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Anatomy, Functional Analysis and Reproduction of the Disston Joiners Saw
Much discussion has been made here and other places on the net about the Disston Joiners saw (https://www.woodworkforums.com/f152/d...joiners-205051)(https://www.woodworkforums.com/f152/d...isston+joiners). There's also one for sale on eBay Australia if you're interested (Premium Quality Saw Vintage RARE Disston Joiners Saw Antique Old Handsaw 11 | eBay).
Little is apparently known of the uses to which it was put and the purposes for which it was designed. We have some company literature but as yet no first hand testimony as to its intended or best uses. Other manufacturers also made saws of this configuration and apparently relatively few of them survive.
Recently I managed to acquire one on eBay. It was mis-listed as a dovetail saw. Though the price wasn't low it certainly wasn't as high as most of this type have been advertised for lately.
My intention here is first to describe to a reasonable level of detail the physical characteristics of this particular saw. Then, in no particular order, I'll try to find some uses for the saw and make a reproduction.
Here's the saw as it arrived.
Attachment 389863
The reverse.
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And the medallion from the 1917-1940 period.
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Removing the handle revealed no surprises.
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And the screws proved to be of standard configuration.
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The teeth were set at about 0.059" at the heel.
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At about the midpoint of the blade and continuing to the toe there was effectively no set. It looks like this is due to wear.
Attachment 389876
The blade is bright under the handle and is 0.042" thick just above the toothline for its entire length. 1.5 cm up from the toothline the blade shows about 0.005" to 0.009" or so reduction in thickness and near the back its typically under 0.030" thick.
Attachment 389877
The saw has a mass of 243.6 gm and is 525 mm OAL. The toothline is 396 mm. The blade is 26 mm deep at the toe and 54 mm deep at the heel.
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Cleaning and more measurements.
I disassembled the saw to clean it and while there I took some hardness measurements. In the area of the blade covered by the handle the average of 5 measurements came out HRC 52.5. These measurements were taken using the 150kgf instrument I have.
Attachment 389878
Using solvents and non-ionic detergent cleaner (Tween 80 in hexane/ethanol) I then proceeded to clean up the handle. The blade was cleaned using 280 gr W&D with Rustoleum Rust Inhibitor for lubricant. There was scant remaining lacquer on the handle so I just applied a little BLO after cleaning and reassembled.
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Surprisingly I was able to raise the etch.
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I also started shaping the teeth ( 25o fleam, 8o rake) with a #00 Corinox needle file. Much more to be done here of course.
Attachment 389882
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Don't know if this is what they were used for but this is what I use it for.
I haven't heard, beyond the Disston catalog descriptions, what these joiners saws were originally used for. I have however found that they're very handy for finishing out cuts made with circular saws, particularly where two cuts form a corner.
This is a farm or apron sink. Pretty popular in these parts at the moment.
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The convex face of the sink projects through the front of the cabinet that supports it necessitating that the cabinet face be cut out to fit. Since this is a presented face I use my Festool track saw to keep the cuts as pretty as I can.
After carefully laying out the cuts I typically cut the sides first.
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Then I do the bottom cut.
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Using the joiners saw.
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I complete the cuts to make nice sharp corners.
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Cutout removed.
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And after framing in the supports the sink is snugly and presentably set.
Attachment 453351
With 16 TPI I have never had a problem with tear outs or ragged edges with this saw.