Thread: A saw I should probably have walked past...

Well, Colin, bringing this old girl back to life may not be as complex as raising a Lazarus, but it will be up there! It's a pity they can't talk - it must have a story or two to tell.

Resurrecting a saw in this condition is more work than making one from scratch, I reckon, but when you get it working, & if it turns out to be a decent bit of metal, you'll have both a nice saw & a nice feeling, because you rescued a tool from the very brink....

Cheers,

For $5 for a nibbed sawblade, I'd say this is a perfect learning opportunity.

Here's some thoughts ...

The (new) handle is from a Disston #7, best guess. Someone has whacked on a repair of oregon pine or whatever with the grain running vertically.
It would be beech rather than apple, and should be a good quality handle.
Might even be a step up from the original, which might have had less shape to it.
You can find heaps of handle repair info online - people tend to get beech from an old woodie or a stanley transitional plane (boy, do they cop it).

It was a year reading before I tried repairing the mouth of a woodie and a while later than that before I would even glue a plane handle that had broken in two ... so up to you on the repair job, but gluing back on a suitable piece is zero sweat. IanW did a horn on his Disston thumbhole rehab.
The next job would be shaping the new section (before & after gluing) - I haven't jumped in there yet.

Notice that the sawbolt holes are two different sizes? The bigger holes will be the new ones made for this handle ... and explain it hanging at the angle it is. Would it fit over the old holes if they were enlarged? It would probably hang better that way, but you can do that any time.

Glover patent screws that are the 'modern' type started from 1887. Joe Federici's blog (http://positiverake.com/?cat=6&paged=2) and the wk tools site (http://www.wkfinetools.com/hus-saws/...rews-index.asp) tell me Disston first came up with a similar idea in 1876 ... which maybe corresponds to the smaller holes. Split-nut bolt holes are tiny.

I don't have any experience with electrolysis or molasses etc yet, so bear that in mind.
I'd first look around the heel region to see if I could find a ppi stamp. If it's there you have an idea how much plate is gone or not. The older stamps can be quite small in size.

Not having split-nuts, the sawblade probably doesn't have a makers stamp ... so the question is can you reveal an etch?

Then after all that clean-up stuff, comes the practicality of how straight the toothline is, and sharpening.

Sounds like a good project!

Cheers,
Paul

I meant to add this, from Joe's blog ...

Pop it in a vinegar bath overnight. Rust turns black and can be removed with a kitchen scourer. Dry plate and spray with WD40.

DSCN0184.jpgDSCN0185.jpg

Do you need to support them up off the bottom a bit?
and is that an axe head?? maybe broad- or hewing-?? hmmmmm?

I got these four saws here (http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-x-Antique-...vip=true&rt=nc) the same day I cleaned the miners handsaw.

The long skinny one has the dark stable rust ... quite smooth ... and seems tightly bonded to the steel, quite resistant to the usual abrasives - which I'm normally using for only 5min to half an hour. I'd like to try some different methods on it.
Plus I have an old english saw ... super-pitted, red rusty, not even a stamp to find. Same deal.

Cheers,
Paul

I put whatever I can find at hand in the tub to raise the saws off the bottom, although I'm not sure it is necessary. The plastic bottom of the tub is bowed and the saw plate is not smooth. I've used a few hand plane shavings, small pieces of veneer and those cheap thin bamboo skewers to raise the saws a tad.

Yes, it is a hatchet head, flat on one side.

I don't want to highjack Colin's thread so I'll comment on your saws by email.

I couldn't have walked past the saw, Colin. I would have bought the saw for $5.

The blade under the tote looks like a bit of swiss cheese

When I saw the first tote photo I thought it had been repaired with a piece of ply

I imagine these are the original holes

saw plate tote holes circles.jpg

There's a page on one of the saw makers website with some tote plans - I can't find the link at the moment, thought I'd bookmarked it
when I do I'll put it up for you (unless someone beats me to it)

RayG here has done a fine article on making totes

Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker;1748439
There's a page on one of the saw makers website with some tote plans - I can't find the link at the moment, thought I'd bookmarked it :doh:
when I do I'll put it up for you (unless someone beats me to it)

RayG [URL="http://www.backsaw.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=102"

here [/URL]has done a fine article on making totes

It is Two Guys in a Garage:

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

Originally Posted by homesy135

It is Two Guys in a Garage:

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

That's it, thanks

Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker

I imagine these are the original holes

saw plate tote holes circles.jpg

Yes, spot on + you reminded me of a picture I meant to post.

It is from the 1925 Melhuish catalogue ... Disston #7 ...

mel #7.JPG
You can see the bolt pattern, the small bolt-heads, ... and a nib ... in 1925.
Same on the disstonian page also, now that I look.