Restoring/ cleaning (potentially collectible) saws

[Cherryville Chuck]

I joined a facebook group of people who like to collect and restore old saws. One of the members of that group posted his methods for cleaning them up. I'm posting his pdf for anyone that might be interested.

I got interested a while back when I kept reading how some of the older joinery saws were superior to most of the ones available today and I started seeing some of them at the local auction house. One, a Slack Sellars and Co. #55 Black Knight back saw made in Sheffield has turned out to be exceptional. I filed it for rip cuts and it cuts faster than my Japanese pull saws. It was in a lot with 2 common crosscuts which I won for $5.

[Stick486]

PDF link won't open...

[DaninVan]

PDF link won't open...

Have you tried a shot of WD40?

[Stick486]

PDF link won't open...

Have you tried a shot of WD40? ;)

BITE ME....

[Cherryville Chuck]

PDF link won't open...

It copies the file to my downloads folder when I click on it.

Some of the guys in that group do use WD40 when they scrape the surface rust off.

[DaninVan]

Lol...I meant on his .pdf, not his saws (Stick luuuvvvves his WD40 ;0 )

[Stick486]

It copies the file to my downloads folder when I click on it.

the link showed as a link to your HD and not as a PDF...
it's fixed now...
thanks... good easy method...

[Stick486]

Some of the guys in that group do use WD40 when they scrape the surface rust off.

he wasn't saying to use WD on the tools....
if DiV got himself a WD enema he'd think differently about that shid...

[Cherryville Chuck]

he wasn't saying to use WD on the tools....
if DiV got himself a WD enema he'd think differently about that shid...

It's what I've seen other members of that group recommend when asked. Spray on some WD40 and then scrape with a single edge razor blade.

As for the enema, there you go recommending it for things not specified by the manufacturer again. Like using it to blow vacuum cleaners up.

[DaninVan]

"Like using it to blow vacuum cleaners up."
well...that would suck.

[Cherryville Chuck]

I grabbed one of the saws slated for restoration and started cleaning it up. I was pleased to find out it was an old Disston D8 8 point. The etch is still in perfect condition. The medallion in the handle dates it to 1896-1917. Some very light pitting on the blade but still in very good condition for a saw over 100 years old. Very minor damage to handle. This should make a nice user.

I tried using WD 40 with some 600 grit wet or dry paper I needed to use up before it fell apart. That worked pretty good. It created a nice slurry and helped get rid of some of the corrosion.

[Stick486]

I tried using WD 40 with some 600 grit wet or dry paper

use a non-woven pad instead...
better results...

[DaninVan]

If you remove the wood handle it'll make it easy to immerse in an electrolysis bath.

[Cherryville Chuck]

I tried using WD 40 with some 600 grit wet or dry paper

use a non-woven pad instead...
better results...

I suggested to someone to try using a scotchbrite pad on his saw and one of the more experienced members nixed that immediately. I think he said they were hard on the etches. If you aren't talking about using a scotchbrite then you need to specify what you mean by non woven. All the experts there say to use wet or dry with a sanding block for holder. Most are using water I think. Some may add a little soap. I tried water too. Both it and WD40 work. WD40 doesn't dry up as fast and where water promotes corrosion, the WD 40 helps prevent it. The final method is still a work in progress I need more experience to decide on.

[Cherryville Chuck]

If you remove the wood handle it'll make it easy to immerse in an electrolysis bath.

Did that with some auger bits and it worked okay. Quite a few on the plane restoring group site use it for planes and plane parts, particularly if they are trying to save the patina. Electrolysis converts Fe2O3 but not the one for patina which is I think Fe3O4. No one in the saw group uses it to restore saws. May not be kind to the etches.

