Advices on saw restoration
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- This topic has 10 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 6 months ago by Julio T..
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Hello all.
I bought this saw a few months ago. It’s a 13 tpi tenon saw made by Tyzack. The blade is in very good shape, straight and still fairly sharp. I don’t know how old it is (perhaps anyone could know?), but I’m sure that it is a good saw with still a lot of wood to cut. I would like to restore it and I need some advices about how to do it. I’m not specially worried about the blade. It’s so good that it won’t need too much work. My problem is with the handle.
I’ve already restored some saws and the results have been very good, but in the case of this saw I have doubts specially about restoring the handle without damaging it. The nuts are tight and firm, and I’m afraid of damaging them -or the wood around them- if I try to retire them. The wood is in good shape, but has a kind of “lines”. I’m not sure about retiring the nuts, because I’ve seen other nuts in other saws break in the process, specially the nuts that have the medals.
When it comes to the wood handle, I would like to restore it and apply lindseed oil and wax, but it has a kind of old varnish, and I’m not sure how to strip it without damage the nuts or the handle itself. It has a so nice shape that it would be a pity.
How can I do it? I’m afraid of damaging this saw. It wasn’t an expensive buy at all, 8 euro (about 6 pounds or 10 dollars), but it is a craftman’s saw. It deserves a good restoration work.
Thanks a lot in advance.
- This topic was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by Julio T..
- This topic was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by Julio T..
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You must be logged in to view attached files.How tight is the blade screwed into the handle? i.e. is there any wiggle at all? If not, why not just leave it intact and try to work the best you can around it–sand down the handle real good (carefully around the nuts) to get to an original surface and then refinish. You could probably polish up the nuts with some Brasso or something while you’re at it. Sand the blade to clean off any rust/corrosion, file down the teeth and re-sharpen? Unless the entire manifest is loose and you can’t do anything about it I’d just try to restore as best as possible without completely disassembling it. But that’s just me…
- This reply was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by David B.
The less that you do to that handle the better.
Whatever you do, don’t mess with those nuts. They can only be removed with a custom-ground screwdriver and even then you would risk breaking the screws.
The finish is probably lacquer although I suppose that it could be shellac.
Shellac dissolves in alcohol so try a bit of that first on a wad of extra fine (0000 in the US).
Lacquer dissolves in lacquer thinner, toluol or acetone, all of which will dissolve most types of rubber gloves and you should generally avoid skin contact with any of them.
If it were my saw I would skip the scraping and sanding and just rub it down with a pad of “four ought” steel wool lubed with paste wax (not the liquid kind!) and then buff it out with a soft cloth.
Dave
Ok. It’s clear that I won’t try to dismantle the handle. Nuts could break and it’s firm and well fitted, and it could be loose after dismantling it. I will only try with some “soft” action on the old finish. When it comes to blade, I will use medium sandpaper first and fine sandpaper as finish.
Thank you very much to all for your responses. I will post a picture of the finished tool… if I can do it well!
For the blade, I’d skip the sandpaper as well and just use coarse (grade 1 or 0) steel wool with a little kerosene for a lubricant, and see if any of the etch, if one is still left, popped out of the background. Go easy on the etched side of the blade – but it’s not certain that it was etched.
For identification – I’ve blown up the markings on the back of the saw above the Trade Mark imprint and I think that I can make out the words “Öld O” which was a trade mark which Tyzack Sons and Turner had taken over from S. Linley (no date info supplied but before 1919). Simon Barley has a saw in his British Sawmaker’s treatise with the same marking from the early 1920’s and it is listed as 3rd Quality Iron Back. So it’s not in Tyzack’s first line of products with silver steel or London Spring Steel for the sawplate (and the non-pareil quality mark) but it looks like a nice saw that will serve you well for a long time!!
Clean it up and show us how you get on!
Cheers
MarkHThank you very much for the information, Mark. Really I didn’t expected that this saw were a first quality saw for the price I’ve bought it, but as you say it probably will give me a good use, because I’m only a beginner amateur… unless the steel doesn’t keep sharpen teeth for a reasonably time.
My wife gave me as a Christmas present a Thomas Flinn Pax tenon saw two years ago, with the same teeth size, 13 tpi. Since the Thomas Flinn has a crosscut pattern, I think that I will sharp this one for rip cutting.
I also bought this one for 3 euro. The trade mark and the logo were almost completely erased and I don’t know the maker, but an lion and a unicirn, and the legend “Dieu et mon droit” appear on it. It is a 14 in saw with 10 tpi. I’ve sharpened it for crosscutting and it cuts like a dream now. Here you can see the before and after (it was very easy in this saw, because the nuts could be unscrewed). Sorry for the bad image quality (mobile pics).
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You must be logged in to view attached files.Julio,
If you have a look at your first photos on this page – at the saw nut. You will see the lion and the unicorn and the Dieu et mon droit (God and my right) on the scroll below the lion and the unicorn which is part of the British Royal Cypher which was used just to indicate British origin. Just like the Warranted Superior saw nut. Where was the lion and unicorn on this saw – was it on the saw back?Any manufacturer’s marks will only be on the side of the saw that you showed in the Dieu-1 photo.
It appears to have a nicely shaped handle, typical of earlier twentieth century and late nineteenth century saws. Certainly heavier and with more comfortable rounding than the skinny modern saw handles. I’m sure it will perform well with a good sharpening.
Cheers
Mark -
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