A labour of love - bringing an old saw back to life.

SpitfireIV

Posted this over on another woodwork forum but thought I'd throw it in here too to let you guys have a gawk! Dont worry, I love ye all equally!


Ok, so I recieved an old 'Warranted Superior' handsaw (26" blade, approx 7tpi) off a rahter elderly neighbour of mine some years back. The saw belonged to her father who died many many years back, meaning that this saw is at least a good 80 year old, at least!

The saw had been hanging in the shop for years purely as an ornament, I'd never considered doing anything with it, only on the odd occassion, but just one look at it; the badly cut and shaped teeth, the small crack in the blade, the rust and the woodworm infested handle were enough to ensure the saw went back up on the wall fairly promptly!

Recently however with my new found interest in old handsaws and sharpening I began to look at this saw in a different light, and instead of thinking why, I thought 'why not!!' :P.





As mentioned the teeth were in a fair ol' state from years of poor sharpening. They were different sizes, different angles, different height.....this, combined with a small crack in the blade meant that they'd have to go! 'Go' as in, clean off, right back to a blank blade!



Having taken the handle off (for the last time ever!) the blade was given a good clean down to remove the surface rust, going down through the grades of paper on a wood block, I got it back to a fairly resonable level, there was some light pitting however, but it cleaned up nice enough.




Then, I had the brainwave of making the below contraption to grind the teeth down, but, as you can read in the below thread this caused a big problem! The solution, a stainless steel cutting disc and in a flast I'd taken a nice clean, straight cut off the blade removing the teeth and going beyond the small crack! Time to cut the teeth!
http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/made-a-boo-boo-restoring-old-saw-t40051.html

I decided to try make this one an 8TPI crosscut saw as I have a couple of rippers, so I had no use for another.




With the teeth cut I then focused on cutting and shaping a new handle. I didnt go crazy with this step, just kept the same profile and curves basically as the original, just making the grip section a little smaller for my hand and adding a recessed area for my right index finger. The grip was made from a piece of walnut.







The grip was shaped using only a set of rough shaping files and then sanded down, through the grades. Then, time to add my mark!



When she was fully sanded she recieved several coats of shellac and was matched up to the blade and securely fitted!

SpitfireIV

Was it worth all the bother?! You decide!












(The teeth need to be finished off, thus far they are only shaped and set)

Me, personally, I think it was! I was smiling like a chesire cat when I fitted that handle and tried her out on a piece of wood!! I had brough this saw back into useable condition again! And back to such a state that hopefully it can be used in my lifetime and still be around long after I've kicked the bucket! :P. I know I could have picked one up for a few quid, a decent one and saved myself some bother, but wheres the satisfaction in that?! I'm damn happy with myself!

del88

I love it......now imagine what you can make with it .....don't let it finish now...that saw needs to make something beautiful...

I have 2 old sandvik somewhere...must find them.....

kadman

Labour of love, definitely worth it:)

kadman

Alun

Very nice. It remonds me of an old saw like that that my dad had that had been sharpened a good few times and had become quite thin and flexible. He used to play the saw (with a violin bow) and that saw was his favourite, mainly because it was so flexible and had a much better tone than modern saws. So, maybe if it doesn't perform as a saw, you could turn your hand to a musical career with it instead

aerosol

Fair play Croppy,well worth it:D

jack of all

Great work, I thought your jig was a very clever idea. I'm hoping to pick up some old tools myself this weekend, if I find anything interesting I may start another thread of my own.

galwaydude18

Definetly a labour of love that has been well worth it! Congrats on getting to look so well! God I love that jig you made to grind the teeth off. Very impressive way of doing the job!

SpitfireIV

Cheers guys!

This one is a cutter Alun, although she does give a nice 'ring' when you bend the tap and tap it :P

JOA, you heading to a car boot by any chance? :P


I have another handle thats almost finished for a tenon saw, I'll throw up a few pics of that when I have it done.

Wibbs

Really lovely work that. Kudos

Double Barrel

I'm damn happy with myself!

