Miller Falls Miter Box Help

I have an old Miller Falls Model 74C(?) Miter Box that has been brought out of storage to finally use. It's in fairly good shape but needs cleaning and a few missing parts. The saw itself is still surprisingly sharp. What's missing is the angle adjustment bar underneath the box. I think it's nothing more than a piece of flat stock with a hole toward the middle to fasten it to the undercarriage and a slot on the end to receive the adjustment stop pin. There's also supposed to be a spring somewhere in between to keep the stop pin in place. If anyone that has this saw could provide some dimensions on the bar, etc I would appreciate it. The miter box is heavy and seems to be well made. I think it might prove to be a useful tool.

Hi Steve, I have a model 75, but I believe the only difference to a 74 is the size of saw it was sold with. The mitre box itself (IIRC) is identical.
Here’s a photo of the underside of mine. What part(s) would you like measured?

Attachment 381026

Thanks Phil but the Millers Falls that I have (shown below) has a different releasing mechanism. I think yours has a small lever on the side. Mine is setup to just have a flat bar on the bottom that pivots toward the middle and is spring loaded. I'm missing the flat bar, bolt and spring assembly.

PS I like the cast parts in your 75.

Attachment 381030Attachment 381031

Steve,
I dragged out one of my Millers Falls miter box, and I think it's similar to the one you have.The label is unreadable, but the underside looks the same.
Here are some pictures, showing the underside, and the parts you're missing.
Attachment 381139Attachment 381140
The bar is 1/8"X 1" X 7". The spacer is .50" in diameter, and .685 long. The main body is .50 long, and the smaller portion is .342 in diameter. It has a 1/4" hole through it.
The spring is .475 in diameter and 1" long, and the wire is .062 in diameter. The screw is a 1/4-20 X 1" round head machine screw.
I can give you more measurements, but I'll have to do that later. Let me know if you need them, and I'll get them to you.
Rick

Wow Rick! That's exactly what I needed. And many thanks. I suspect the slot on one end of the bar is offset to allow the slotted pin to be centered. If not I would appreciate you letting me know. This will be a nice little project and will post pics when its done. Thanks again!

Steve,
Yes, the slot is offset for the reason you suspected.
I corrected the measurements of the bar to include the width.
Good luck with the restoration!
Rick.

The pic below shows what was fabricated today but I must be missing something because the pin that locks/unlocks the platform doesn't move up or down as expected. My first impression was the center screw acted like a pivot point with the spring providing tension on the pin in the upward or engaged position. Instead nothing moves because everything is locked into position by the close tolerances. Maybe the hole in the spacer needs to be larger?

Attachment 381200Attachment 381203

Steve, I can’t offer much help as my miter box is different. But what a great job you did in fabricating the parts. I assume you have a spring. I also did notice that Rick’s photo of the bar part has the slot offset some, and yours appears to be centered. Could that be an issue?

Thanks Phil. The flat bar was fabricated with a Bridgeport and the spacer was turned on a small SB lathe, both I'm just beginning to learn to use. The slot in the bar is offset just enough to center the bar. I don't think it's the source of the problem as the bar will not even move with the pin removed. The tight fit between the spacer and bar prevents the bar from pivoting. Hopefully Rick will chime in again and shed some light on what wrong.

Steve,
Sorry I forgot to mention this, but the hole in the bar is larger than the shoulder on the spacer. The hole is about 3/8" (.375) in diameter. That provides clearance for the bar to pivot.
I think if you just enlarge the hole, that it will work.
Rick

The bracket is done and works great! I ended up making another one after realizing my departure from Rick's directions was a mistake. The original bar was 3/16" thick instead of the 1/8" that Rick advised using. The additional thickness removed the necessary play in the bracket for it to pivot properly. The mounting hole didn't even need to be enlarged to make it work. I managed to also shove an available spring between the bracket and base. All that's needed to be done now is fabricate some type of retainer for it. Below are pics of the almost finished work. Thanks again Rick!!!!
Attachment 381615Attachment 381616Attachment 381617

Well done, Steve. Always good to see a quality too get put back into usable condition.