Saw restoration

[Jnorton]

Hi everyone,

I've recently got into doing the odd tool restorations, started with a stanley number 4 plane, now I've been given a very rusty saw, can't see any etchings on the plate, but the brand pin just says 'warrented superior', it was extremely rusted, so into the vineger bath it went. It is now mostly rust free, but it's got a lot of pitting, so... Is there anything I can do about it? Or should I just bin it?

 

[MikeG.]

Sharpen it, set it if necessary, and see how it works. Then decide.

 

[AndyT]

This recent thread covered your question:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/restoring-saws.123950/

 

[MikeG.]

Oh, and welcome aboard.

 

[Ttrees]

Andy Lovelock's video is worth a watch too


I had great luck following his techniques and making a similar vise.

The end of the plate looks only to be corroded, you could cut it off if it proves to be troublesome
in use.
Whether it be sacrificed or not in the end is up to you, but I suggest it may well prove useful to have for now
as it may have the most accurate spacings on the saw, good to have some file practice, etc.

I suggest if your not all that tech savvy to make a diagram and print out for the tooth profile,
then sticking some wide masking tape near the toothline, and marking a line every half inch all the way down the plate.
I found it was the answer to my problems cutting new teeth for a dovetail saw, as I found it much more difficult compared to cutting much larger ones on a panel saw.
Good luck

Tom

 

[Nigel Burden]

Welcome to the forum.

Pitting is not that much of an issue. I have a S&J saw with pitting on the plate but it cuts ok.

Another saw I bought on ebay arrived with a cracked blade that was not obvious from the photos. For what I paid, it was not worth returning, so I shortened it and made scrapers out of the remaining blade. If the pitting is too heavy at the toe you could shorten the saw and still have a usable saw, and the teeth don't look too bad, so sharpening shouldn't be too difficult. Paul Sellers has videos on his website on sharpening that don't complicate the subject.

Nigel.

 

[MikeG.]

..........Pitting is not that much of an issue. I have a S&J saw with pitting on the plate but it cuts ok.
.......

It's generally only an issue if extends into the teeth, in which case it can lead to unsharpenable or even broken teeth. Here, it doesn't seem to do that, with the worst of it being in the least important place, high up on the tip.

 

[Jnorton]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I hadn't even considered I could chop the end off the saw. There's one or two missing teeth, and a lot of mismatched sized teeth, so I might file it down and start over. Once my files arrive

 

[billw]

I'm a little further on with the three saws that I am doing - they're all back together and looking much tidier. I've left the pitting on them as the consensus is that it doesn't affect the performance, I guess this is because it's concave rather than convex, and is away from the teeth.

I'm coming up to the filing and sharpening stage, but first I need to make a saw vice to clamp them properly.