I picked up a very nice and clean Disston D8 a couple of days ago. It may be in the best shape of any old saw I have acquired. The toothline was dead flat, set was good, teeth very sharp. I am not sure if it was ever used much at all.
The Disstonian site shows this about the medallion. I call it a "between the wars:" saw.
I have begun cleaning it up. No etch to be preserved, alas.
Bob Summerfield posted a while back about using Easy Off oven cleaner to break down the old finish on saw handles. this is how it came out after the Easy Off treatment and some light sanding.
26 inch 8 PPI. the saw plate cleaned up nicely, just no etch. Too much rust and time. I will post more when it is done.
I've reached out to Summerfi and hopefully he will pop in from time to time. Like you, he is a bit busy currrently. I enjoyed your video tutorial on sharpening on LJ. Hopefully you can bring it over here if you have not done so already.
Well howdy saw people. Long time no see. Happy New Year to all who love old tools. Roger twisted my arm and made me join this site. I likely won't be around much though. Life has been extremely busy the past couple of years. I've done very little saw work, and shamefully little work in the shop at all. Maybe someday. The D8 handle is looking good, Roger. Oven cleaner does the trick again.
Wow! It's Bob! Nice to hear from you. I was thinking about you today as I was moving some of my projects and blogs to this site. I thought, damn we have so much great info in forum posts and I thought of your medallions thread. It would be great to get that on here at some point.
Andy -- Old Chinese proverb say: If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it.
Thanks guys. Andy, I'm sorry to say the old site has lost my saw medallion blog. Something about too many images on it. I'm working with them to try to recover it, but I'm not optimistic. I seem to be getting the run around.
Thanks guys. Andy, I'm sorry to say the old site has lost my saw medallion blog. Something about too many images on it. I'm working with them to try to recover it, but I'm not optimistic. I seem to be getting the run around.
Bob - That's tragic. If I can recover all the images, would you be prepared to work with me to categorize them under their respective countries/makers? I think we need to preserve this as nothing like it exists anywhere else and it is important historical info. It will take a me a while to get all the images together and saved as individual files, but I think I can do it and am prepared to dedicate some time to it. If you are up for it, I'll send the images on to you once I have them all.
Andy -- Old Chinese proverb say: If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it.
Here is a note from Bob about that technique that I stored in OneNote:
The handle cleaning technique works very well. Oven cleaner for 15 minutes, then wash off. Then oxalic acid crystals in water to brighten the wood. I usually apply it 2 or 3 times. You'll want to scrape or sand off any old varnish before using the acid so you get a more uniform application. Wash the acid off, let the wood dry, then sand. Some handles look almost like new wood when you do this.
If you are ever doing a handle repair and the clean and sanded handle has discoloration or streaks use the Oxalic crystals. Make a paste consistency and brush the paste onto the handle. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
Still working on the D-8 posted about above. I found some hairline cracks that showed up after the Easy Off treatment and sanding. From my pen turning experience, I favor thin Super Glue. It leaves a lot of spill over on the surface, but after sanding it, all that shows is a narrow dark line that looks like a bit of grain and once it is stained, will all but disappear.
Bob - That's tragic. If I can recover all the images, would you be prepared to work with me to categorize them under their respective countries/makers? I think we need to preserve this as nothing like it exists anywhere else and it is important historical info. It will take a me a while to get all the images together and saved as individual files, but I think I can do it and am prepared to dedicate some time to it. If you are up for it, I'll send the images on to you once I have them all.
Of course, Andy, I'd be happy to work with you on that. I'd want to put it on a more stable platform this time. Perhaps Google Drive and make it universally accessible. As I recall there were over 300 medallions on the blog, so it will be a big job.
