My Dad, who was a time-served carpenter & joiner, used these saws. He would spend the whole of every Sunday morning sharpening all his saws, ready for work on Monday. This was a very nostalgic video for me - thanks.
He must not have known how to sharpen his saw, if you sharpened a hand saw once a week it would not last but a couple of years, the truth is carpenters old school carpenters might sharpen their saws once or twice a year depending on the use of it
Very nice restoration. Not only is it a restoration, but by cleaning it up, it's also a preservation. Old tools last a lot longer when they are cleaned up, than when they sit around with "all that history" and keep rotting away. Very well done!
I'll be honest, I CAN see all sides of the restore, don't restore, don't OVER-restore conversation, and while I am personally a somewhere in the middle (for example, I think I wouldn't have sanded the handle, at least not as thoroughly as you did) I don't have an issue with any approach that aims to preserve history. Everything else is just semantics, friends arguing which roads to take on a weekend road trip, and not strangers arguing over property rights. Beautiful work and a real joy to behold!
You sharpened the teeth. Did u set them as well? Saw teeth are slightly tilted out to each side. Its what gives bit clearance to the blade as it cuts Its great job on the saw. I liked the blueing
as a carpenter my father taught me saw sharpening at 15 in 1971 , we used a long flat file placed on top of and in line with the teeth moving the entire length until all teeth were level some would have a tiny flat spot some more so , you then proceed to sharpen the saw as you did making sure each tooth came to a point by removing the flat spot , you would then have a sharp even straight line of teeth
I was about to comment that he did not range the teeth to the same height first with a flat file, also never put any kerf set on the teeth, then I saw your comment 👍I still have my Diston saws from my apprenticeship in 1983 😁
@@smerd1 , I will turn 81 on July 4th... and I totally agree! My dad taught me, too. He could do anything... electrical engineer, chef, head of the ASA... and I still can't keep up! ROFL Mom, too!
I've found one just like it, and it took a lot of work just to remove the rust and metal pitting. But for $2.50 I could not let it remain covered in rust. The handle was sanded, soaked in birch tar and torched after - it all looks great and the main thing it cuts better than my brand new hand saw. Old tools should be appreciated, not thrown away.
It is good practice to use the right size screwdriver. It should be the same size as the screw slot. Also you need to set the teeth when sharpening to avoid rubbing the blade against the wood.
I thought the same thing. Lol those little slotted head screwdrivers can cause a bulge In the metal. Also place the finished saw on a towel or large piece of.paper . I would upset if I scratched my finish sh.
I'm a hand tool wood worker and I've restored several Disston Saws to make them useable again. The only thing I do differently is the saw blade. I don't "Blu" it but instead once clean, hit it with a heat gun, get it very hot, then spray with "WD-40 Corrosion Inhibitor". Then at days end during shop clean-up, wipe them down with oil. One big mistake I made is with a "Keystone" saw. The Disston logo is stamped into the blade, but the Keystone logo was screen printed on it and that got removed accidently.
I’m 72. Got a tip for my dad when I was nine or 10 I suppose when you’re using a saw like that your index finger should be on the outside pointing down the length of the saw you’ll get much straighter cuts
I bought an 1860s thomas turner suffolk works 26" saw today for a mere 50p ..it only needs a polish up and it's ready to go ..then I will put it back into use ..I find it amazing that something made so long ago can still serve it's purpose..
To remove patina from brass, bronze, you should mix 1/3 of vinegar, 1/3 salt and 1/3 flour. Let it rest for a while (couple hours). After that you can polish it. (;
I appreciated seeing you credit Fitzee. He shares usable welding techniques, and I am glad to see you used one. Another technique for repairs on old antique split wood, instead of using wood glue, is using various viscosity of cyanoacrylate (super glue). Depending upon need, thick for filling missing splinters or gaps of wood, or thin, which through capillary action would have completely traveled through the crack in the saw handle, has worked better for me. Also, using an accelerant cure spray with super glue, can also be very helpful.
This EXACT saw is one of the collection of inherited hand saws I want to restore. Over 100 years old, untouched in more than 40 years, rusted, handle broken... Still drew blood at the slightest bump against my arm.
