Thread: New To Restoring Handsaws

A clearer photo of the mark would be good ...

I can make out Drabble & Sanderson + Warranted Cast Steel ...

Is it "Wm Marsden ..." in the middle?

RayG's website lists many makers ... Checklist of British Saw Makers

D&S were a hardware supplier - shows as 1850 to 1925, and William Marsden is listed as a maker around the 1830 mark

but to get really expert knowledge, ask about it on the Saw Id forum there.

People there know their British saws to a fineness!

Cheers,
Paul

OK - reread and got it. Wm Marsden mark is stamped on the blade ... a photo of that would be good too.

Originally Posted by Morbius

Any chance of a picture?

Thanks,

Craig

Graig - I assume you mean the saw vise?

It's here, with a few construction details & some discussions......

Cheers,

Ian,

That is just plain AWESOME!



Thanks for sharing!

Craig

Originally Posted by IanW

Graig - I assume you mean the saw vise?
It's here, with a few construction details & some discussions......
Cheers,

That's great work, Ian. What is the spacing from the top of the jaws to the thread, please?

Comparing to that wedge leg-vice ... I'm thinking of a similar set-up with a wedge closure out front.
That would free the whole inside space ... but I'm guessing yours has handled anything that you have come across (?)

Thanks,
Paul

Originally Posted by pmcgee

... What is the spacing from the top of the jaws to the thread, please?

110 mm. This distance is optional - work out what you need based on the width of the widest saw you think you will want to put in it. However, the further the top of the jaws from the screw, the less clamping pressure you get for the same screw pressure, so there are practical limits.

Originally Posted by pmcgee

... but I'm guessing yours has handled anything that you have come across (?)

Sort of, but like any prototype, it isn't perfect. 'Sumday', I'll make a better one, but this one does the job well enough that it will be a day or two before I get a round tuit. The main glitch is that my jaw inserts are a bit deep, so they foul the handles of small saws, and I can't clamp the last 25mm or so of blade. I am thinking of trying aluminium inserts, and making them a bit thinner. I had a good look at an old Disston vise a couple of days ago - the jaws roll over into a very narrow top, which allows clamping of the full blade even on very small saws, & I'd like to be able to do that!

Cheers,

For those who want to learn how to sharpen saws, have a look at:

The Traditional Tools Group (Inc.) -- Coming Events

Now if you want to see a real saw vise, check out my prototype (I also have a few Disston 3D vises for smaller saws). The old Oregon door jams are rock solid - no vibration in this even filing a very hard old Sandvick 26" xcut, gently breasted. Don't you just love that plastic handle.

lPRE Large.jpg

Cheers
Peter

Made my saw vise as well, works just fine. Also I reccomend Ron Hermans videos, they are also available as downloads.

Neil

HPIM0175.jpg

Neil, agree on the Ron Herman videos (available from Popular Woodworking Search results for: 'herman' | ShopWoodworking). How do you keep your workbench looking like that? There is also an old video from Tom Law Hand Saw Sharpening, but I think Herman is more useful

There is a 35 minutes video available free from Paul Sellers https://woodworkingmasterclasses.com/saw-sharpening/ (I think you do need to register, but you can download for offline viewing). Don't agree with everything he says, but he has been doing it for a long time.

There are many useful threads on WoodNet forum on saw sharpening.

Cheers Peter

Of the two Ron Herman dvds ("Sharpen your handsaws" and "handsaws- tune up, set up and more") is there a good reason to get both or would the "Sharpen your handsaws" be sufficient ?
i.e. not that clear with the second covers that the "Sharpen your handsaws" doesn't.

thanks
Robin

Originally Posted by QuarkVI

Of the two Ron Herman dvds ("Sharpen your handsaws" and "handsaws- tune up, set up and more") is there a good reason to get both or would the "Sharpen your handsaws" be sufficient ?
i.e. not that clear with the second covers that the "Sharpen your handsaws" doesn't.

thanks
Robin

Robin, I have both. Of the two the "Sharpen" is the most relevant and useful. The tune up one is interesting but in my opinion you canpick up most of that information just from browsing the forums. My opinion

Neil

Originally Posted by Heavansabove

Neil, agree on the Ron Herman videos (available from Popular Woodworking Search results for: 'herman' | ShopWoodworking). How do you keep your workbench looking like that? There is also an old video from Tom Law Hand Saw Sharpening, but I think Herman is more useful

There is a 35 minutes video available free from Paul Sellers https://woodworkingmasterclasses.com/saw-sharpening/ (I think you do need to register, but you can download for offline viewing). Don't agree with everything he says, but he has been doing it for a long time.

There are many useful threads on WoodNet forum on saw sharpening.

