Goodell-Pratt Mitre Box opinions

[Larry McGarrah]

How do the older Goodell-Pratt mitre boxes rate? I have one that I think is a model 1306 but it has no tag and the label on the back was painted over. The arms have "Goodell MFG Co. Pat. Feb 9, 1904" and the four bolt 5" X 26" Disston saw has "Made Expressly For Goodell-Pratt Company Greenfield, Mass USA" so I think it is made maybe early 20s. Everything is good and tight and works smoothly. It just needs a bit of cleaning and repainting to look work like new. Are these as good as the old Stanley, Langdon, or Miller's Falls mitre boxes??

[andrew messimer]

I have a Goodell No. 1285 miter box with 28" by 5" Disston and I love it. I would say it is as good as the Millers Falls/Langdon boxes. The one thing with yours is that you should actually have a 30" by 6" saw. The model number for the "All-Steel" boxes as they were known gave the size saw that should be used i.e. 1264 used a 26" by 4" saw, 1285 28" by 5" saw, etc. Check out http://oldtoolheaven.com/. One other thing, is that when measuring the miter box saws, add 2" to the length of the toothline to get the advertised length, yours is actually a 28" saw according to Disston.

[Larry McGarrah]

I think this same basic mitre box style later became the Miller's Falls "All Steel" mitre box.

[Gary Herrmann]

You can't go wrong with anything Goodell Pratt made.