Old wood saw

[numbersix]

I just bought this for $5 and thought i would have a go sharpening it and putting handles on it. Anyone here have any experience in this sort of malarky? The rust is not as bad as it looks and the teeth are all straight as is the saw
Any advice appreciated

 

[launditch1]

Nice find!its called a 'lightning crosscut two man saw'.These saws are suited to the cutting of softwoods.There are a 'pair' of teeth next to each other these do the cutting,the single tooth is the raker,this clears the sawdust out of the kerf.The groups of smaller teeth at either end are for starting the cut.

 

[Goatboy]

Hey launditch1,
and quicker that a chainsaw in the right four hands...
Goatboy.

 

[launditch1]

Sharpen it up and make it SING!

 

[Dave Budd]

I've got a couple that I've restored to good working order. Sadly, as I workl on my own I haven't yet tried them out

before sharpeing, do your hands a favour and get the handles made for it.

get the rust off, use a flat file to top the teeth if they are uneven (looks god fromthis angle tho) and a three-square file to sharpen the teeth. If you can find a large enough saw set then set the teeth (not the rakers though, they stay central ). If you can't find a saw set then use a narrow monkey wrench and tweak the teetha tiny amount (a lot easier than hammering them!). Then oil it for protection.

 

[spamel]

That looks almost exactly the same as Addos' saw, from what I can remember. His has the handles and the metal work for setting it in place, if you needed comparison shots I'm sure he'd take a few snaps for you.

 

[jimford]

and quicker that a chainsaw in the right four hands...

Yeahbut, there's nothing quite like the feeling of power that you get with a snarling chainsaw in your hands!

Jim

 

[demographic]

Your going to need to joint the tips, file the teeth and set the teeth.

A book thats worthwhile getting that describes the procedure for all these and goes on to describe how to sharpen almost any tool you need is THIS

Covers chisels, plane irons, saws, knives, scissors, chainsaw chains, router cutters, auger bits, drill bits, draw knives, marking knives, hammer claws, blah blah blah ad infinitum.

Worth every penny I spent on my copy anyway.

 

[numbersix]

Launditch, thanks for letting me know what it is. Ideal for what I intend to use it for

Dave, do you know where i could find details on handle types? I've seen a few different designs and I'm not sure what to go with. I was going to make them myself so I am looking for the simplest way. The guy next door said he would help me test it when finished so i will let you know how that turns out

Spamel, thanks for the info. I will send Addos a PM

demographic, Thanks for the link to that book. If it covers old saws like this then I will buy it.

While googling for old crosscut saws i found this http://www.cathedralgrove.eu/text/05-Pictures-Politics-4.htm which shows some huge saws for cutting massive trees. It's interesting that people used a 28 foot crosscut saw but they should never have cut those amazing trees.

 

[launditch1]

Heres a pic of mine showing the handle and the fixings.Hope this helps....

 

[historyphil]

hello, try soaking the blade in a shallow bath of cold tea for a week a black crust will appera and then (rotary) wire brush it off it will be a bluish patina and never rust again. Works a treat.

Phil

 

[Dave Budd]

hello, try soaking the blade in a shallow bath of cold tea for a week a black crust will appera and then (rotary) wire brush it off it will be a bluish patina and never rust again. Works a treat.

Phil

remind me not to come round your house for a bath


NumberSix, I've replaced the metal parts on one of my saws. Just the same as in Launditch's picture.

each end is made from:
3" length of 1" diam steel pipe, sawn down the middle
5" length threaded rod (or cut a thread on one end of round bar of steel)
1 wing nut to fit
1 split pin/bent nail

the threaded rod/bar has a slot cut down the centre (so the blade slots into it) and a hole drilled for the split pin to secure blade in place.

The actual handle is just a 1" dowel (I think mine are roughly shaeved ash poles that I had sitting about)

 

[demographic]

demographic, Thanks for the link to that book. If it covers old saws like this then I will buy it.

It has about four very informative pages dedicated to the sharpening of two man crosscut saws like that.

