Great grandads Disston crosscut saw

[Rick Floyd]

My mother-in-law told me last week she had a small collection of tools that had been in the family for a number of years. To my delight she had an old Disston crosscut saw. It isn't in great condition but considering that I think it is in the 130 year old range and has seen a lot of use, it isn't in bad shape. My question is this: should I try to clean this saw up? I want to preserve this saw since it has been in the family so many years but I'm unsure if I should simply just keep it dry, clean and oiled to prevent more damage. I attached a handful of pictures including the medallion. You can see that there is a place where one of the screws has been replaced by a rivet or a homemade rivet or something so I'm not sure I could get the handle off without damaging the saw further. The rivet has caused some damage to the handle where it moves around and has kind of planed a flat spot where the screw would have been slightly recessed. There is other damage to the saw. The end of the blade has damage and the little tab at the top is missing. The blade is not straight and would need work to bring it back to straight. The red staining on the blade is red paint I think. It doesn't appear to be rust.

My goal isn't to make it usable, but rather to make it endure. Feedback appreciated.

Thanks

Rick
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[Pete Taran]

Rick,

It's a worthy project if it holds meaning to you. The saw nut is likely missing because that early saw nut was pre glover patent. The nuts and bolts were cast, and had very slender shanks like a split nut screw. They did not take a lot of abuse and it was very easy to shear them off by over tightening. Then this happens, the owner uses what they have for a repair. I've seen nuts replaced with everything from roofing nails to bailing wire. You could drill out the rivet and then get an ordinary shanked saw nut to replace it, but you would need to drill out the blade slightly. There is no reason you couldn't get that saw cutting again if you wanted to.

Regards,

Pete

[lowell holmes]

I have an old Disston that I put new saw nuts on with a new handle I made. You also can buy junker saws for the saw nuts.
If I were in your position, I would clean the saw plate and put a new handle and saw nuts. On my saw, I filed the teeth, re-toothed and set the teeth. It is a pleasure to use. Keep the old handle and saw nuts in case you might want to return it to it's present condition. You can also buy new saw nuts on line.

[Stew Denton]

Rick,

Looking at the Disston Institute, based on the information on the Medallion, it looks like the medallion on your saw matches the ones from 1878 to 1888.

Lowell has made some beautiful handles, as I think he has posted some on this site. However, the handle on your saw looks to be in excellent restorable shape. I would restore the handle. I would do what Pete advised.

There is a lot of good advise on this site on restoring hand saws, if you do a search. I would go for a complete restoration. I think it could be a good user, and complete restoration is the best way to preserve it, even if you don't use it.

Stew