Cheers Peter

Peter the bench is going on three years now, and gets used several hours a week. It is made from a wood called Ha Ngam, basically from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The stuff is pretty hard and durable, but works really well with hand tools. Also quite inexpensive. I just use some Teak Oil to condition it up about every six months or so nothing else. The bench still looks and works great. The saw vice is made from the same material.

Neil

I was given this old girl last week - a 28 inch D8 ripsaw, with lots of blade left, thumb-hole Apple handle, & progressive pitch (approx 4.5 tpi decreasingto 3.5. It didn't look too promising, at first blush, though; the rust seemed to be several mm thick, the handle was bleached almost white, with a few cracks in it, and it has an amputated horn.
As received.jpg

First thing to establish was whether or not the blade was worth the trouble to clean it up. Surprisingly, it has only superficial pitting under all that oxide. You can even make out the etch pretty well - about 2/3rds of the cartouche in which the "D" is clearly visible, and most of the blurb to the right (Henry's signature is quite distinct!). Promising!
Etch.jpg

After a lot of dry & wet sanding, I had the blade usably clean. There were a few minor dings and one semi-major one, but all responded to (a lot of) gentle hammering and much checking. The blade is now straight, re-tensioned as well as I know how, which is probably not very well, by factory standards, but it feels appropriately 'springy' when flexed, & returns to straight.

So let's see what can be done about that mising horn. There are a few cracks in the body of the handle, but not too serious & they should not be a problem, I think. Under that pale oxidised wood is sound material, so it seemed worth spending time on, too. The only bit of Apple wood I had on hand was an old chisel handle I'd turned up years ago, & since replaced. A bit of creative re-shaping & making a flat surface on the splintered top of the handle, and it looks like I can get a new horn out of it:
Handle repair.jpg

It was ok & I was just able to squeeze the necessary shape out of it. So some rasping & sanding & light cleaning up of the rest of the handle (I didn't try to make it pristine, just got rid of the oxidised wood), & I was most pleasewd with myself. I forgot to take a pic at this stage, which is a pest, because you will see why shortly.....

While the epoxy was curing (I used expoxy because it's not a precious antique, & I can't imagine anyone wanting to remove it in the future, but if they do, it would be easy to saw off with minimal loss of original wood), I turned my attention to the brass bolts & nuts. One nut was missing (good old Murphy!):
Missing nut.jpg

At first I thought, 'no sweat, I'll just whip up a newie', until I checked the size & thread pitch. The bolt diameter is 7/64ths in old money, and the thread pitch is 20 tpi. A quick scan of the catlogues I have, turned up no taps or dies remotely like that, so I decided to metrify the damn thing. Five mm is within a bull's roar of the original bolt diameter, but a very much finer pitch, of course, but that's the best I could do. It amuses me to think of someone scratching their head over a nut that won't fit any of the other bolts, sometime years from now...
bolts.jpg

OK, so now to oil the handle. It was a very thirsty bit of wood & schlurped up half a tin of the stuff! And just look at that new horn! I swear you wouldn't have picked it when dry (which is why I wish I'd taken another picture), but the second the oil hit the old wood it went dark, while the new stuff stayed much the same. P'raps in time it will mellow down a bit & look less like a sore thumb. At least the bolts look ok -I defy you to pick which is the replacement on the etch side, but you should spot the ring-in on the obverse by its shiny slot...
handle etch side.jpgHandle obv.jpg

Before re-assembling, a good jointing, tooth re-form, & set, was called for. Strewth, some of those old Disstons are hard! I used up a fairly new file in the process, but finally ended up with a nice, sharp saw. A quick test on some 50mm wood showed it is cutting true. I may have given it a bit much rake (7*) for soft wood, but I cut a fair bit of harder stuff, so I think it will be ok with the more relaxed angle. It has a wonderul action, & just feels good in the hand - even better than my 'Spearior', which is also a 28" progressive pitch. The Disston plate is a little lighter gauge & more springy. The handles are almost identical, but the Dissston feels nicer beause it is more worn & doesn't have the thick lacquer of the S&J handle. After the oil dries, a good wax & buff & lots of use will make it very tactile, I hope.
Rips cf.jpg

All in all, a fun job, though it used up a good 9 or 10 hours spread over 4 days. The saw had been headed for the tip before my friend intervened & saved its life. My only problem is, I have this 'one in, one out' policy, so which will I keep?

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

I was given this old girl last week - a 28 inch D8 ripsaw, with lots of blade left, thumb-hole Apple handle, & progressive pitch (approx 4.5 tpi decreasingto 3.5. It didn't look too promising, at first blush, though; the rust seemed to be several mm thick......................................
Rips cf.jpg

............................My only problem is, I have this 'one in, one out' policy, so which will I keep?

Cheers,

I'm heading to the for sale thread now.

Originally Posted by homesy135

I'm heading to the for sale thread now.

Steady Homesy - I'm a slow thinker!

But I take it that you'd not mind having either saw?

You fully appreciaate my problem.....!

Cheers,