Vince Sandy
07-27-2004, 4:09 PM
I found another Disston backsaw. This one has a 14" long blade. It appears that it was dropped at some time during its long life because there is a small bend at the toothed edge of the blade, opposite end of the handle, and the first few teeth are missing. It has also been sharpened and someone made a real mess of it. The teeth are inconsistent and are not in the same plane (it needs to be jointed). I figure it'll lose about 3/16 or 1/4 inch of blade width (under the back spine) to get the mess straightened out.
It was very dirty and rusty and was missing the nut of one of the screws. The handle has a few minor stress cracks but none that go all the way through. Overall the wood is very tight with a few minor dings. I assumed it to be a No. 4.
I cleaned it up using the methods described in my post of a few weeks ago (when I wrote about the No. 4 that I found at a flea market). I found no evidence of any etching. While I was working on the saw I noticed that the teeth have no set at all and that the handle is a bit different from the No. 4 handle.
I checked the Disstonian Institute website and based on the information found there I think that this saw is a No. 77 "Mechanics' Own" backsaw, "To run without set".
"These Saws are particularly adapted for fine cabinet work, sawing mitres, and where rapid and smooth cutting is required the use of a plane can he dispensed with, as they will cut a joint sufficiently smooth to glue without planing. Regularly made 8 points to the inch, except for about 1 1/4" at the front where the teeth are 12 points to the inch. In filing use a 4 1/2-inch slim taper file."
Based on the catalog images the handle has a similar shape of the very early No. 4 backsaws. But it appears there are slight differences in that the No. 4 never had the little "bump" in the "valley" at the front base of the top horn. The 1911 catalog shows the No. 4 handle changes to a graceful curve as opposed to an abrupt point and angle (on the inside of the handle near the blade). The No. 77 handle remains with the abrupt point and angle. The medallion dates the saw to 1896-1917.
I'm concluding that the No. 77 is the same saw as a No. 4 but with no set to the teeth, an unusual tooth count and a slightly different handle. Any comments?
I've attached some images. The No. 77 handle is shown above the No. 4 handle in one of the images. Thanks, Vince
It was very dirty and rusty and was missing the nut of one of the screws. The handle has a few minor stress cracks but none that go all the way through. Overall the wood is very tight with a few minor dings. I assumed it to be a No. 4.
I cleaned it up using the methods described in my post of a few weeks ago (when I wrote about the No. 4 that I found at a flea market). I found no evidence of any etching. While I was working on the saw I noticed that the teeth have no set at all and that the handle is a bit different from the No. 4 handle.
I checked the Disstonian Institute website and based on the information found there I think that this saw is a No. 77 "Mechanics' Own" backsaw, "To run without set".
"These Saws are particularly adapted for fine cabinet work, sawing mitres, and where rapid and smooth cutting is required the use of a plane can he dispensed with, as they will cut a joint sufficiently smooth to glue without planing. Regularly made 8 points to the inch, except for about 1 1/4" at the front where the teeth are 12 points to the inch. In filing use a 4 1/2-inch slim taper file."
Based on the catalog images the handle has a similar shape of the very early No. 4 backsaws. But it appears there are slight differences in that the No. 4 never had the little "bump" in the "valley" at the front base of the top horn. The 1911 catalog shows the No. 4 handle changes to a graceful curve as opposed to an abrupt point and angle (on the inside of the handle near the blade). The No. 77 handle remains with the abrupt point and angle. The medallion dates the saw to 1896-1917.
I'm concluding that the No. 77 is the same saw as a No. 4 but with no set to the teeth, an unusual tooth count and a slightly different handle. Any comments?
I've attached some images. The No. 77 handle is shown above the No. 4 handle in one of the images. Thanks, Vince