Eclipse No. 50 piercing saw.

[Bod]

I've at long last acquired one of these, why I don't know!
The question is. How do you tension the blade?
All of my books mention Coping/fret saws, with sprung frames, none mention the piecing saw.
Google seems to say it's a jewellers tool rather than a wood tool, no mention is made of what type of blade to use.
I've fitted a fret saw blade, but what tension I can get is by coping/fret saw standards pretty poor.
I feel this is a tool, best used to get a bit more life, from broken blades.

Bod

 

[AndyT]

Fit one end of a blade in its clamp.
Push the far end of the frame against the edge of the bench or something else solid. This bends the frame enough to tension the blade. Clamp the other end of the blade.

Repeat with variations if the blade is too slack or too tight.
Adjust the frame if using a short blade.

You can get a huge range of very fine blades for cutting metal - I bought mine years ago when I got interested in jewellery making - but fretsaw blades should work fine for wood.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I find it easier to clamp the "far" end then holding the saw upright with the handle downwards put the end of the back on your bench. Pull down on the handle then do up the handle end clamp.
Piercing saw blades go from 8/0 (89tpi) through 1/0 and 1 to 8 (28tpi) so you'd probably better look for fretsaw blades for wood. I use 3/0 for silver.

 

[rxh]

This is an Eclipse No.50 P.S. - I don't know how it differs from a No.50 but maybe it is quite similar.
I slacken all the thumb screws and clamp the blade in place. Then I push the end of the sliding part of the frame hard with my thumb to tension the blade and tighten the thumb screw to hold it in place. It is intended for fine work in metal and can be adjusted to make use of broken blades.

 

[Bod]

That's the beast!
That's the way I tensioned the blade, I think it will end up in the bottom of the "treasure chest" along with all the other tools that I can't bear to let go, but never use!

Bod