Anyone heard of.........

[paulm]

I've spent a dusty couple of days clearing out my old man's garage for him as he's not been too well lately, and amongst a few bit's and pieces came across a dovetailing saw which looks quite old and in reasonable condition.

Think the makers name on it was Beardshaw which I haven't heard of before but then I don't know much about old tools !

Is anybody else familiar with that make ? Don't suppose it's anything special as he wasn't into quality tools as a rule, but interested to hear anything more all the same.

To tired at the moment to organise a picture having done umpteen trips to the local tip today !

Cheers, Paul.

 

[Alf]

A few choices of Beardshaws but likely Jonathan B & Son, later just B & Son Ltd. Sheffield (natch :roll: ) theoretically any time twixt 1825 and 1911. Can narrow it down a bit more if you have more than "Beardshaw" Courtesy of Hand-saw Makers of Britain.

Cheers, Alf

 

[paulm]

Blimey, that was quick off the mark Alf, thanks.

Just about to have some dinner and vino in a minute but will check out the detail on the saw and a pic later in the evening, or in the morning most likely, just too knackered at the moment !

Found an old hand cranked grinder and a couple of braces too, so maybe take some pics and see what is junk and what is worth bothering with........

Many thanks, Paul

 

[Alf]

Ooo, tool identification - my favourite thing. Look forward to it.

Cheers, Alf

 

[paulm]

Suitably refreshed and recovered from yesterdays exertions, been out in the workshop taking a few pic's this morning.

First the saw, looks to be 11 or 12 tpi but very very blunt, although all teeth are there and the bade is straight and in good condition. Handle's very loose but would love to rehandle it if only I can figure how to sharpen it first !

Close up of name, looks like J Beardshaw and Son Ltd Sheffield, not sure what the arrow is supposed to mean ?

Can't make out if the date is 1844, 1841, 1944 or 1941 !

Then we've got the hand grinder (and old blowtorch!) which is really smooth and due to the high gearing gets up to a fair old speed with little effort. Minded to swap the wheel for a fresh one and give it some use.

Then there's the braces, the top one a Stanley (can't remeber the number on it, might have been 78 ?) and the older one below had no visible markings.

Lastly a curious drill, doesn't look particularly old, guess you are supposed to lean on it somehow in use ?

Any info or ideas on any of this lot most welcome, especially any ideas on how to refurb the saw as I was working up to getting a LN or similar at some stage but could have fun using this one instead if I can manage to get it done properly.

Cheers, Paul.

 

[Chris Knight]

The saw will be 1941. That's a War Department mark (the arrow thingy) on it. Dad must have pinched it :wink:

 

[PowerTool]

My dad has a blowtorch the same - used to fill it with paraffin,and pump the handle to pressurise it.
Think the last drill is a shoulder brace ? (or was is a chest brace ?)

Andrew

 

[DaveL]

My dad has a blowtorch the same - used to fill it with paraffin,and pump the handle to pressurise it.

My Dad has one as well, a word of warning, if you try to use it you need to preheat the burner before you pump the thing up. It relies on the paraffin vaporising as it comes out of the jet, if the jet is not hot then you get an eight foot stream of paraffin with flames along it. The top of the tank will have a recess around the gland the pipe rises though, you fill that with meths and set light to the meths, then as the thing warms up try half a stroke on the pump, when the paraffin vaporises the thing will rapidly get very hot, the end of the burner will glow red.
Used to be great fun to use as Mum was terrified of the thing, her Dad was a fireman and had warned of the dangers of such things.

Think the last drill is a shoulder brace ? (or was is a chest brace ?)

I think they are known as breast drills, but then I could well be wrong.

 

[Paul Chapman]

That hand grinder looks nice. Looks a bit like the one Alf uses.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Alf]

Sigh, yet another pencilled notation in Hand-saw Makers - the more I look up in it the more glaring the holes in the info are. So we have 1941, pretty, erm "basic" handled back saw but all the potential to be a good user. Re-handle before you sharpen it - testing the fit of the blade to a new handle when it's sharp can get painful... As for refurbishing it, a block of wood and some wet'n'dry ('bout 240g) worked along the length of the blade should clean it up okay. I lubricate it with a bit of paraffin but it makes a terrible mess - rest the blade on a bit of ply or something so it's totally flat and supported btw. Erm, got a pic somewhere... ah:

A bit of Brasso for the back if you like shiny brass. The only problem may be with the bolts. With a cheaper line of saws like I think this one must have been there's a horrrible chance they'll be the rivet type that press together - you'll either ending up trashing the handle or the rivets or both finding out. Shiny brass replacements can be had from Rutlands though, and if you're going to replace the handle anyway then No Worries. And don't worry about the "cheap" tag - the steel will be fine, it's the handle and bolts they tended to economize on.

