Many folks sing the praises of the Stanley #42X saw set as being the one to have. Of course when enough people want one it can cause prices to go up.
Some prefer the Millers Falls #214. There are many saw sets from which to choose. Having had a few others, the Stanley #42X is my choice. It is what is known as a pistol grip design. Many others have a plier’s grip.
There are also hammer set tools and some like to use a screwdriver.
My two user saw sets are set up different:
Modified & Standard Plunger.jpg
The one on the left has had the plunger filed for setting smaller teeth. Stanley, according to the instruction sheet, offered a plunger for setting teeth smaller than 14 ppi. Good luck finding one.
The 42Xs that have come my way have all been marked in two places:
Marked in Two Places.jpg
The image shows the 42X under the main body and on the inside of the front handle.
If someone ever did a type study on these, about the only thing that looks to have changed on the ones in my shop is the cutout notch that rests against the saw blade being set:
Evolution of the Blade Cutout.jpg
The one at the bottom has an arched cutout. One the top left is a square cutout. On the right there is a small groove cast in the square cutout.
Disassembly isn’t difficult:
#42X Disassembled.jpg
The hardest part is getting the handle free from the plunger.
The parts are as follows starting at the upper left:
The bent piece of metal is for setting light weight circular blades.
To the right of that is the main body piece.
Below and to the left is the thumb screw to hold the anvil.
Note, all the screws have a 10-28 thread. (good ol’ Stanley threading)
Next is the anvil adjusting screw, the anvil and the pivot screw for the handles.
Below that is the clamping bushing and the plunger. Below them are the springs. The small one goes on the plunger and is inserted into the clamping bushing. The larger spring goes around the clamping bushing and is then inserted into the main body.
Finally there is the front handle.
This one had weak springs so a replacement set was purchased from someone on ebay selling them. The new plunger spring was a hair too long and prevented the plunger from fully engaging a tooth. A little was ground off of both ends to correct this:
Ground Spring.jpg
These can be a bit of a pain putting back together.
The hard part is getting the holes for the screw and threads aligned. There is a fairly easy solution:
Lining up Screw Holes.jpg
A small deep socket (3/8” - 1/4” drive) was used in a vise to press the handle into place and align the holes.
It actually was easier with the set up flipped over to see the threads and using the screw driver from the underside.
One of my #42X saw sets had a broken screw. This led me to purchase a saw set that was missing parts to get a proper replacement screw.
Originally a #10 brass wood screw was cut and threaded as a replacement but when one for parts became available it was snatched up.
When looking for one of these, remember there is only a single screw through the body. Also note the look of the screw(s) for adjusting the anvil. One model looks similar but there is a much larger piece at the front of the tool. Stanley made a few different saw sets with the #42 involved. Do not expect sellers to know the difference.
Hope this is of help to those looking for one of these wanting to make sure all the parts are there.
jtk
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