As you should be CB.

SpitfireIV

Wibbs wrote: »

Really lovely work that. Kudos

Double Barrel wrote: »

As you should be CB.

Danke Wibbs and Double Barrell

SpitfireIV

Here's another handle I recently finished, again, made of walnut. This is a €1.50 Marples & Sons Ltd 14tpi tenon saw that I picked up at a car boot. Although the original handle was solid, it had a few woodworm holes and was looking a little tired, so, I watched to make something that was a little more personal!

The blade has a fair bit of staining, but no rust! I'm reluctant to use sandpaper, wirewool etc as the blade has text printed on it that I'd like to try save.

SpitfireIV

Another saw given a new lease of life! I'll throw up a few more pics of this at a later date. Basically what I did was chop down an old tenon saw I got (similar to the one I posted above) made a new walnut handle (which was stained darker and polished) and yes, I know, those fancy little bits will go flying when I drop it! But they look nice and I couldnt resist!

It has 13 TPI and is configured as a cross cut, its just a small little saw for light/fine work, sawing the shoulders of tenons etc. I even gave engraving a go on this one, ie the blade.


(oh and in the pic one of the bolts isnt pushed in fully, thats why it looks a little odd :P)

Wibbs

Seriously nice work sir. Great theme and even better to see old tools brought back to life in a better way than they ever had when new.

galwaydude18

Nice work there croppyboy! You will be sharpening your TCT blades for your table saw next...

SpitfireIV

Cheers guys!

Thought I'd update you on the last saw shown, been finished a while now so I figured I'd get a few pics up.

She started out like as a €1.50 car boot sale buy, no makers name tenon saw. I'd reckon C.70's/80's. Faux screw riveted handle and a steel back.





As you can see, nothing fancy about the handle, so, with the rivets popped that went and the blade was cut down and cleaned back.




A number of hours (perhaps even days :P) later I emerge from the workshop, covered in walnut dust, smelling of shellac and with grazes on my fingers from cutting, sharpening and setting each of the teeth (13 points per inch) but it was worth it!







A nice little hand saw for doing fine work, like chopping the shoulders on tenons etc. Yeah, I know, those fancy little horns will be the first thing to go when I drop it, but, what the heck!

Now, must find myself another old saw to keep me busy! Oh, whats this.......



:D


Edit:

I really need to get me one of these machines!!!! I feel ill watching this to think of the sheer amount of hours I've spent stooped over the saws marking out and filing each tooth!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkeLXXwxRek

ennisa

Croppy that's a lovely job. Where would you recommend somebody starts with sharpening and setting your own saws? I have your average impulse hardened saw but would like to get some old disstons or something of that era and file them for rip and crosscut and be able to keep them in good working order.

Alun

My late father who was a woodwork teacher all of his life, had a machine that would sharpen and set saw teeth more or less automatically. I can't for the life of me remember who made it, and I imagine it wasn't cheap but for him it was well worth having, given the rough time the saws were given in that environment.

jack of all

I picked up an old ripsaw recently and want to give it the "treatment". It's not a special saw- Tyzack & Co 1917, handle is rotten and the split nuts are steel. Anyone know where a set of brass split nuts could be found or bought?

Fingalian

http://wenzloffandsons.com/saws/images/bolts.jpg

jack of all

Thanks Fingalian; I had seen those ones, but they are a bit pricey for my saw, I think.

SpitfireIV

Looking forward to see this one JOA . Are you going to resharpen/set the teeth yourself? As regards the bolts, maybe you might be able to pick up a cheap saw on e-bay, one with a rusty blade or such that you might be able to salvage the bolts from.

jack of all

Thanks Croppyboy, I'll post a shot later this week of the before stage. I'll use the existing steel fixings for now, might pick up a better set again. I'm using a salvaged piece of brazilian mahogany (pub drinks table!) for the handle. This saw is pretty average so I don't want to spend any money on it. I'll try and do the teeth myself; I have had reasonable success with some tenon saws in the past and the crosscut pattern is the easiest I suppose.

ennisa

JOA,
I would have thought that the rip pattern would be the easiest. not having any fleam etc...

keep us posted.

jack of all

Sorry ennisa, I meant to write "rip cut" of course. I haven't been able to do a lot on this project since then, I've just cleaned up the blade and roughly cut out the handle shape with a coping saw- oh for a bandsaw! I'm trying to finish a simple piece of bedroom furniture for the house at the moment; I hope to get back to the saw very soon!

