Thread: Diston restoration

faced with the same situation i cut a slot so i could engage a slot headed screwdriver on the split nuts on one side of the handle, think i used a small section of hacksaw held in a handle designed for that purpose, and or a dremel with a small cutting disc, if there is another solution,great but removing the handle from the saw , wow ,you can clean both much easier, Ross

Perfect. Thanks Ross.

I wasnt sure if I was missing a trick so thought best to ask the brains trust.

Adam

I am assuming that the saw "screws" have no slot on either side as I think that is what you have pictured. If that is the case they are not "screws," but press rivets similar to cutlers rivets used on knives. It is possible to separate them if care is taken.

The way I have done it (only once to prove it could be done) was to use two very fine bladed screw drivers. Dig them under the head of the rivet from opposite sides (do it on the reverse or right side as any damage will be minimal and not so noticeable) and lever them up. To create the leverage you will need to place a raised bar under each screwdriver blade. You could use a large nail (on it's side of course ) but it may want to dig into the wood. A flat bar would be better. Go gently to begin with until you can work the blades under the head of the rivet.

You should be able reuse the rivets if you have extracted them carefully. You will find the shaft of the rivets are quite slim so it is important to lever with equal pressure from each side. You can replace the rivets by hitting them with a hammer, but a better way is to press them together with a bench or engineers vice.

Good luck.

Regards
Paul

PS: I agree with Ross on the ease of cleaning both the saw plate and the handle. In fact, I would probably give the whole idea a miss if I could not remove the handle.

Adam,

I feel mildly guilty, it will possibly pass quite quickly.

Paul’s suggestion is ok, but there is quite the risk off bruising the Timber around the Rivets.
If you have any thin shim stock or very thin spatula, I would use that first to bear the load of the screw drivers.

Saying all that, it’s your first saw(Waves of mildl guilt hitting me), an it’s not a hugely collectible saw, unfortunately,
I would drill a small 2 or 3 mm hole trough each of the rivets on one side only (Purist will be hating me [emoji3064]) an using a suitable punch(cut down nail) drift them apart.

Cheers Matt.

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Adam,

I feel mildly guilty, it will possibly pass quite quickly.

Paul’s suggestion is ok, but there is quite the risk off bruising the Timber around the Rivets.
If you have any thin shim stock or very thin spatula, I would use that first to bear the load of the screw drivers.

Saying all that, it’s your first saw(Waves of mildl guilt hitting me), an it’s not a hugely collectible saw, unfortunately,
I would drill a small 2 or 3 mm hole trough each of the rivets on one side only (Purist will be hating me [emoji3064]) an using a suitable punch(cut down nail) drift them apart.

Cheers Matt.

No guilt needed Matt, at least for now.

Once I butcherv the thing with my first attempt sharpening a saw, then you can apologise to the purists for sending it my way....

Hi Adam. I have had the same issue with some Spear and Jackson back saws. I left well enough alone and cleaned up round the handle as best I could. Bare Stanley blades can scrape off a fair bit of gunk from the metal. I tend to just use Methylated Spirits and steel wool to clean the wood and finish with a BLO mix. This keeps the character in the handle. I only ever sand if I have made a repair and are trying to blend it in with original.

Hi taz01,

having read and looked at your photos I think you have an Aussie Disston saw.

I reckon the double Disston medalions were used on Aussie assembled imported parts after WW II

It is not a high grade saw but, will be a good worker when restoration is finished.

With this type of saw I would not bother to try and remove the handle with all the problems

that that will produce.

I have a scraper that will remove the rust right up to and around the handle, lightly paper afterwards.

Use worn paper or steel wool on the handle and rivets, then refinish with shellac then wax.

Let us know how it all goes.

Graham.

Hi all,

A bit of an update and a few questions

So I decided to possibly lose any chance of joining the disston club by having to drill out a couple of the pins.

While cleaning the plate I noticed the rust was at its heaviest where the handle was attached. Some of the rivets came loose thanks to the methods mentioned above, but some just refused to play.

Thankfully, the rust was far less than I imagined and the plate is cleaning up nicely through following Paul's post on restoring saws.

Some BLO followed by shellac had brought some life back into the handle.

It's getting close to assembly time which raises the following questions:

Does anyone stock replacement press rivets or do i need to substitute with saw nuts? The saw is more to be a user than a true restoration, but if I can use the same hardware i will. I have to use one of the saved press rivets to reattach the disston emblem anyway.

Secondly, do you coat the plate under the handle with any rust preventative? I'm sure years of misuse caused the issue but I'm not sure everything got cleaned out of the handle.

Finally, what size saw file is usually used for a D8?

Thanks in advance,

Adam

Originally Posted by taz01

... Finally, what size saw file is usually used for a D8?....

Adam, let's do the easy one first. I don't know if the post-war Disstons are stamped with the tooth pitch but older ones certainly were. Look for a number stamped near the bottom of the heel on the medallion side. If there is a number stamped there, it will be the ppi, which is one more than the tpi. Typically, for a saw like yours it will be 8 or 9, but may be different. Be aware saws can be re-toothed, of course, but it's not highly likely for a saw like yours. In any case, it's a very simple matter to check if you still have a ruler marked in inches...

Then just look up the table given for file size vs tpi on the LN website or here (or wherever; there are others, but they are all pretty similar).

I doubt you'll find new replacement sleeve rivets like the ones on the saw now. I think the easiest course will be to use what survived the deconstruction to replace the medallion and find some old Glover style bolts rescued from a basket case to replace the ones that haven't survived. Not sure how well the sleeves will grip after being pulled apart, but I'd put a bit of Loctite on them as I was re-pressing, that should stick 'em up good...
Cheers,
ian