Bristol saw restoration

[AndyT]

It seems a while since we had any posts about putting knackered old tools back to work. This post won't show much that's new, but I hope it will be useful in showing how far you can go.

I spotted this old saw in a local junk shop recently.

I bought it, mostly for the local connection, knowing that it was actually made by Garlick and Sons of Sheffield, but although I already have one or two other saws, it seemed a shame to leave it in such a state.

You can see the problems. Rust, some pitting, an immovable handle which has splayed out and does not hold the blade, despite the extra nails installed, with a split at the thin part. Nothing too serious!

So, I spread the jolly floral protective cloth on the bench, put on some rubber gloves and set to. First with a sraper, then with emery paper and WD40.

The handle got the usual 'reviver' mixture:

and was then glued together where it had split

The splayed-out cheeks of the handle were an issue. I had no chance of undoing the saw screws and did not want to make matters worse by disturbing them. So I cut some wedges of thin wood and glued them in.

This is a scrap of thin wood, held in a recess chiselled in a thicker bit of wood, being planed down so it's thin enough, with a bit of a taper.

They get glued in on either side like this

Once the glue has set the excess is sawn off

and the wood is trimmed back with a fine chisel and stained with Vandyke crystals. (Sorry, I forgot to photograph that.)

I also added some extra wedges alongside the nails behind the end of the brass back, then disguised it all with some Liberon wax. You can just see the packing here, but I think it blends in enough. The handle and blade got a once-over with some Renaissance brand microcrystalline wax.

That left the saw teeth to cope with. I don't need to show anyone here how to sharpen a saw, so I'll just say that I followed the instructions in Paul Sellers' video here http://youtu.be/UA5DixEaaUo and filed it rip, with progressive rake. This was a bit of a breakthrough for me - filing rip is much easier, and the saw cuts well with and across the grain.

Here are some more photos of the finished article.

It now works really nicely and has earned a space in my saw till.

Simon Barley lists saws like this, made by Garlick and sold by Gardner, in his excellent book and dates it to around 1900. Good for a few years yet!

 

[Plumberpete]

Nice job Andy!

Just in case you didn't know, your saw is late 19th Century as Thomas James Gardner took over his father's business in 1880 and the company moved from the Pithay to Narrow Wine Street in 1900.

 

[AndyT]

Thanks Pete - so it's between 115 and 135 years old - not bad going. ;-)

 

[bugbear]

... to Narrow Wine Street in 1900.

Narrow Wine Street, you say? There was a brass foundry there

BugBear

 

[bugbear]

It looks like a once-good saw was owned by a real hacker late in its life. The nails, split handle and teeth worn beyond and decent usability all point to rough use. And the rust looks quite recent.

BugBear

 

[Cheshirechappie]

It looks like a once-good saw was owned by a real hacker late in its life. The nails, split handle and teeth worn beyond and decent usability all point to rough use. And the rust looks quite recent.

BugBear

Quite probably the fate of many a good tool. A lifetime's careful use by the original, skilled, owner; then maybe passed on to another skilled man, then after his retirement some time after WW2 unwanted by a generation of power tool users. Perhaps 'dad's tools' were inherited by a son with some feeling for, but little understanding of them, kept in a damp shed and used occasionally for the odd bit of rough DIY. Then, on his passing, swept up by the local house-clearance firm, and sold on with a batch of other assorted tools to the local junk-shop.....

Nice job on the restoration, Andy. I especially like the fitting of wooden shims to fill the gaps between spine and handle mortice - don't think that would have occurred to me!

Wise move not to disturb the split-nut fixings - I gather they can be real pigs to reassemble. They were never intended to be removed, being installed by the manufacturer, tightened, and then trimmed up flat with the handle cheeks by means of a float. That tended to burr the screw into the nut, so whilst it's possible to nip them up tighter if they loosen (assuming you happen to have a pronged screwdriver or brace bit), and possible to dissemble them, overcoming the burrs to get them back together can be a real pain. They are also rather thin, so don't have much by way of thread so filing the burrs off can leave you with practically no thread at all; and they tend to made of a rather brittle grade of cast brass.

No wonder that design of fixing was abandoned when the threaded tube-nut type became available. Why some of modern premium saw-makers have re-adopted the split-nut type rather baffles me. You need a special screwdriver to nip them up, too - one advantage of the threaded tube-nut type is that a bog-standard screwdriver will tighten them. At least the modern makers use fixings machined from drawn bar, which tends to be less brittle. Apart from that, and maybe appearance if you happen to like them, not much can be said in their favour.

Edit to add - looking at the photos again, it appears that the attempted 'repair' by knocking nails into the handle just behind the spine has pushed the spine forwards a bit relative to the blade. It seems to overhang by more than usual at the toe end.

 

[mouppe]

You have done a fantastic job there...well done and hope you enjoy many years of good use with the saw.

 

[AndyT]

... to Narrow Wine Street in 1900.

Narrow Wine Street, you say? There was a brass foundry there

BugBear

Indeed there was, but the combined effects of the Luftwaffe, Bristol Planners and the decline in demand for Hale's Celebrated Plunge Cock mean that there is virtually no trace of its former splendours!! :lol:

 

[Carl P]

Hale's Celebrated Plunge Cock - I suspect demand fell with the demise of the Carry On films

Oo'er missus!

Carl

 

[AndyT]

Hale's Celebrated Plunge Cock - I suspect demand fell with the demise of the Carry On films

Oo'er missus!

Carl

from Grace's Guide: - it resisted "heavy pressures!"

 

[Racers]

I would have had to remove those nails, it makes me feel bad just looking at them, why! why! why!

Nice job BTW.

Pete

 

[AndyT]

I would have had to remove those nails, it makes me feel bad just looking at them, why! why! why!

Nice job BTW.

Pete

I did try to remove the nails, using long nosed pliers, but they didn't shift easily. I think the saw plate must have been wobbly for a while, wearing away at the handle. It's firm again now, and nothing shows except the wax. ;-)

 

[Carl P]

Hale's Celebrated Plunge Cock - I suspect demand fell with the demise of the Carry On films

Oo'er missus!

Carl

from Grace's Guide: - it resisted "heavy pressures!"

Thanks for posting this - it is of course, interesting for historical reasons - but there's a whole film script in there somewhere!

Cheerio,

Carl

 

[mouppe]

Looks like the type-setter went font-crazy!

 

[Corneel]

What the heck is a celebrated plunge cock? Google wasn't very helpfull answering this question....

Nice job on the saw Andy. I would probably have passed on this one.

 

[G S Haydon]

Such a shame a real gem was left to rot and good job on saving it! Useful link to the "reviver".

 

[JimF.]

Very sympathetic restoration. Not overdone. The saw bears the marks of itd years with dignity.

 

[swagman]

Nice job on the restoration Andy. A piece of saw making history that's well worth saving.

Stewie;

 

[tooltique]

Looks very sharp now Andy, nice job.

 

[Vann]

What the heck is a celebrated plunge cock?

I'm with Corneel, what is Hales Celebrated Plunge Cock? I only got to see one or to Carry On movies, and if I heard that reference, it went straight over my head...

Cheers, Vann.