Handsaw restoration

[Bushmiller]

Paul

I wasn't looking at using sandpaper just one of those scourer type belts
I bought one a couple of years ago when the local hardware was closing

and yes I have a couple of sacrifical saws here someplace

actually have another saw coming - was sitting at son's training the other day sanding the Francis Wood handle
One of the Dad's said - "haven't you finished that yet?"
replied "Nah I only do it here as it whiles away the time"
he said "I've an saw belonging to my father - been hanging on the same nail for 3 or 4 years - I'm not going to use it, you can have it"
"Thanks"

yay another saw - could be scraper blades though, as he's no idea what it could be or even how old.

actually that raises another question

What's the best way to cut down an old blade for scrapers?


PS
I know a number of people without mobile phones
my son shakes his head at mine as I only use it for calls. I believe it can take photos but why bother

Nick

I'm not familiar with the scourer belt, but it sounds interesting.

I think one way of cutting a saw plate easily is with a thin cutting disc in an angle grinder. Keep swabbing it with water and wiping dry before continuing if you think it is getting too hot. I plan on cutting the teeth off this hardpoint saw in the same way. The thin cutting discs are fairly quick in this guage of steel; Doesn't have time to build up heat. Use a piece of flat bar clamped to the plate if a square or straight cut is important.

Hardpointers 002.jpg

BTW these were the oils I used on the tote. Just to add a bit of colour (to the thread).

Handsaw resto 8.jpg

There was another oil I could have used (on the right) but I didn't

Regards
Paul

PS I did hear somewhere along the line that mobiles could be used to make telephone calls. Amazing!

[pmcgee]

Doesn't have time to build up heat. Use a piece of flat bar clamped to the plate if a square or straight cut is important.

Either BobL or IanW has said they clamped either one or two bars of metal along the cutline ... I think more as heatsinks.

PS I did hear somewhere along the line that mobiles could be used to make telephone calls. Amazing!

I pooh-pooh'ed a smart phone for a few years ... while still borrowing Lois' Samsung Galaxy S3 'cos it took very good photos.
But then I broke my "tradies" Nokia for the second time and went to a Samsung Galaxy S4 ... and I'm sold.
Definitely needs a tough plastic protective cover (Telstra $90 ... ebay $25) and is kinda rubbish as a phone ...
but the camera/video is pretty damn fine ... check email ... view web+youtube ... facebook ... get reminders + check ebay ...
handheld computer basically.

Cheers,
Paul

[IanW]

..... What's the best way to cut down an old blade for scrapers?

As BobL recommended to me quite a few years ago - 1mm cutoff disc in the AG. I do clamp the plate between two bits of steel, mainly to give me a guide for a straight cut & also to hold the plate still while I go at it. As someone said, if you are quick & sure with the AG, there is little heating more than a squillionth of a mm either side of the cut, in thin plate. I've used a couple of the offcut strips (i.e. that weren't clamped within the 'heatsink'), for bowsaw blades & as far as I can tell, there was no softening of the steel at all.

..... I know a number of people without mobile phones
my son shakes his head at mine as I only use it for calls. I believe it can take photos but why bother

I agree absolutely! At my stage of general disintegration, I can't read the screens on the effing things, even with my specs on, so they are of no use to me for net surfing. Having a portable phone which I can use (at my discretion, I only switch it on when I need to) to make calls is sufficiently 20th century for me.

And I have a DSLR with some expensive lenses to take pics (a real camera!)

Cheers,

[Sawdust Maker]

As BobL recommended to me quite a few years ago - 1mm cutoff disc in the AG. I do clamp the plate between two bits of steel, mainly to give me a guide for a straight cut & also to hold the plate still while I go at it. As someone said, if you are quick & sure with the AG, there is little heating more than a squillionth of a mm either side of the cut, in thin plate. I've used a couple of the offcut strips (i.e. that weren't clamped within the 'heatsink'), for bowsaw blades & as far as I can tell, there was no softening of the steel at all.



I agree absolutely! At my stage of general disintegration, I can't read the screens on the effing things, even with my specs on, so they are of no use to me for net surfing. Having a portable phone which I can use (at my discretion, I only switch it on when I need to) to make calls is sufficiently 20th century for me.

And I have a DSLR with some expensive lenses to take pics (a real camera!)

Cheers,

Thanks for that advice re cutting

A real camera and good glass is the only way to go
I reckon my 8MP DSLR will out perform 16 MP phones

[Bushmiller]

The sacrificial Disston mentioned in earlier posts had a medallion which was just plain sh*tty: There is almost no other word for it. I wondered if it was restorable.

I think it was one of the nickel plated type and is the smaller size used on the Disston panel saws. I thought I might try soaking it in CLR, but it turns out SWMBO had used the last of it and not replaced it. I trooped off to the hardware and found a similar product made by Diggers, which was half the price of the CLR (> $20!).

The is the horrible looking medallion with only the keystone and scales barely visible and no writing discernable. I can see the circle of dots, but only because I know they were there and I was looking for them.


Handsaw resto 10 002.jpgHandsaw resto 10 001.jpg

Pretty ugly

I soaked them in the product intended to remove calcium, lime and rust with this result:

Handsaw resto 10 003.jpg

This was after soaking in solution three times and a little cleaning with some fine steel wool after each soak. Not very encouraging with a slightly cleaner look to it and two or three bright highlights.

So then I reverted to the battery charger and electrolysis. In fact I am still using the same solution I batched up for all the handsaws in this thread. I clipped the negative terminal to the medallion and dunked it in the brew.

Handsaw resto 10 004.jpg

And it came up like so with all the writing legible and looking half way presentable for something in past times I would have hoisted.

