The great handtool refurbishment

[michael_m]

Over the last few years I have bought and generally acquired quite a few old, secondhand and veteran tools. Almost all of them I have tuned up just enough to get them working, and then used them to make stuff with. Most of them though, are still scungy, rusty, damaged and poorly housed.

So, I've decided my next big project is to fix up and refurbish all my tools. This thread is going to be my record of the repairs and changes I make (and if anyone sees me doing anything particularly stupid, please tell me!).

First up, I bought a job lot of 22 chisels about 5 years ago, and only used about 6 of them, because I didn't know how to sharpen very well, and most of their handles were shot to pieces, either with woodworm or ill-usage. Since then, I've bought some other odds-n-sods including some bergs, toledos and wards - all in a simialr condition. So, I pulled the handles off.

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Then, I sorted them into bevel-edge and firmers, took a couple of pictures of them and have done nothing else.

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I'm going to turn new handles for them all, but need to work out a shape that I like the look of, and the feel of. I'll also probably put hoops on the end of some of the firmer chisels to make them more tolerant of friendly persuasion.

The first proper tool refurb I have done though, is on a Spear & Jackson saw that has seen better days.

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It was very rusty and while it had a wooden handle, it was ugly, uncomfortable and still ugly. Plus, I wanted to practice making a saw handle before I get started on making my new backsaws.

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Did I mention it was very rusty? An extended vinegar bath, wet-n-dry sandpaper, nylon rust pads and much elbow grease later, I had all possible rust removed. The blade has a lot of pitting, but the vinegar has made it inert. It doesn't look new, but it doesn't look one step removed from the junkheap either.

For the handle, I used a pattern found on the Wenzloff & Sons website for a Groves crosscut saw. The handle is made from blackwood and has lovely chatoyance that the pictures just don't show.

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To fit the saw, I recut the back of the blade to make it straighter and more vertical. I cut the slot on the bandsaw, as its narrow blade's kerf was a perfect fit for the saw blade.

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I used connector bolts because they were 10 for $6 delivered, vs. $16 each + postage for real saw nuts.

Then, I had a go at sharpening it for crosscut (it was rip, but the handle was for a crosscut saw, so why not?). I don't know how good a job I did, but before sharpening it took 27 strokes to cut across a 90x35 piece of pine. After sharpening, it took 13. This is the same as my bahco hardpoint crosscut saw, so I'm pretty happy. The cut was straight and wasn't very aggressive, but I didn't set the teeth after sharpening, instead leaving them with their original set. So far, so good.

The next saw I'll have a go at is this one:

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I'll make its handle to be the Groves rip-pattern partner to the crosscut one I've just made. Refurbing is fun!

[IanW]

...The next saw I'll have a go at is this one:

_IGP2601.JPG

I'll make its handle to be the Groves rip-pattern partner to the crosscut one I've just made. Refurbing is fun!

Michael, first, congratulations on joining the 'refurbishing old-tools' club. Re-fitting tools with decent woodwork is a bit of a passion of mine, too (not that anyone would have noticed ).

You've probably worked this out for yourself, but that saw looks like it might be a hard-point, so you may need to cut off the existing teeth & re-tooth it, to make a 'normal' saw. The hardening only goes about a mm above the bottom of the gullets, so you only lose a little more than the depth of the existing teeth....

Cheers,

[burraboy]

You've probably worked this out for yourself, but that saw looks like it might be a hard-point, so you may need to cut off the existing teeth & re-tooth it, to make a 'normal' saw. The hardening only goes about a mm above the bottom of the gullets, so you only lose a little more than the depth of the existing teeth....

Cheers,

So Ian, how good is the quality of the steel they use for hardpoints? How does it compare with traditional saw steel? And how about the relative thicknesses, while you're at it?

[pmcgee]

that saw looks like it might be a hard-point

I dunno, Ian.
They got kinda spacey-looking at one stage ... maybe 60s or 70s ??
There was a Disston D-100 with an aluminium handle that looks kinda like this ... and S&Js too.
I thought this could be Disston, S&J or Sandvik.

Maybe we could get a closer photo of the tooth-line ... but its looked pretty regular-shaped to me ... ?

Nice handle, MM !

Cheers,
Paul

[IanW]

So Ian, how good is the quality of the steel they use for hardpoints? How does it compare with traditional saw steel? And how about the relative thicknesses, while you're at it?

BB, so far I've used about 4 or 5 different types of H-pointers, so can't claim to have done exhaustive research. They all seemed to fall within the range of what I've come to expect from "regular" saw plate, and responded to the file ok. Bear in mind that even saws meant to be re-sharpened vary quite a bit in how easily they file - some are downright file killers! The HP saws I've handled don't seem to be tensioned, & are certainly not taper ground, so the longer handsaws tend to be clunky compared with a nice old Disston.

Plate gauge varies with saw type, & I don't know what the full range is, but the handsaws of around 20" & up that I've used were all around 30 thou (~.8mm), give or take a few thou, while the 1/2 dozen backsaws I've cut up (all Irwins) were about 25 thou (~.64mm), which is a very appropriate gauge for backsaws of around 300mm long or longer, I reckon. So far, I haven't come across anything finer than that. For saws 250mm and smaller, I like to use 20 thou plate, or even 15 thou for dovetail saws...

