Last of the season.

[Bod]

Last Car boot of the season, gave up these.

1931-39 Record No5 SS
Matherson saw-set.
LH. AbraFrame. Takes Abra file blades.(If anyone has some I'd be interested)
RH. Junior hacksaw, the blade is fully rotatable, aka coping saw.
All for less than £20.
Biggest regret, there was a matching No.4 SS on the same stall as the No5, couldn't justify adding to my collection.
Given the No5 is 80 years old, all I had to do to get acceptable shavings, was to advance the blade.
The handle has been mended twice, a lot of plating has fallen off the cap lever, but it feels right in the hand.

Bod

 

[ED65]

I was going to start one of these! Last sale (that I'll go to at least) was yesterday. Here's my haul for the princely sum of €7:

The brace doesn't look like anything special but it turns out it's very old, from John S. Fray & Co. in the US.

 

[MikeG.]

Ooooh, I've got that exact same red-handled screwdriver. Damned useful bit of indestructible kit.

 

[rxh]

My findings on Saturday for £10:

 

[Jamster21]

The "saw set" in the OP - am I breaking protocol by asking what it is? I picked a job lot of old bits and bobs up recently and there was one in there... I'd been idlly wondering about asking on here what it was; now I know what it is, but not a clue what to do with it!

 

[AndyT]

The "saw set" in the OP - am I breaking protocol by asking what it is? I picked a job lot of old bits and bobs up recently and there was one in there... I'd been idlly wondering about asking on here what it was; now I know what it is, but not a clue what to do with it!

"Setting" a saw means adjusting how much the tips of the teeth project from the sides of the plate. They have to project a bit so that the kerf (groove) that the saw cuts is wider than the plate. If there was no set, or not enough, the saw would bind in the cut and be impossible to use. Too much set makes the saw tiring to use, as you are removing more wood.

The sort of saw set shown has different size slots to suit different saws. To use it, you pick a slot which fits and bring the handle down towards the saw plate, bending the tip of each tooth in turn, alternately to left and right. You need to be consistent on how you apply the tool and how far you bend it.

This sort of set (also called a saw wrest) is quite old. Plier types came later and are easier to use as they don't let you bend a tooth too far and snap it off.

This is the right place to ask questions!

 

[Bod]

The "saw set" in the OP - am I breaking protocol by asking what it is? I picked a job lot of old bits and bobs up recently and there was one in there... I'd been idlly wondering about asking on here what it was; now I know what it is, but not a clue what to do with it!

AndyT is quite correct on what and how with the saw set.
The reason I was attracted to this one, is the forked end. As well as it's overall condition, almost as new!
The forked end is to tighten the Split nuts, found on older saws holding the handle on, this style of nut started to go out of use in around 1880.
Normally these are found with a normal screwdriver type end or no useable end.
As the newer pistol grip sets are much easier to use, this will only be used for nut tightening.

Bod

 

[Jamster21]

Thanks both - much appreciated. I'll clean it up then in readiness for getting a good saw at some point...

 

[AndyT]

These are from a book, not a boot sale - but they do show that the saw set is as old as the saw - the ones at the bottom are Roman:

Full book: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b4494310