Another Spear and Jackson

**Mountain Ash** · 5th December 2021, 10:14 AM

Hi all. WP's post inspired me to get a wriggle on with fixing up another saw that I had picked up recently. A little pricier than usual ($36) but okay considering I wasn't paying postage. Blade was straight, spine looked parallel, rust not too bad and handle only a little loose.

20211202_165204.jpg

Pulling it apart and cleaning up revealed a beautiful beech handle and a "Sovereign" etch.

20211204_105453.jpg

Sharpening involved jointing out the dip in the middle as best as I could and discovering that the alternating teeth set was not entirely as it should have been (two teeth about 30mm from the handle were set the same way). I tried to correct pattern and yes broke off a tooth!

20211204_105147.jpg

Researching the Sovereign model was hard but if the numbering system was maintained then the '"47" would indicate that this was a 2nd line saw (Lloyd Davies model in earlier times?). Does anyone have any references to the Sovereign line particularly?

The work of removing the layers of crud from old tools to reveal the beauty underneath and then using them is a joy. And yes my recently made saw till is soon to be too small.

20211204_105134.jpg

Interestingly the medallion has a yellow brass raised ring surrounding a rose brass(?) centre. I have not seen this before.

**Cklett** · 5th December 2021, 10:27 AM

This came up nicely. Well done.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

**Scribbly Gum** · 5th December 2021, 11:01 AM

A great result - well done.
An old saw doctor that I used to visit, before he retired, would leave the saw blades in the sun all morning before setting them - to prevent them snapping while being set.
A mate in the Woodworkers Guild uses a hair-dryer for the same reason.
The beech handle looks great doesn't it
Tom

**Bushmiller** · 5th December 2021, 01:38 PM

MA

I am not too well up on the S & J range, but like you I found the earlier No.47 seemed to be marketed under the Lloyd Davies name. I did find this reference to a Sovereign No.47 from a 1953 publication, but unfortunately there is no picture.

S and J 1953.jpg

However, it refers to G47 so it might not be quite right. As time went on into the 70s the handles changed to a rather unappealing, to me, streamlined look although they bore the same name and model designation so I think a timeline from the end of WW2 through to 1960 may be a reasonable guess.

Your pix show the back sitting quite high. Do you think this is how it was originally? Is there room to tap the back down further without creating an angled saw plate? Even S & J's later models had the back nestling well down.

Regards
Paul

Edit: Cancel the "back" question. For some reason I thought it was sitting high. It is not.

**orraloon** · 5th December 2021, 02:27 PM

A very nice find. Old enough to have a proper handle too. I reckon thats $36 well spent.
Regards
John

**Mountain Ash** · 6th December 2021, 07:45 AM

Thanks CK, Tom Paul and John. One thing I forgot to mention was how easy the steel plate was to file. The teeth are small but even so I had to be quite light handed in my approach. I think that there is something unique about the English Beech, the lighter coloured fleck is far more prominent than the beech I have used for making planes with.

**Andy_B** · 11th December 2021, 09:54 PM

Nice restoration work, MA. $$ well spent indeed, a good little user.

Cheers,
Andy

**old workshop** · 11th December 2021, 11:57 PM

I love how it has turned out.
Good for many more years of use.

Martin

**Mountain Ash** · 12th December 2021, 07:07 AM

Thanks Andy and Martin

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