The grinder; 6" wheel? If so, definitely a user. Chances of identifying it are slim if there's no name on it - unless someone happens to recognise it. Be careful about using the existing wheel as it may be damaged. Take it off, suspend it on a pencil or dowel and give it a tap. If it doesn't give a clear note then on the principle of better safe then sorry I'd ditch it. No guards on hand cranked grinders so it's no place to take risks.

Blowtorches I'm relieved to say I know nothing about. The braces, well the Stanley appears to be your basic 10" sweep, ratcheting brace, good solid user. The other looks like it might be a 12" sweep, which is not as common. (Last time I said that about a 14" brace that was about to be thrown out, it went from rubbish to trying to extract lettuce from me for it on the basis of my own information :evil: - needless to say I didn't end up with it and it probably went to blasted Ebay :roll: But I digress...) Non-ratcheting (not necessarily a bad thing), possibly a ball bearing head? If the jaws aren't trashed beyond redemption, and it is 12", a useful size for larger bit sizes. Someone's going to ask about "sweep" - it's the diameter of the circle made by the brace's handle.

As Dave says the Clipper is a breast drill - looks like it's one of the smaller sizes which may actually be useful. c.1950s I think. Dunno - I've never seen one of that make in one piece before! :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[engineer one]

the breast drill is interesting, if only because its type was used in many other industries, like stone masonary. never seen a clipper, but we used to have a record or stanley one.

love these egg beaters :lol:

paul :wink:

 

[paulm]

The saw will be 1941. That's a War Department mark (the arrow thingy) on it. Dad must have pinched it :wink:

Oh well then, not quite Disston or LN after all :lol:

Another look at it shows it would need a fair amount of filing to re-establish the teeth, and setting, and a new handle, and cleaning up.........not actually sure I'm that bored or short of things to do !!!

The handle rivets are screwhead type and look in good condition, not at all chewed up.

Had a play with the hand grinder, dissassembled it, cleaned it up, oiled and reassembled. The stone did sound totally dead when I tapped it so tried to fit a spare white Norton 60 grit that I had, but the plastic bush is too big for the spindle. Tried winding some tape round the spindle but it wasn't very successful and couldn't get it to run anywhere near evenly. Any cunning wheezes for a situation like this or shall I just go and investigate Axminster et all in search of the bushings ?

The old hand brace is a 10" sweep Alf and the jaws look and seem to operate fine.

Wasn't planning to use the blowtorch at all, and if I had of been I think the idea of inadvertantly turning it into a flame thrower has put me off the idea :shock: :lol: Just kept it back from the junk pile as it looks kind of interesting. Can remember my dad struggling to light it years ago and swearing and cursing at it, but it's seen some use all the same.

Need to figure out what to do with the stuff now. I had just started a tidy-up/clearout beforehand trying to make some space, and don't really have enough room for things that won't get used. Don't want to turn into one of those collectors :shock: :lol:

Cheers, Paul

 

[Alf]

From the Old Tools List archive - Mounting grinding wheels.

Cheers, Alf

 

[paulm]

Alf, that's brilliant in it's simplicity, why didn't I think of that :sign3: :lol:

Spent a fair while going through the websites to find that the smallest size bushing available is 13mm and I needed 9 or 10, thinking up all sorts of complicated solutions involving the lathe, drill press and exotic timbers, all the time with a vague feeling I was missing something simple........

Thanks for saving a lot of time and aggravation :lol:

Cheers, Paul

 

[bugbear]

As for refurbishing it[a saw], a block of wood and some wet'n'dry ('bout 240g) worked along the length of the blade should clean it up okay. I lubricate it with a bit of paraffin but it makes a terrible mess - rest the blade on a bit of ply or something so it's totally flat and supported btw.

My piece of plywood has a quarter circle taken out of the corner, allowing the saw to sit a bit closer.

I also use a piece of scrap with a 1/8" rebate taken out to cover the teeth, so I can clean up to the edge without wrecking my SiC and/or wire wool.

BugBear

 

[Alf]

My piece of plywood has a quarter circle taken out of the corner, allowing the saw to sit a bit closer.

I just move the saw. Not as snazzy but... :wink: