary when there is so much rust on the blade.

Good luck,

Marios

Niiiiiiiiiiice, Alf

Wendy, The shape of the handle suggests it is probably not that ole.

Anyway the cleaning/restoration process is all explained here. I've used it on about 10 saws and it works great.

The handles can be very hard to take off especially if they are rusted on. You might have to drill those rivets off and replace them with brass bolts turned into slotted screws. It's very easy to make the rounded heads and slotted nuts without a lathe if you want to do this.

The handle looks like it might disintegrate when you go to take it of. But with patience you can reglue it back together again. My dads old SP&J was in a similar state but it came back OK.

Thanks Guys

At least I can practice the restoration process as well as sharpening and setting on this saw, as it won't be a catastrophe if it doesn't end up being useable.

I intend on keeping the handle for use in an old tools montage.

Thanks Scooter, a handle pattern would be great

Marios - Are you serious?? I thought sanding would definitely take off the pattern, especially as using the saw normally takes the pattern off as well. Good news if sanding like you've said doesn't take off the pattern

Thanks Bob - nice to see how your Dad's saw turned out.

Cheers
Wendy

BobL did you remove the rust using electrolytic conversion or sand with metho?

Thanks for getting this thread up Wendy I'm about to my inherited collection as well, so all tips are appreciated.

Originally Posted by Bleedin Thumb

BobL did you remove the rust using electrolytic conversion or sand with metho?

Thanks for getting this thread up Wendy I'm about to my inherited collection as well, so all tips are appreciated.

Once you are experienced, electrolysis works very well for rust removal from metal blades, but for items that have an etch pattern or makers markings on the blade I found electrolysis lowers the contrast between the etch and the rest of the blade. Maybe someone else has a solution to this problem.
Therefore, for blades with etchings I only use physical methods of rust removal. This means you can go slow and easy on the etching area and apply a bit more vigour away from the etching.

I use a method very similar to that on Vintage Saws. They recommend physical scraping of the rust from the blade with a razor blade scraper. For very rusty saws this takes much patience, regular changes of blade and some practice to avoid scratching the blade. After this, vintage saws recommends using 320 grit paper and mineral spirits and for heavy rusting you can start with a 220 grit. Metho works fine but I found it dries out a bit too quickly (must be the Perth weather) so I use turps. For light rust I use turps and steel wool. On the area of the etching I start with a fresh 400 grit with turps or steel wool and turps, and work slowly. Usually the etching will get better as you sand it up to a point. However, if the blade is very badly corroded and/or worn, the etching may be very shallow and further sanding may reduced the contrast between the etch and the blade - this is where I stop sanding. I generally do not sand or polish out any pitting or try to get a mirror shine on the blade - I just get it to the point where the blade is as rust free as possible smooth so that it does not mark your work.

This is not a quick process, depending on the extent of the rust it take many hours to fully restore a saw.

At all times, consider this quote from VintageSaws "Always consider the age and rarity of a saw before undertaking a restoration. In general, only do as much cleaning as you need to."

"Marios - Are you serious?? I thought sanding would definitely take off the pattern, especially as using the saw normally takes the pattern off as well. "

Hey Wendy, the pattern should not come off in a decent saw just with use because it should be properly etched into the blade, and it will not come off if you use the method I use. On cheaper saws where the pattern is painted on it will come off regardsless of how you try to clean it .

Out of all my Disstons, the only one I ruined the pattern on was the one I used a belt sander on and sanded to polished metal (dont ask, didnt know any better).

The key to this is good quality wet and dry paper, don't use the cheap stuff as it wont last.

I also agree that the SJ saw does not look too old but thats a benefit because you can muck around without worrying too much about it.

I've managed to get hold of a few Disstons at Sunday markets, they all looked shocking initially but come up very well. Look for saws with good handles and avoid saws with too much pitting as they can be bad news. I bought most of mine for less than $10 each .

Rip and crosscut saws are cheap compared to planes and it is pretty easy to get a good collection, tenon and dovetail saws are much more difficult to find and tend to be more expensive.

Good luck and be warned, handsaws do multiply like planes

Any sanding should be on the rust (not metal) until as much of the rust is gone as you think is appropriate. If you want your etching embedded in a mirror finish you will probably lose some of it. As for using a belt sander . . . .

As the others have said and linked web sites show - Go with the process of scraping the blade followed by wet'n'dry. It gives the best looking saws.

Electrolysised saws look absolutely shocking, probably on even par with one I have seen that someone took to with an orbital sander.

Leif Hanson's site is a great one for old saws, second link down on making your own saw nuts.

Will get onto the pattern.


Cheers.....................Sean