Which saw vise?

[Chuck Nickerson]

I'm starting to sharpen my handsaws. (They'll probably never work right again.) I can find a new ECE saw vise for about $150, and a used EC Stearns for about $50. Is the ECE that much better than the EC Stearns? Don't say I should build one. I'm too far behind to be building a tool to maintain a tool to be getting real work done.

[Mike Wenzloff]

Hi Chuck,

I have one like this one:

17. STOVER, SAW VISE, NO. 12, 9 inch jaws. Light duty. Cam-lock jaws. The rivet on the front jaw has been replaced with a screw, G+ ........... $40.00
Picture (http://www.jonzimmersantiquetools.com/tools/saw_vise_a.jpg)

This one is from Jon Zimmer:
http://www.jonzimmersantiquetools.com/tools/saws.htm

He's a great guy to do business with.

Take care, Mike

[Roger Nixon]

First the good news, if you don't get carried away filing, your sharpening job will be at least adequate. My sharpening is no match for Harry Strasil's but is better than most sharpening services. You'll do best if you can start on a saw where the teeth are regular so you don't have to try to reshape. It is easy to take off too much so take off only half of what you think is necessary. Having to make another pass is no sin.

As far as a saw vise, they are nothing special either. They are sure not worth $50 - $150. Too bad you didn't write this a year earlier because I gave away/threw away 6 of them when I moved. I've never paid more than $5 and most were $1. I used to put saws between a couple of boards and clamp them in my Workmate. It works great but it is too low for comfort. The old framing carpenters used to clamp a board across a doorway then clamp their saws to the board.

If you still want to buy one, the Stearns is a good one. I kept my two favorite vises and one of them is a patented Stearns with a ball swivel socket arrangement. The other is a Wentworth. Wentworth patented a round groove in the vise faces that held a piece of leather to cut down on the screeching you get when you file a saw in a metal vise (a big reason to use wood). I found you can use rubber screen door spline in the groove and it works very well. :)

[Tom Saurer]

I used a vise with two boards last night and it worked fine.

[James Mittlefehldt]

I have a Veritas twin screw end vice on my work bench with two 8/4 maple jaws I simply clamp the saw in the jaws pull up a chair and file for a while, I have an old iron saw vise and I may have used it once, bought it for $5. at an auction sale.

The workmate with two boards would be fine as well. just get a chair to put yourself at the lsame level as the teeth you are sharpening.

[Gary Curtis]

I got mine on eBay for $16. A heavy hunk of iron with a ball joint. But if you can wait until the 19th, the Old Galoots are having their used tool swapmeet and Anderson Plywood in Culver City, Calif. I've seen saw vises there on 2 of my 3 visits. Great prices.

Gary Curtis

[Chuck Nickerson]

I won an ebay auction for the Stearns vise at $16, including shipping. Now to learn how to use it.

[Mark Miller]

Hi,

The best I have found is the old Disston saw vise that has the cam turning lever lock on the bottom portion that hold the ball pivot. The cheaper of the old ones do not have that & will not stay where you pivot them so I don't recommend those. You can usually pick those up for around $15 on ebay.

Best of luck,
Mark