Disston No. 12 handle, to repair or not to repair that is the question.

[Larry McGarrah]

I have a super nice 1880-1900 Disston No. 12 hand saw 11 ppi which is not only good looking but excellent to use. The only thing wrong with it is the top horn on the handle is broken. It isn't bad but is missing about 30% of the wood from the tip. Should I attempt to repair the horn? And if I do repair the horn what is the best way to attach the new wood to the old wood? Finally, how much additional wood will I have to remove to properly repair the horn? I really don't want to cut the horn off with the grain make the repair because that would require removing soooo much wood which is not damaged.

[george wilson]

Nothing wrong with a decently executed repair. No way to tell you how much wood must be removed. You must plane it off till there is a flat surface. You probably need to use applewood for the repair. If you are good at it,you can age the new piece to match the golden color of the old handle. I'd practice on a separate piece of apple wood till you get it right first.

Not long ago,Klaus posted pictures of a broken saw handle he rebuilt.Look that up.

[Larry McGarrah]

What adhesive would be best? I have read Lee Valley's Special T cyanoacrylate works well.

[Jonathan McCullough]

I've used brown hide glue with success. It holds well in a variety of temperatures, such as a garage in a temperate climate. As I recall, some glues weaken in freezing temperatures, like super glue and epoxies, but I'm no glue expert.

[Larry McGarrah]

My understanding is hide glue is not able to stand up to higher temperatures. My shop isn't air-conditioned 24X7 and during the summer the temp can get up to 100+ degrees when I am not using it. Would this type of temperature cause it to breakdown?

[Jim Matthews]

If it cuts well, now and is comfortable to use, you could make things worse.

Here's a primer on the process (http://www.wkfinetools.com/tRestore/saw/repHorns/repHorns-1.asp).

[Erik Manchester]

Larry,

There is an excellent overview of the horn repair process on Daryl Weir's website. He is a master at saw restoration and his site provides a trove of great info that he willingly shares.

http://home.grics.net/~weir/saw_restoration.html

[george wilson]

Use the hide glue. It will hold up fine,just as it has for thousands of years. I NEVER use super glue on wood.

[Larry McGarrah]

I think I will go ahead and restore the handle, my first. After exploring the options I could find on the internet I think I will do a V cut into the horn, instead of a flat cut, so as to leave as much of the original wood as possible. I will then cut a piece off an old salvage handle to use for the replacement wood. It is a small job but the saw just doesn't look right with the bobbed horn.

http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o28/biomed1/?action=view&current=12a.jpg

http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o28/biomed1/?action=view&current=12b.jpg

[Bill Houghton]

It is a small job but the saw just doesn't look right with the bobbed horn.

You'd find it wouldn't feel right, either. The soft tissue between thumb and first finger goes right there when you're sawing, and even a minor chip out of the horn can be irritating; 30% gone would be maddening and uncomfortable.

[jeff . whitaker]

Use the hide glue. It will hold up fine,just as it has for thousands of years. I NEVER use super glue on wood.
OK... now THAT I don't understand.... May I ask why not? I use it almost every day, and have done so for years.. repairs, gap filling cracks, as a finish... I have even built RC airplanes that top 120 mph and pull some awesome G's using nothing but C A .... I might fly it into the ground (dumb thumbs) but the joints held in flight after flight......
*shrug*

[george wilson]

The furniture conservationists at Williamsburg say that CA glue has life time limits. Maybe that can be contested? Hide glue doesn't,if it isn't left in moisture extremes. 100º isn't going to hurt it. CA's just not time proven,at the least,so I use hide glue for important things. For metal,or other places where hide won't work,or for temporarily holding small metal objects while milling them,I use CA. A little heat melts it easily for removing the object afterwards. Acetone finishes getting it off.

This subject has caused arguments in the past. I just prefer to use proven glue on my work. It's safer. I know that 20-30 years from now,even 100 years+,my joints aren't going to be falling apart. It is also reversible.Good for instruments as it is pretty transparent to transferring vibrations in wood.

[Larry McGarrah]

What about Titebond II? How does it rate for this sort of repair?

[Larry McGarrah]

Here is my restored Disston No. 12. It is my first saw restore and I am happy with how it turned out. Not too bad for a $2 junker.

http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o28/biomed1/?action=view&current=saw5.jpg

[Jim Belair]

Not too bad for a $2 junker.

Not too bad indeed. Great job!

[Deane Allinson]

Nice looking resto!! The horn looks great and feels better with if back to size. All to my users hand & rip saws are #12s except for a Bishop #12 clone. You'll love it at any price.
Deane

[Jim Paulson]

It looks great! I recently made a similar repair.

[Dominic Greco]

While CA Glue excels that filling cracks and sealing small gaps, it is "brittle" when it dries. If the repaired joint is subjected to a shock, the repair may well fail. Because it is flexible, Epoxy is my glue of choice. I can color it so that the repair will blend in with wood and hardly be noticeable

[Mike Holbrook]

I ran a thread on saw handle repair too. I have three or four I am repairing and I am making a couple or so as well. At the end of the thread Bob Smalser mentions West Systems as an excellent source for glue and filler for these kinds of repairs. Good stuff I have used it extensively for boat repair.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?175970-Hand-Saw-handle-repair&highlight=