Edit: Forgot to say, I've got two backsaws made from recycled HP blades that I use a lot. Both perform very well.
Also forgot to say, that I haven't been able to correlate hardness of steel (as judged by how hard it is to file) with any stunning increase in the time it stays sharp. There must be a difference, Disston & others made rock-hard saws they claimed would last longer between sharpenings. I suppose if I pushed my saws longer I'd notice it more, but I try to keep my saws sharp at all times - a quick touch-up only takes a couple of minutes. (Well, there are times when I push a saw to dullness, but not very often... )
Cheers,

[michael_m]

The saw's teeth aren't hardened - I've just been out to the shed and a file shapes/cuts them easily. I've cleaned that blade too with vinegar, pads and 'paper (sounds a bit like a nursery rhyme, doesn't it?) and there's no name, stamp or etching on it anywhere. Nor anywhere on the plastic monstrosity of a handle either.

I know the saw dates back to the early '70s, which is when my father bought it, but beyond that I have no other info on it. I view it as a good learning project before I attempt to fix up better saws.

[Bushmiller]

Nice going Michael M.

Quite lot of time is expended in restoring old tools and handsaws would be one of the most time consuming of all. It may be that if you are going to put all that effort in you should try a better grade of saw, which can be had for next to nothing from garage sales and the like.

To give some idea of the time involved (I expect this has already dawned on you) I brought two restored saws into the house this evening and proudly plonked them on the kitchen table and unwraped the disgustingly dirty cloth I had swathed them in. SHMBO made suitable appreciative sounds (I have her trained well, although not as well as she has me trained) and asked me how long they had taken.

I thought about it for a moment and said it was difficult to say. This was primarily because I had done two at the same time and other jobs too. All added up I announced at least a day: a twelve hour day.

Go for a trusted brand and keep the also-rans for quick experimenting when you are unsure .

Nice work though: Love the Wenzloff style handle. I have a few pictures of their saws for inspiration on some future projects .

Just while I think of it, IanW will tell you how easy it is to cut saw plate with a thin cutting disc in an angle grinder. Goes though like butter.

Regards
Paul

[Sawdust Maker]

That is one very nice handle - watching with interest

[code4pay]

Love that saw handle very nice excellent work.

[michael_m]

Next in line, some chisels. They were the first tools I ever bought from eBay, and I think I've spent a total of $100 for about 30 chisels. Some were able to be used straight away, and so I did, but the rest have just sat unloved and unuseable with pitted blades, chipped edges and broken handles.

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So, into the vinegar they went. I scrubbed them to get rid of all proud rust, but didn't take them back to brightness. I want them to show their age. Then, to the grinder! I ground the edge back past the broken corners and chips and brought them back to square, then re-established a bevel

Then, I turned some handles from a length of jarrah I had been given. I had just enough for 5 handles, with no stuff-ups.

I ended up with 5 handles, and the realization that I suck at production turning! Somehow, each handle was not like the other. However, they are all handles, so that's an advance on what they had before.

I used some copper capillary tubing for the ferrules. It's interesting in that it's not perfectly round, making it hard to get a clean polish on it as it spun on the lathe, but at 50c a ferrule, I'm not complaining.
I finished the handles with shellac while still on the lathe. The handle on the right I made first and finished with BLO, before I had decided on shellac. Oh well, too late. I guess if I really want the others to look the same I can sand and BLO them too.

The longest part of the whole refurb was flattening the backs. Some of them looked as though they had been attacked with a belt sander and their backs were all over the shop. I haven't got them beautifully flat along their entire lengths, but they are sufficiently flat and smooth to work with.

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So there they are. from L-R, a Toledo, a Pearson, an EA Berg, unknown and a Toledo. Razor-sharp and ready to go (for some, for the first time in decades).

Thanks for looking, Mike

[planemaker]

Nice work Mike.

Stewie;

[delbs]

Great job all around, i particularly like the chisels. Partly because i love restoring tools but also because of the jarrah, i love the look of it and think its a great hardwood to use as a handle.

[brontehls]

I dunno, Ian.
They got kinda spacey-looking at one stage ... maybe 60s or 70s ??
There was a Disston D-100 with an aluminium handle that looks kinda like this ... and S&Js too.
I thought this could be Disston, S&J or Sandvik.

Maybe we could get a closer photo of the tooth-line ... but its looked pretty regular-shaped to me ... ?

Nice handle, MM !

Cheers,
Paul

Agree about the handle - very nice

I have two S&J's which I bought new in 1976 or 7 - crosscut and rip with identical plastic handles - very similar to this in shape but no screws rivets or nuts - looks like it was molded directly to the blade

Neil

[chook]

I has been scientifically proven that it is impossible to turn two handles on a lathe and make them the same. It is due to a Quantum Mechanical effect on the relationship between time, momentum and Plank's Constant. So don't feel to bad about it.

[Clinton1]

The longest part of the whole refurb was flattening the backs.

At 5 down and 25 to go... i hope you have a diamond stone and a willingness to sweat.