SpitfireIV

Looking good JAO!

How are you planning on shaping the handle? I tried one with just a round over bit on the router but it didnt give me enough 'roundness', if you know what I mean, it still had flats on the grip area, I wanted something a bit softer looking. A set of rifflers, and a good thick glove did the trick nicely and let me play with the curves etc with more freedom than you'd get with a router, chisels, sandpaper etc.

http://www.rutlands.co.uk/hand-tools/carving/files-&-rasps/DKRV16/coarse-pattern-riffler-set---8-piece

Are you going to clean the blade or has it got text on it??

SpitfireIV

ennisa wrote: »

Croppy that's a lovely job. Where would you recommend somebody starts with sharpening and setting your own saws? I have your average impulse hardened saw but would like to get some old disstons or something of that era and file them for rip and crosscut and be able to keep them in good working order.

Feck, sorry Ennisa, just seen that post now!

To be honest I just read a few quick 'how to' guides on the net, but as I'm sure you know yourself the best way is to try it, see how it goes and learn by doing. Things can seem simple on paper and prove far more difficult in reality.

My kit comprises of:

An eclipse No.77 saw set, can be got on e-bay for £5-£10

A large, flat files and two triangular files 3 and 6mm

A home made jig for holding the flat file as below for jointing the teeth if necessary prior to reshaping/sharpening.


And a saw vice for holding the saw secure while sharpening, you can make one of these up easily enough with just a few pieces of boards and laths.

And a bucket load of patience!! :P

jack of all

No writing as such on the blade only the makers name stamped: "Tyzack & Co 1917". That pic is after cleaning the blade (it was a lot worse believe me). I may give it more attention if the handle turns out well! I'm going to use some coarse files and rasps for shaping, plus lots of sandpaper. I've to make up a rough saw vice too.

SpitfireIV

Got me another nice handsaw here in wee 'norn iron' . £3 for a 26" skew back, 8tpi cross cut in little used, if a little rusty condition. Handle is tired, but sound and the blade has a lot of light surface rust, but an etching underneath!

Pics and clean up to follow!;)

SpitfireIV

Heres a pic of the latest acquisitions, a 'CAMDEN' 26" 7tpi (thought it was 8, woops) crosscut saw with 'Warrented Superior' medallion. Cant find much info on the saw maker/retailer. There is no evidence of a CAMDEN as a maker, although I've been told this could have been a retailers mark.


Clean up pics to follow.


Bought on same day the same day also, a 'Mathieson & Son' draw knife, yeah I know, I never heard of them either! . As you can see the handles are in rag order and are gonna need replacing. Stay tuned.

jack of all

My saw restoration project is on the back burner, due to new job commitments and other pressures; however I did pick up an oldish Stanley No. 4 1/2 recently and I've given it a bit of much needed TLC. Unfortunately I didn't take any before shots, I was too busy and wrapped up in the actual work to even think about it, so trust me on this! The original paintwork was in bad shape, probably only about 30% intact, the sole was badly scored and marked, with plenty of dings all round. The original wooden handles were cracked and badly chewed up. The original blade was badly hollow ground on the back but still serviceable. There was plenty of light corrosion, paint spatters and glue in evidence. First step was disassembly, followed by rust and paint removal by electrolysis, much scrubbing and work with steel wool etc. I flattened the sole and cleaned it and the frog up as best I could, prior to repainting. I had great difficulty sourcing a suitable paint; I used a high temperature engine enamel in the end, applied by artists brush. It went on very well but the coating is still very soft, I'd be grateful for any other recommendations for a tough, enamel like paint suitable for use on tools or mechanical components. The chrome parts and all the machine screws cleaned up well. I decided to replace the beat up handles with some new rosewood handles and fittings, a cheat I suppose! I think it turned out well and overall it cost me under €50 for a decent plane; I think this plane must date from the late 60s/ early 70s?- the "Y" lever/ yoke is cast and plated, the lateral adjuster is a two piece construction and the lever cap is a quality casting. I "restored" this for use as an everyday "user" and I look forward to putting it to work next week!

