Coping saw

[andrew whicker]

I can't seem to find the difference btwn the Disston 10 and 15?

I'm scrolling thru ebay with hopes of measurements.. Looks like Disston doesn't make coping saws anymore according to their website

[mike stenson]

I think it's depth, the 10 being the shallower of the two?

[John Pendery]

Have you considered the collins universal coping foot? Turns a jigsaw into a glorified coping saw. By far the fastest solution in my experience

[Jimmy Harris]

Coping saws are all about the blade. Get good blades, and you'll have a good coping saw.

I use a cheap Kobalt brand that I bought maybe 10 years ago. It works. I did have an issue with the handle coming off, but some JB Weld has solved that issue for going on 5 years now. I think I also installed a washer at some point to get a little more tension on the blade.

Either way, it's a bottom of the barrel quality coping saw and in 10 years time I haven't felt the need to upgrade. It's easily handled everything I've ever asked of it. So I truly believe that this one of those tools where it's okay to skimp and save your money without fear of regret. Assuming you have access to JB Weld and a washer, that is. Though I'd probably avoid the ones with the adjustable blade length. That just looks like one more thing to go wrong without any real upside to me.

The difference between the Disston 10 and 15, or at least as it appears to me, is the frame. On the 15, the frame is twisted at the ends and on the 10 the frame has a loop added to attach the blade holders. I doubt there's much practical difference. It would seem to me that the 15 would last longer but the 10 might be capable of putting more tension on the blade. But those 10's have lasted this long, so either will outlast you, and those 15's still have enough strength to break the pins off a blade, so those points are kind of moot. Pick the one that looks prettiest! And then get a good set of blades!

[Bill Dufour]

Out of the throwaway scrap pile I pulled a Nicolson that has the adjustment rusted up. I put some Blue Creeper on it to sit for a day, and will see if it frees up. The Disston is the top of the class
Wash off the oil then. Throw it in a plastic bucket or tray with EDTA and water to submerge it. Let it sit for a week or so then try to free it up.
Bill D

[Tom M King]

I'm not going to spend any more time on it than putting the Blue Creeper in the threads. It looks like someone used it for a hammer anyway as you can see it's bent in the picture. The blade tension was not impressive, but that could just be that it's bent. I just wanted to play with it to see if it was salvageable. The three I have been using do fine and three is the right number anyway for each orientation ready to go.

[Tom M King]

It broke free this morning like it had never been rusted up. The bent frame makes it not worth the trouble though. I think when the frame was bent it must have lost some of its temper at the bend, and won't tension a blade worth anything now.

[Tom M King]

This thread got my curiosity up on coping saws, so I did some looking on ebay to see if there was something I didn't know about. I ran across this jewel that the seller is calling a coping saw but is really a jewelers saw. I knew I had seen jewelers saws a long time ago that the blade could work in different positions, but haven't in a long time, and didn't know where to look. I bought this one and will be putting the Knew Concepts in the Classifieds here for people that like them.

This one is more my speed:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/26638578728...3Avlp_homepage

[Tom M King]

Thanks to this thread, I now own this saw. It just came today, and I love it. It's in the original box, and doesn't look like anyone ever used it. Even the wing nuts are really nicely finished. The blades in the box are the finest I've ever used. I tried one in Oak, Maple, and Heart Pine. It cut faster than I expected while being easy to control and left clean edges. I'll be selling the Knew Concepts. This one is a Trojan.

[andrew whicker]

I like it. I'm searching for some now..

[Tom M King]

Andrew, this one is up on ebay now:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275987030856

I have three different brands of those jewelers saws that can turn the blade. I like any of them better than the Knew Concepts one.

I found my other stache of coping saws. I have both a 10B and a 15B. The 15B is not only deeper, but the whole frame is heavier, I guess to take care of the extra length of the legs that tension the blade.

On ebay there are two really nice looking 10B's. One for Buy it Now, and another for bids.

I tried several different brands of blades, and I wouldn't bother to buy any but the Pegas blades now. Some of the really old ones are just as good, but it's not worth the time trying to find those.