The restoration was a success! The only thing I might suggest for improvement was the size and shape of the screwdriver used on the handle. It may be a bit small. That might have spoiled the project at its inception,
I enjoyed watching your video of the work you did on the antique saw. However I’m afraid you may have overlooked a couple of things during your restoration. Restoring the brass to a shiny finish is fine, but in my view, having restored a number of saws myself, removing all of the patina from the handle is something that you should not do. I lightly go over the handle with 4/0 (0000) Steel wool, removing any paint or foreign materials from the handle, and any grime or other dirt buildup. And then go back with boiled linseed oil as a finish and protective measure. I would offer to you that I would never blue a saw blade. The blades were not blued at the time of manufacture. Yes this will leave you with a blade that looks stained, or has dark areas, but it’s a 100 year old saw, and steel does tend to get spotty with age. And finally, before sharpening the teeth, one should take a straight edge and lay it along the teeth so that the teeth points touch the straight edge. This will enable you to determine if the teeth are of equal height, and if not will show you any gaps between the straight edge and the teeth that may exist. If there are gaps, you would take a straight bastard file, 10 to 12 inches in length, and file the tees horizontally taking the file along the line of teeth until all of the teeth equally touch the straight edge. At that point the teeth are ready to be re-sharpened. You may have to take some teeth down a bit more than others to get the teeth to equal height, but straightening the teeth in this way makes the saw cut a lot better. Paul Sellers has a couple of great videos on his channel specifically dealing with sharpening both rip and cross cut saws, and another video on straightening the line of teeth as I’ve described above so poorly. Good luck and happy tool restoring!!
Not a fan particularly, but I appreciate bringing this back to life. This is more of a renew rather than restore. The bladed weren't blued. And there is a particular shape you lost when you sanded it to oblivion lol. But overall it looks nice.
Compared to how simple things were once not only made to last a century but to look beautiful as well, this day and age is like a planet of apes that has taken over.
Disston did vanish his saw handles. When the boiled linseed has fully dried, the vanish will take. I normally spray vanish the saw screws separately before assembly. Best wishes, Veronique.
Shows 100 year old saw in sepia tint, restores saw in full colour. Bravo, nice job. I am imaging the ghost of the great-grandfather looking at the restored saw and saying, “That’s where my saw went!”
I just restored a very similar saw with what appears to be the exact same handle. I had no idea how old mine was. I'm thinking it's from the same time frame. Nice restoration! I love the before and after. You did a much more thorough job than I did.
Nice restoration,Ihave quite a few disston saws that belonged to my grandfather that are actually in decent condition,rip saws and cross-cut saws.I don't think the saws I have are 1800s era probably 1920s ish.Disston saws can be worth a pretty penny depending on their original condition and model on ebay etc,but on the other hand they are a piece of history these tools helped build our coutries and have thought of hanging them up on display.
I have 4 saws that I will need to do the same thing too,. Thanks for the information it will help me a lot when I restore mine.. You did a great job. Enjoyable video.
Thanks for your well produced video. Your appreciacion of old quality tools showed with every step. One suggestion: the width of your slotted screw driver is undersized for the width of the slots in the Chicago screws. With my restorations, to keep from marring the soft brass, I filed down an old no longer used chisel to where it fit the entirety of those screw slots snugly. And now one criticism: pounding on the handle with a hammer made me cringe. Using the mallet or heating up the blade would have been better choices. Best wishes.
Great restoration. I’ve got several saws (I think some made by Disston) I inherited and although they’re in fairly good condition, I think I might have a go at this.
As others have commented, it would have been better to flatten all the teeth to the same height with a flat file, then do the alternate sharpening, followed by setting the kerf with a decent saw-set. I nearly shat when you hammered on the end of the handle - approach the task from the blade end using a block of wood to encourage the handle off backwards. Oxalic acid will get rid of the stains, then I would stain and seal with a couple of coats of shellac. Not a fan of the blueing - having said that, a better restoration than many I've seen!
Nice bit of work. Fun fact; many modern saw handles of this type are designed to provide a 90 degree angle to the saw back, so if you're caught out without a set square you can, at a pinch, use your saw to mark out.
What a beautiful job you made of that. I love the respect for the age of the saw in your restoration. It’s turned out beautiful. I have never been game to try media blasting a saw blade. Now I have seen you do it, I will give it a try the next saw I restore.
"My Grandfather was born in 1896. Great restoration sawyer!"I have a collection of about 50 saws, and use them, or sell them, from time to time.Henry Disston had a patented spring steel, Philadelphia Plant called Tacony.
Great results! I've got two DISSTON and SONS saws(1904 and 1910) and they're both going to get your treatment. I particularly liked your method of sharpening your blade. Good stuff that made sense. I'm starting on my two right away! Thanks for the great video!
