A Tale of Two Saws

[Jason Lester]

I had been using Japanese-style saws for dovetails and rough crosscuts and rips. They never felt right to me though. I bought a Cosman dovetail saw last year and really like it. I decided to get a couple more Western-style saws for rough crosscuts and rips. I ended up first getting a Disston D8 from Pete Taran. It was one of his "saw filing kits" where he cuts new teeth and sends the appropriate file to sharpen it. I had him do 7 PPI and filed it for rip.

Here is when I got it, after removing the screws, but before doing anything to the handle or plate:

20190119_112421-picsay.jpg

I used naval jelly and wet/dry sandpaper on a block to clean the plate up. I sanded the handle down with 120 and up through 220. The plate got a coat of wax on it. The handle got BLO, then shellac, then a few coats of General Finishes High Performance. I cleaned the screws with brass brushes and polishing wheels on a Dremel. It came out really nice:

20190123_174957.jpg

The medallion and etch seem to be from around 1920 as best I can tell. I have never sharpened a saw at all, but following Pete's articles along with a few videos got me on my way. The sharpening wasn't bad, but I had trouble with my saw set. I think I set the teeth too wide, but it still does a good job:
20190126_150301.jpg

Since crosscut sharpening is more difficult, I decided to buy a saw that was already sharpened from Mike Allen for that. He sent me several pics of saws he had and I picked another D8 that was panel sized. He sharpened it at 8 PPI and did a great job. It goes through wood like crazy. He also found patent dates stamped into the handle that date it pretty early, around 1880 from what I've read.

Here's a pic of the handle showing the stamps and the medallion:

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Crosscutting some poplar:

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The pair of saws:
20190129_154531.jpg

The handles look nearly identical until you place them on top of each other. The panel saw handle is noticeably smaller. It also feels more comfortable in the hand to me than the full size saw. I don't know if that's the difference between a panel size versus full size or the 40 years difference in when they were made.

I'm very pleased with both saws. You all got me into buying several planes, then chisels, now some saws, what's next? It's great to have members on SMC that are willing to help those of us learning more about traditional tools and what to look for. I got both these saws for way less than a premium saw from one of the current makers. I can definitely recommend either Pete or Mike if you're looking for a good vintage saw!

Thanks, Jason

[lowell holmes]

**WARNING**
You are on a slippery slope. I did what you are starting and now I have 13 Disston saws now.
I only use about four of them.

[Pete Taran]

Jason,

Glad your saw turned out so well. If it cuts and you learned something, that is all that matters. As to the set, if you have a micrometer, measure the plate above the teeth, and then the set where the teeth are. If you can report those numbers back here, I can give you an idea if they are overset or just right.

If there is too much set, it's not the end of the world. I sometimes get saws like this and I just place it on a steel anvil and tap each tooth all the way down the saw until I reach the end and then flip it over and do the same thing on the other side. That works really well and is very effective. Sometimes it takes several passes. You can even use a carpenters hammer as long as it doesn't have a serrated face.

Pete

[Phil Mueller]

Jason, very nice rehab. Saw looks great. And yes, we are very fortunate to have Pete and Mike here at SMC...

[Joe Bailey]

Congratulation on your first saw sharpening attempt.

I was trying to figure out what seemed odd to me about your photos, and then it hit me.
Every one of my Disston D-8 (and D8) panel saws has only four bolts (including the medallion).

To be clear, I consider 16, 18, 20, 22 & 24 inch saws to be panel saws.

Hopefully Pete will chime in here.

[Jim Koepke]

You have a couple of nice looking saws there.

That is a good start.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

This site might interest you. I have one and a small saw horse the same height for supporting a long board if needed. I forgot that it was a Swartz design.

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/p...onal_sawbench/

[lowell holmes]

Check this site

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/...-saw-crosscut-

We talked about this two years ago.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....72#post2807372

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....anel-saw-to-be

[Pete Taran]

Well Joe, I'm not sure we ever arrived at a firm definition for what a panel saw was.

Congratulation on your first saw sharpening attempt.

I was trying to figure out what seemed odd to me about your photos, and then it hit me.
Every one of my Disston D-8 (and D8) panel saws has only four bolts (including the medallion).

To be clear, I consider 16, 18, 20, 22 & 24 inch saws to be panel saws.

Hopefully Pete will chime in here.

[Joe Bailey]

Pete,

Thanks so much for the really helpful help -- I owe you one.

[Jason Lester]

Congratulation on your first saw sharpening attempt.

I was trying to figure out what seemed odd to me about your photos, and then it hit me.
Every one of my Disston D-8 (and D8) panel saws has only four bolts (including the medallion).

To be clear, I consider 16, 18, 20, 22 & 24 inch saws to be panel saws.

Hopefully Pete will chime in here.

Here's a better shot of the handles on top of each other. The horns are lined up at the back, you can see the panel saw's handle is just smaller in scale all around. This one is a 22" plate.

20190129_195852.jpg

Another difference I just noticed, the slot for the plate goes all the way through the lamb's tongue area on the panel saw:

20190129_195913.jpg

The slot and the 5 screw setup all seem to be original as far as I can tell. The handle has no repairs to it either.

[Jason Lester]

Jason,

Glad your saw turned out so well. If it cuts and you learned something, that is all that matters. As to the set, if you have a micrometer, measure the plate above the teeth, and then the set where the teeth are. If you can report those numbers back here, I can give you an idea if they are overset or just right.

If there is too much set, it's not the end of the world. I sometimes get saws like this and I just place it on a steel anvil and tap each tooth all the way down the saw until I reach the end and then flip it over and do the same thing on the other side. That works really well and is very effective. Sometimes it takes several passes. You can even use a carpenters hammer as long as it doesn't have a serrated face.

Pete

It looks like I have about .020" of set on this one. The one Mike did for me has .010". I was using the Somax set and had some issues with it, or at least with my technique. When I was squeezing it, it was sliding up the tooth and not setting properly, just kind of squirting past it. I thought I didn't have it set right, so I increased the depth on the anvil. I then figured out I needed to hold it down tighter, but left it at the higher setting and finished the rest of the saw. I see the 42X is recommended for one because of the way it grips the tooth to keep it from sliding up. I'm going to use it some more and see how well it goes before doing anything else to it. Even at .020", it's still way less than my old junker Stanley and Great Neck saws!

Jason

[Pete Taran]

That is twice as much as is likely needed. Tap it out and keep rolling.

[Brian Eaton]

I know of Pete Taran’s Website, but out of ignorance, does Mike Allen have one? Tried googling and didn’t find anything

[steven c newman]

And...a look at a 4 bolt version...
IMG_7466 (640x480).jpg
Etch on this saw has the 8 inside the D....20" length....has "10" stamped under the handle area...