Need help I.D'ing a Stanley miter box

[Jesse Busenitz]

347484347485

is this a #245? I did some looking, and it looks like there's a tag on the end? (It's at the shop so I can't check it) Paid 5 bucks so I don't think I can go too wrong. I'm not much of a hand tool guy but I saw it while looking at an old Walker Turner dp that I brought home as well. Was thinking I'd resell it, but now I'm thinking I'll hang on to it for cutting those really small mouldings.

[John Vernier]

I think it's either a 244 or 246, the only difference being the length of the saw which was supplied with it - the 244 had a 24x4" saw, the 246 had a 26x4" saw. Your box is early enough to have the circular plate set into the base board. This allows you to screw one of the workholding sliding arms to the base board, to hold the workpiece at an angle to the fence, thus allowing a more acute cutting angle than is otherwise possible (I bet that doesn't make much sense!). That feature was dropped at some point, I think by the 1930s.

I have one of these and I find it quite useful and accurate. Other people grumble about these old Staney models, and think them hard to fettle, so I guess it depends on how well your box was treated through its life.

[John Vernier]

Just realized that the two posts on your box are switched - the catches which hold the saw up at the top of the posts are different front and back, and the one with the circular ended lever is supposed to be at the front of the box. It won't affect the function at all, except for releasing the catches. I had my grandfather's box set up like this for quite a while before I figured it out.

[Jesse Busenitz]

Thanks for the info John. I cleaned it up a bit and found the tag, and it is a 246. There are a few broken parts on it, that will need to be replaced... where do you guys look for parts besides eBay?