A few months back a bench top sand blasting cabinet came up at the local auction and I got it and 2 buckets of sand for about 1/2 new price. I had bought an old Liberty Bell model Stanley plane and wanted to restore it but those planes were stamped out of steel plate and the sides folded and the guts riveted to the base. Impossible to get a wire brush where it needed to go and electrolysis would have only done part of the job. In just a few minutes I had it down to bare metal. I bought some glass bead blasting media which is supposed to be a little kinder to the metal and I'll try it next in a week or two when I get current projects finished and am ready to start on planes. I could use it on saws but I'd have to build an enclosure first as the cabinet isn't big enough for them.

[Cherryville Chuck]

Oh BTW, baking soda may work but washing soda is the one that is recommended. Arm and Hammer sells it, can't think of the name for it. Canadian Tire sells 6 or 7 pound boxes for about $7.

[Stick486]

you need to specify what you mean by non woven

Non-Woven Hand Pads

[Cherryville Chuck]

I think that is the same thing as in the link I'm adding. I have one for an angle grinder and have pretty much worn it out doing planes mainly. I wouldn't use it over an etch I don't think. The big drawback with them is the cost. https://www.kmstools.com/3m-4-1-2-quot- ... sc-xc.html

[Stick486]

I think that is the same thing as in the link I'm adding.

hand pads, not machine pads...
Non-Woven Pads
.
Durable non-woven, open web construction won’t shred, rust or splinter
Flexible pad easily conforms to contours and reaches into tight spaces for hand applications
Waterproof, rust-proof pad can be used with solvents, washed and re-used
Ultra fine silicon carbide mineral removes light oxidation and rust
White pads replace #0000 steel wool for fine smoothing, Gray pads replace #000, Maroon replace #00 and Green replace #0 for rough work.
.
a whole bunch of information....

color-grading non- woven pads.pdf

[DaninVan]

you need to specify what you mean by non woven

Non-Woven Hand Pads

Yeh; in fact, in-spite of what the diagram shows, I use washing soda myself.

[Biagio]

Chuck, forgive me for asking, but how is it that there is so much stuff on auction in your part of the world? You seem to acquire stuff on a weekly basis. Sounds like either the area is rapidly depopulating (death and taxes?) or a lot of businesses are going bust.

[DaninVan]

Chuck, forgive me for asking, but how is it that there is so much stuff on auction in your part of the world? You seem to acquire stuff on a weekly basis. Sounds like either the area is rapidly depopulating (death and taxes?) or a lot of businesses are going bust.

Heh... can't speak for Charles, but my experience over several decades is that in small towns and rural areas here in Canada, nothing old and or used ever truly gets thrown out. Thrift stores, garage sales, 'Buy and Sell', Farmer's markets, Estate sales, are a way of life (well, maybe not the Estate sale... ).

'One man's junk...' wait; that doesn't mean what it used to! *shock!*

[Cherryville Chuck]

Chuck, forgive me for asking, but how is it that there is so much stuff on auction in your part of the world? You seem to acquire stuff on a weekly basis. Sounds like either the area is rapidly depopulating (death and taxes?) or a lot of businesses are going bust.

The local auction house used to do weekly sales on site. It's a small building and doesn't have room for a lot of people and goods. They previewed a few hours before the sales (Wednesday nights) and it's nearly an hour drive so I never went to one since there was a good chance that there wouldn't be anything there of interest. Covid made them change business tactic and they signed up with an online auction service and starting posting pictures of the items so I could preview (and bid) from home. I think a good portion of what they sell are estate sales.

I also keep an eye for deals on Facebook Marketplace.I see a lot of old tools that are either handed down to uninterested children and grandchildren or sometimes sold by the original owner. It's kind of like Dan said, people don't throw much out here, especially old tools. We just build more sheds to store them in. As an example, I bought a few saws from a gal who was moving her 80 something year old dad into a home and the saws were handed down to him by his dad who probably bought them new around the 1920s. There were Shurly and Dietrick and Shurly, Dietrick, and Atkins (after 1931) which was one of the better Canadian saw makers of that period.