Don't just sharpen it though, you need to dress the tops of the teeth (joint them) to the same height in order for it to cut properly then file them sharp and set them.

Oh did I mention that the book also covers axe sharpening as well?

 

[Goatboy]

Yeahbut, there's nothing quite like the feeling of power that you get with a snarling chainsaw in your hands!

Jim

Aye Jim that's true, but they run out of fuel and with my snedding axe I could out snedd any b****r with a chainsaw in my time... on certain species. And at about 12lbs without fuel and oil they're a pain to carry in a "possibles" bag But yeah they're cool and they do keep the midges away if you run them a little oily.
Goatboy

 

[addo]

Aye the saw at the start of the thread looks like the one I found in my garage, which used to belong to my wifes granddad. Ill sort a pic out tomorrow, but Im learning from this tread also, as Im a seasoned chainsaw man mostly. I love old tools and techniques though.

 

[numbersix]

Thanks for the photo launditch1 it has really helped me out.
And Dave thanks for the instructions that seem to make it simpler than I had imagined it would be.
I don't have a bath big enough to soak the thing in tea but the I might give that a go with something else.
I'm definitely going to buy that book on sharpening. Looks very interesting.
Cheers guys

 

[Dave Budd]

no probs

you can get that rust converter stuff for painting on cars and railings, it converts teh corrosive iron oxide in to a more stable form. Or you can just get the rust off with a wire wheel on angle grinder/drill and oil it If you use boiled linseed oil it will harden on the surface and leave a pretty durable finish.

 

[Bravo4]

hey numbersix, not sure if this will help much but,,,,,I was reading Bernard Mason's "Woodsmanship" and came across a page dealing with 2-man crosscut saws. It says, "The two-man crosscut saw has a detachable handle at each end,,,,,the handles are attached by slipping the loop over the end and twisting. A twist and jerk will remove them, an essential feature, for in felling trees the handle must be yanked off in a flash."

The book also shows the "Tuttle Tooth" pattern like yours and launditch1's looks like the "Perforated Lance Tooth".

The ebook is available on the Woodsmoke website in the download section (many thanks for those!!!). It's mainly about axemanship but page 14 is about saws; "Misery Whips".
This link goes straight to the pdf:
http://www.woodsmoke.uk.com/documents/files/woodsmanship_by_b_mason.pdf

 

[demographic]

I just saw a thread about crosscut saws mentioned on another forum and one of the members made THIS Youtube clip which I thought was pretty handy.
If you watch it, there's no sound and be handy on the pause button as there's a bit of reading to do, the same bloke mentioned THE CROSSCUT SAW MANUAL by WARREN MILLER (PDF) which is where he learned how to do it.
Most of the tools to do these jobs can be found cheaply on Ebay and although its quite involved I would have thought that theres one or two of you out there that might like that.

I'm sticking with my Stihl 038 super and 017 for the odd times I need to cut wood, thanks

 

[mr dazzler]

Interesting thread.
Funnily enough I sharpened one (straight edged) only yesterday
Can I ask Dave, how do you top the teeth when they are on an arc? I cant figure it out. I thought something along the lines of a plywood template you could use each time, that was the same size as the tooth arc less an inch or so, then run the file against the plywood, like using a marking guage?

As for rust removal I am a big fan of elctrolysis. It workks a treat and can get amazing results. Basically its metal plating IN REVERSE, in a vat of washing soda or caustic soda in water, you use the electric current from a car battery charger to cause the rust and soot and cement, paint grease etc etc to loosen. You attach one clamp (neg) to the rusty item, the other (posi) to a piece of steel scrap (anode) which you also submerge in the vat. The gunge is attracted to the anode. It takes a day or so. Then you just need to use a plastic brillo pad to gently clean off the jelly type remains, then rinse, dry and oil or wax. The method wont attack sound metal, only rust and other oxides. No kidding I got some disston saws that literally looked like time team relics, coated with concrete, rust, paint etc. Very sadly abused. BUT the process restored them fully, to the point that the fine and delicate makers etch was uncovered undamaged. I paid about 40p each for the saws. I was selling them cleaned set and sharpened for up to £32.