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Thread: Grandpa's Miter Box help.

  1. 10-08-2023, 5:08 PM #1
    Joshua Hatcher
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    Grandpa's Miter Box help.

    Good afternoon. New Neanderthal here. Today I have for you a question about where I can find information on what parts I might be missing off my grandpa's Miter box I've inherited. I want to restore it as much as I can to a usable state. It's a Millers Falls with a 1285C on the plate. I don't have it with me so I can upload what pictures of it that I was sent for reference. It has a saw but the saw looks in worse shape than the box from the pictures. Any help with it or where to look would be very helpful!
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  3. 10-08-2023, 5:52 PM #2
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    steven c newman
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    Related to....
    A Rehab Finale, fitting a saw.JPG
    Remove the rust from the saw's plate....give the saw's handle a few coats of oil finish
    Millers Falls Mitre Box, logo.JPG
    No. 72c ?
    A Rehab Finale, readable scale.JPG

    I am sure someone will be along with a page from a catalog showing your Mitre Box & Saw..
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  4. 10-08-2023, 6:00 PM #3
    Joshua Hatcher
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    Should I just hit up Sam's and give the whole thing a vinegar bath?
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  5. 10-08-2023, 8:20 PM #4
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    steven c newman
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    Ummmm...Nope. I just wire wheel things...as I can not do chemical soakings in my shop.

    Re: The saw plate. Do you have an old "beater" chisel...that you can at least make a decent edge on? use that as a scraper to remove most of the rust...without the handle being on...then a tube of Auto-sol and some AL Foil balls...to shine the plate. As for sharpening the saw? Good luck...

    Problem I have with using Vinegar? It never knows when to stop...and tends to eat too much metal...rusty or not, doesn't matter.
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  6. 10-08-2023, 11:23 PM #5
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    Jim Koepke
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    I tried to attach the Langdon Miter Box Instruction booklet but the file is too big.

    It is available for download here > https://blog.lostartpress.com/wp-con...miter-box1.pdf

    The 1285 uses a saw with a 5" plate. Miter boxes using a 4" plate are more common.

    A short right up on the virtues of using a miter box are here > https://blog.lostartpress.com/2015/1...free-download/

    jtk
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  7. 10-09-2023, 12:02 PM #6
    Joshua Hatcher
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    If I have to replace the saw where would I look for a saw that size or what kind of query would I place into Google for that information?

    I got the pdf downloaded and printed! Thank you!
    Last edited by Joshua Hatcher; 10-09-2023 at 12:08 PM.
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  8. 10-09-2023, 1:11 PM #7
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    Tom M King
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    Disston made the saws for those. You can still buy them on ebay and such, but all Disston miter box saws don't work in that miter box. Take measurements of the back width and height, and get the seller to check before you buy one. I bought a really nice old one with a much nicer handle, but it doesn't work well in my Langdon-Acme.
    Last edited by Tom M King; 10-09-2023 at 1:15 PM.
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  9. 10-09-2023, 3:15 PM #8
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    The instruction manual has a list of what saws came with the various miter boxes:

    MC %22All Steel%22 Mitre Box List.png

    The biggest problem might be someone having given the saw too much set. This could cause the teeth to hit the guides causing all kinds of difficulties.

    jtk
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  10. 10-09-2023, 4:19 PM #9
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    Tom M King
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    Too small of a saw back and thinner plate flops around in the guides too much. Only the correct sizes in all redirects works like it’s supposed to, as well as the height of the saw plate. The old nice 28” one I bought is too thin in both plate and back.
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  11. 10-09-2023, 4:21 PM #10
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    Respects not redirects. Can’t see how to edit on phone
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  12. 10-10-2023, 9:24 PM #11
    Joshua Hatcher
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    How do I go about figuring out if the saw has any of those issues? Where do I go to learn about fixing it? I'm hoping the saw is salvageable. I'm going to get a tub of evaporust and get it soaking and scrubbed once I have it in my possession.
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  13. 10-10-2023, 9:42 PM #12
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    Tom M King
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    That saw is the right one that probably came with it. I was just suggesting to be careful if you decided to replace it. I never spent any time trying to bring back a rusty one but plenty of people have done it.
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  14. 10-11-2023, 8:54 AM #13
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    Also..IF there is any etch left on the saw's plate...a coat of Gun Blue Paste smeared over the area of the etch, then LIGHTLY sand that area until just the etch remains. Older saws will also have an etch on the spine. My 5" x 30" Langdon saw also had the Millers Falls' Triangle Logo (paper sticker) on the handle...right where your thumb would go, of course.

    I tend to scrape down the rust first...then LIGHTLY palm sander with 320 grit to bring back the shine...then wipe down with a THIN coat of 3in1 Oil, to keep the rust away...

    11ppi teeth are a bit too tiny for my eyes, so I try to send the saws out to be sharpened by a Pro.

    There MIGHT be bearings in the guides where the spine of the saw goes through...give them a drop of oil, too...makes the saw glide a lot better.

    Primer Gray and Cardinal Red for the colours of the box...

    I recently posted a "how-to" of a rehab for my version.....Millers Falls boxes, IF there was a "1" as the first digit in the model number, were sold without a saw...

    You could buy the saw separate from the box, as well....as a "replacement" in case something happened to the OEM saw... (Made by Disston as a No. 4 Miter box saw)
    Disston also "Made Expressly for Stanley" Miter saws...but not the boxes. The mitre box makers would then tune the miter box to the saw supplied, before they sold the "unit" and would guarantee it against any defects....no saw, no guarntee...cheaper that way....
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  15. 10-12-2023, 7:14 AM #14
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    I have a similar version, branded Millers Falls Acme/Langdon. The saw had a Millers Falls etch on it but it all but disappeared when I cleaned it up. Based on the photos you posted you have all the parts. It just needs a good clean and lube.


    Miterbox.jpg
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.
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  16. 10-12-2023, 8:04 AM #15
    Joshua Hatcher
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    Where do you send them to get sharpened? I definitely would like to learn but I'll be grabbing the lee nielsen practice plates or just some old saws off the marketplace to try on first.
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