Have I actually got a short mitre box saw?

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I have an old Disston #4 - I think I mentioned it an earlier thread, as I still have a photo of it in my attachments . . .

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It proved very handy making the tenons on my workbench after I sharpened it rip, even though it's a little fine at 11 ppi. Eventually I switched to using my handsaws for all that work though - I've actually been using my hand and panel saws a lot more than backsaws lately, even on smallish work.

The thing is heavy as heck, and leaves a large kerf. It didn't occur to me to see how thick the plate was until the other day when I was seeing the saws Chris V. was selling the classifies. The plate is around .04" thick!

The odd shape of the plate at the handle end of the saw, (it doesn't end perpendicular to the tooth line) and the thick gauge of steel (which is pretty close to the 19 gauge steel the Disstonian Institute lists for Disston mitre box saws - my calipers aren't the most accurate and I didn't measure in more than one spot) make me think I've got a mitre box saw, but it's only 16 inches along the tooth line.

Seems like the shortest mitre box saw the Disstonian institute lists is an 18" version, listed in info from the 1929 catalog. My medallion matches what the D.I. lists as being from 1896-1917, however.

Even if I'm generous and measure along the top of the plate, the steel back of the saw is 17 1/4" inches long at most and I can only get to 18 inches if measure the plate well into the bit that's buried in the handle. Is that how these were measured?

I guess I've got my answer - this had to have been intended as a mitrebox saw, I just find it odd to be on the short side like this - it really shows no signs at all, at least to my untrained eye, of having been shortened, however.

I guess I've got myself some justification to start looking at other tenon saws, though!

[steven c newman]

There the "miterboxes" and the there were just miter boxes. Some were quite fancy, with long saws riding in them. Then there was those "cheap" wooden "boxes" You could only cut at certain angles, and at 90 degrees. just a "base' of wood, a front and back of wood. USUALLY the cuts were close. Some of these old boxes were narrow eoungh that even my 10" backsaw would work. Think Small trim, cut on a sawhorse. For every "Langdon" out there, there are at least a dozen wooden boxes. Later on, stanley ( and others) went with a plastic version.

[Andrae Covington]

Even if I'm generous and measure along the top of the plate, the steel back of the saw is 17 1/4" inches long at most and I can only get to 18 inches if measure the plate well into the bit that's buried in the handle. Is that how these were measured?

I believe that is how they were measured, noting the text from the 1911 catalog:

The following prices are for saws measured the full length of the blade. The peculiar shape of butt or heel in these saws makes the toothed edge about 2 inches shorter than the full length of the blade.



The thing is heavy as heck, and leaves a large kerf. It didn't occur to me to see how thick the plate was until the other day when I was seeing the saws Chris V. was selling the classifies. The plate is around .04" thick!

Funny that the 1924 catalog considers this to be "thin":

Because of the nature of the work to be done, the blade is made quite thin (19 gauge or about 3/64 of an inch), but is reinforced for stiffness by having the upper edge inserted in a metal back.



I guess I've got my answer - this had to have been intended as a mitrebox saw, I just find it odd to be on the short side like this - it really shows no signs at all, at least to my untrained eye, of having been shortened, however.

It doesn't look shortened to me, either. Although not a guarantee, the fact that the stamping in the spine is approximately centered suggests the saw was always that length. As Steven said, there were lots of miter boxes in different sizes, including smaller metal or wood ones. I'm not sure if Disston listed every possibly option in their catalogs, and even so, they were probably willing to do special-order runs if there was enough volume, say for a miter box manufacturer.

[Jonas Baker]

I have a 16'' disston #4 which looks to be from the same era (it has the PHILA medallion). Mine is 16" along the tooth line and it doesnt have the curve in the plate that your saw has. The plate on mine is about .034" thick. From these differences I'd surmise that yours is a miter box saw.