Handsaw resto 10 005.jpg

I would be interested as to how others amongst you would have tackled this one. Certainly if the medallion had been brass I would have gone down the CLR track and what I don't know is whether the orginal "CLR" brand would have performed better.

This saw, it can now be seen, was made in Canada.

Regards
Paul

[Sawdust Maker]

It was suggested elsewhere that Diston Canada medallions may have been used on saws made in Aus.

"Between the wars, Disston produced in Sydney. I believe the saw plates and medallions shipped from Canada (Commonwealth tariff rules made both the Canadian and Australian factories logical), with handles made in Australia along with final assembly and sharpening. From there, the saws could be exported to anywhere in the Commonwealth, so NZ and India were natural markets. The medallions are often Canadian pattern, sometimes even marked ‘Disston Canada’.

Disston sold up to HK Porter, who in turn sold to Sandvik"

[Bushmiller]

It was suggested elsewhere that Diston Canada medallions may have been used on saws made in Aus.

"Between the wars, Disston produced in Sydney. I believe the saw plates and medallions shipped from Canada (Commonwealth tariff rules made both the Canadian and Australian factories logical), with handles made in Australia along with final assembly and sharpening. From there, the saws could be exported to anywhere in the Commonwealth, so NZ and India were natural markets. The medallions are often Canadian pattern, sometimes even marked ‘Disston Canada’.

Disston sold up to HK Porter, who in turn sold to Sandvik"

Thanks Nick

I had read that Disston had manufacturing outlets in Canada, the UK and Australia primarily to circumvent import tariffs, but I hadn't appreciated they used a Canadian medallion.

Also I didn't know that Porter sold to Sandvik.

Regards
Paul

[Sawdust Maker]

Paul

I've had a go using the Multitool with the scourer belt
small write up here

I probably need a bit more time with it but I think it will save time as less time will be needed at the sandpaper stage

[Bushmiller]

Paul

I've had a go using the Multitool with the scourer belt
small write up here

I probably need a bit more time with it but I think it will save time as less time will be needed at the sandpaper stage

I see'd it and have replied.



Regards
Paul

[AJOE123]

Went to a swap meet last sunday and rehomed two distressed saws.
A D8 with a reasonable handle and a brass backed tenon saw.
Both rusty;the D8 worse.
On cleaning the backsaw with hot soapy water and a green scourer the makers mark became visible as did the medallion.
The D8 blade was cleaned with a blue JOSCO brumby disk in the electric drill;this allows the abrasive effort to be aligned with the teeth.
The etch area was cleaned separately(no etch found).The blade has a crack in the middle;so into the scraper pile.The handle has lovely colour with a superficial crack;horns good.
The back saw is a Tyzack Sons and Turner but not an elephant saw; it has "old O trademark" which is a second level saw to the elephant.
Still seems pretty classy to me and will sit well next to a few other Tyzacks I have.Split nuts have been got at so handle will not be separated.
The medallion is WARRANTED SUPERIOR.
Washed the handle and then applied Oxalic Acid to reduce stains and enhance the colour.
Will apply a dilute wash coat of blonde shellac and french polish the pair.
Cheers
TonyD8K as fndK medallion233.jpgTSTbacksaw split nuts.jpgTSTbacksaw logo.jpgTSTbacksaw medallion2.jpgTSTbacksaw as fnd233.jpgD8K handle wet2.jpgD8K blade crack.jpgD8K as foundK 233.jpgD8K handle wet obverse.jpgTSTbacksaw post wash.jpg

[planemaker]

Nice work Tony. Nice job with the handles on both saws. The Tyzack looks to be a very early model. Any idea on the date with this one. I have a couple of later model backsaws by Tyzack & Sons & Turner. The finger hole is quite large on both accommodating a 4 finger grip with ease. Not to my liking as I prefer the smaller traditional 3 finger fit. Yours look a much better in size. Great pick up.

Stewie;

[AJOE123]

Stewie
Picked them up in Koroit for 10 Zlotys. Will you attend the Naracoorte swap?
I include snaps of another Tyzack backsaw with a nice handle but butchered blade and back.
I add snaps of Sorby back saws for handle comparison.
I date the "old O" Tyzack around 1900;I believe split nuts were available until WW 1.
Tony

[Sawdust Maker]

Joe

That Tyzack Sons and Turner scrubbed up nice, good score
what's it sharpened as?

The D8 tote looks good


Pity that second Tyzack saw was shortened a "Stubby" Saw

The tote on the Sorby looks very similar to my 'Francis Wood' (here) Post 120 at the bottom of the page
I'm still working on this saw

[planemaker]

Another early backsaw Tony. Very nice. Robert Sorby was at the Kangaroo Works from 1837 - 1934. You mentioned the split nuts were used up until WW1. That being 1914. So the date on your saw is somewhere between 1837 - 1914.

Naracoorte Swap Meet. 3rd & 4th May. Never been to one. Much in the way of early woodworking tools.

Stewie;

[pmcgee]

Hi Tony ...

maybe you have plenty/enough in the handsaw varieties ... but that D8 looks pretty good in the fullness of the blade.
I wonder if a hole drilled at the end of that crack would make it just as usable as ever?
It looks pretty course to me ... maybe 4ppi?

A lot of these old course-pitched saws have the teeth well raked back ... almost pyramids.
Certainly the english ones, that I gather were cutting a lot of softwood.

I like the backsaws too, particularly the Sorby handle.

RayG's site says Wm Tyzack & Sons were around in 1852, but records Wm Tyzack & Sons & Turner in Whites 1911 directory, so pre-WW1 sounds pretty good to me.

Did the D8 handle get oxalic also?

Thanks for the pictures,
Paul