SpitfireIV

Excellent bit of work on the ol' plane joa!! Well done, she looks smashin and the handles loot the biz too. I've been on the lookout for a No4 myself this past while, a Stanley or Record, as I dont get to many markets I've been watching fleabay. The planes arent overly expensive there (especially 'fix-er-uppers') its the postage thats the killer, approx £15 at least for a plane from the UK! :rolleyes:

Have you seen this site, for dating Stanley planes:
http://homepage.mac.com/galoot_9/ascii_dating_chart.html

jack of all

Thanks CroppyBoy; I paid €16 for this at a market, I intended paying a bit less as she was in such poor nick (the original front knob was glued on as the split nut was missing!); there were plenty of other steel and wooden planes and handsaws on offer but anything I looked at was in rag order and only suitable for parts perhaps. It's a pity the postage from the UK is so expensive as the planes on offer are as cheap as chips.

jack of all

I picked up another 4 Stanleys, in various states of repair- I'll probably get 2 or 3 decent planes out of them. First up is a No. 5 1/2, which is being de-rusted electrolytically as I speak (hope to have this ready for painting by the weekend), I also got another 4 1/2 and two no. 4s. I'll post images of the planes when they are done. The first Stanley I bought is doing sterling work now as my everyday plane and it's a real pleasure to use.

ennisa

Guys, can you reccomend any markets where I could find similar items? If it's a secret then I understand but i'm trying to finder older serviceable tools that can be cleaned up and put back to use by me, specifically some saws, a crosscut and a rip panel saw size, not tenon's, or two that I can at least resharpen to whatever i need.

Nice jobs on the plane restoration JOA. I've been using citric acid, got from the home brewing websites for lifting the rust from some older plane irons that I had, it worked pretty well. Unfortunatley the irons had pretty much lost any hardening that they had and will not hold an edge for any length of time. I'm going to have to look into a small back yard furnace and see if i can reharden them. The wife's gonna love that

jack of all

Hi ennisa,
My recent finds came from Clara market- a very colourful place! Lots of worn out junk on offer but if you're prepared to hunt you may find something of interest!

I've seen plenty of videos and articles on home forges, not much to them and I saw a blacksmith at work this summer with his own portable forge. A fan/ blower unit (hairdryer for a small forge), steel enclosure, some coke and away you go! Lovely smell from it, what could your missus possibly complain about!

jack of all

At last I've got the Stanley no. 5 1/2 finished, with before and after pics. The rear tote was stained beech and broken so I was lazy and bought some nice rosewood handles, all other fittings are original, although I did have to cannibalise another junker to get two machine screws (very hard to find new machine screws with imperial threads). All told this plane has cost me a grand total of €47 (incl. paint, threadlock, steel wool and other consumables). I've got a nice Stanley No. 4 dating from around 1913 which is undergoing similar treatment at the moment. It takes an awful amount of time, but it's pleasant and satisfying work (mostly at the kitchen table) on these dark evenings!

ennisa

Jack that's a smashing job, the rear tote looks great. Hopefully she is a good worker and i hope she gives you years of nice smooth surfacing I always liked the 51/2 I like the extra bit of weight.

jack of all

Cheers Ennisa, I'll find out how good she is when I get down to the workshop tomorrow (my little man cave is a half mile from where I live!). I love the "half" sizes myself, the extra heft feels better in the hand I think.