Dont give it the sand blasting, welding or blueing. Sandblasting eliminates and chance to save the factory etching which can survive under even sever rusting. Do look up proper jointing and setting as neither was done here and both are critical.
As a kid I glass beaded a bunch of my grandfather's old, rusty hand tools, which I now regret. Blasting raised the wood grain resulting in a rough finish and obliterated the maker's marks.
Great job by you. your attention to detail is first class. However, for me the patina is the history of the saw, I have two of these that belonged to my father (deceased)and i could never sand him out of these saws. One never knows what my future generations will do with them. Thanks for the excellent video.
Besides making saws He started a small factory town in what is now North East Philadelphia. There is still a Disston Street that runs down into the Tacony neighborhood
My OCD was in overdrive when I saw that you didn’t ensure the slots for the screws were arranged in the same direction. Other than that, it looks great, thanks for the video. I’m planning to restore an old handsaw this summer and these videos and the information provided by the folks in the comments will be in valuable. Now I’m off to find a video or twelve about setting the teeth after topping and sharpening the blade.
Blind changes the surface of steel or iron products. If done properly it inhibits rusting. There are different ways to blue metals, cold process shown here is less effective than hot bluing. Applying thin oil to the surface afterwards can increase the protection available
I've been torn, in the past, when restoring old things. In the end, I think the man that made the item would be happy to have it looking new, appreciated and continued to be used rather than put on a shelf and looked at in deplorable condition to "save the old look".
When you are working with those old, fragile screws, the best thing is to get some old screwdrivers, then use a bench grinder to shape the tips the be the exact length and width of the slots. It allows you to put full pressure without risk of marring. Another is that most modern flat head drivers have the driving face angled, putting all the pressure on the surface edge of the screw. Gunsmithing driver bits work good, but grind to fit is best. I am not the biggest fan of Brownells super blue, for smaller stuff where you can fit them, look up slow rust blueing, aka the old style. Takes longer but is more durable, arguably simpler.
As a general rule, it's best to sand, and apply stain consistent with the axis of the grain. If done properly, you will find the finish to be far more beautiful. Fyi
Won't the blueing get rubbed off when you saw? You'll have a stripe down the side of the saw blade from the wood. That's why no saws have a blued blade.
I see it time and time again, not using the proper sized screwdrivers for screws. Larges flat bladed drivers for large screws. Holding the saw teeth with a rubber glove that’s used to keep your hands clean when painting/oily jobs but, NOT for holding sharpened teeth on a saw!!…so many hospital visits for you if that continues mate…hold the blade from its back (top) and why not use the rubber mallet for those bolts, that’s partly why they invented it for…you did a good job restoring it all but, safety first!!!
You are correct.. no gloss finish on the handle. The shellac or varnish on hand tools would cause blisters. Boiled Linseed was the standard for most wood handles. These saws usually had emblems etched into the surface and you could have preserved that by soaking the blade in vinegar and then taking the rust off with steel wool and oil.
Hey, you want to know how to ruin a 110 year old screw or bolt? Use a screwdriver whose tip is taper-ground and is much smaller than the screw slot both in length and width. Gunsmithing 101.
I remove the handle then soak the blade in evaporust for a day or so then give a good going over with steel wool. Not so sure about blasting or welding. Brilliant result on the handle and especially on the brass.
My very first handsaw was a Disston...1962... adding various types ..ie: Panel. Rip, Crosscut etc!..as and when I could afford them Just about every Carpenter I worked with owned Disston saws... I remember when Sandvik appeared.they then became the norm, towards the end of my working life various companies made the ''very sharp once blunt throw away saw''....
I have a Disston saw purchased about 1977 at a cost of £27.00. A lot of money beck then.With the advent of the age of throw away saws, I stopped using it just after sharpening it. It lay in my workshop and has a bit of rust on it. I decided to restore it and mount it to hang in my office. Sadly, unknown to me, someone has tried to remove the blade and damaged one of the connecting bolts. Does anyone know if you can buy replacement connecting bolts. I don't have a sandblaster, is there any other way of cleaning up the blade? Unfortunately you were a bit lacking in detail in some parts of your restoration eg what grade did you you use on your angle grinder?
G’day and greetings from Tasmania Australia 🇦🇺 good restoration I have one of these saws mine I bought years ago the handle on mine has been carved around lower part and it was brand new. They used shellac on the handles anyway good video regards John
