Shopsmith Forums

tgamel wrote:My father-in-law has two saws with handles that look just like that in the tractor barn. They are pretty covered with surface rust and do not know if they are salvageable. The only reason I even noticed them was because I thought the handle design was unique. Unfortunately one of the handles on one has a broken tip on it. Guess I will have to go give them a closer look although I am afraid they may be beyond repair. The blades would probably need some kind of evaporust treatment but I am not sure how to do that with correctly if the wooden handles cannot be removed. Guess I will be making a trip back up to the barn today for a closer inspection.

Todd

If the nuts can be removed, the blade slides out quite easily. I have used electrolysis to clean up the rust. They will tend to remain black which I essentially ignore and apply JPW.

If you want to preserve the etching, I would not use any chemical rust remover. My experience with chemical rust removers is that they darken the metal and this may make the etching unreadable.

When I cleaned mine, I wet sanded with 220 grit sand paper using mineral spirits as the wetting agent.

Once these were done, I put on a couple coats of wax and stored in a saw box. I have used both several times now and they are a joy to use. Eventually i will need to master hand saw sharpening, but for now, these are by far the best handsaws I have ever used. I'm keeping my lesser quality saws hand saws and will practice sharpening on those. Once I have the sharpening down, I'll move on to the Disstons.

JPG40504 wrote:If the nuts can be removed, the blade slides out quite easily. I have used electrolysis to clean up the rust. They will tend to remain black which I essentially ignore and apply JPW.

After using Evaporust which worked well, I am thinking about making a DIY electrolysis tank (thanks to your comments ). Amazing how mission creep just seems to come along and before you know it...BLAM, a simple project soon spawns three more projects.

Todd

tgamel wrote:After using Evaporust which worked well, I am thinking about making a DIY electrolysis tank (thanks to your comments ). Amazing how mission creep just seems to come along and before you know it...BLAM, a simple project soon spawns three more projects.

Todd

Washing soda is much much cheaper!:D

tgamel wrote:My father-in-law has two saws with handles that look just like that in the tractor barn. They are pretty covered with surface rust and do not know if they are salvageable. The only reason I even noticed them was because I thought the handle design was unique. Unfortunately one of the handles on one has a broken tip on it. Guess I will have to go give them a closer look although I am afraid they may be beyond repair. The blades would probably need some kind of evaporust treatment but I am not sure how to do that with correctly if the wooden handles cannot be removed. Guess I will be making a trip back up to the barn today for a closer inspection.

Todd

Ok, after a close inspection of the saws they are somewhat different, but share many similarities. I do not know for sure, but if they were a cheaper brand made to look like the Disston saws. One clue is that the medallion does not say 'Disston' or 'Disston & Sons', but rather 'Superior Warrantied.' The second saw is missing the medallion entirely. Maybe if I get the blades cleaned I may be able to see any etching if there was any. Anyway, they still look cool.

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tgamel wrote:Ok, after a close inspection of the saws they are somewhat different, but share many similarities. I do not know for sure, but if they were a cheaper brand made to look like the Disston saws. One clue is that the medallion does not say 'Disston' or 'Disston & Sons', but rather 'Superior Warrantied.' The second saw is missing the medallion entirely. Maybe if I get the blades cleaned I may be able to see any etching if there was any. Anyway, they still look cool.

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In this article, about half way down, you will find reference to Warranted Superior.

Read here also, for further reference to Warranted Superior. It appears that Warranted Superior are Disston saws.

The "Warranted Superior" buttons have also been used on a number of other handsaw makes. It's somehow almost a catch-all.

Ultimately the best saw is the one that cuts the best for your needs. There is a very educational site, thesawblog.com by Matt Cianci. More expensive and older saws are considered to be better, but at the same time the basic sharpening & tooth-set is a big influence for any saw.

If your example has rusty bolts, then they're not brass bolts, so it's maybe a bit lower on the pecking order, but there's no reason you can't get it tuned up pretty nicely.

nuhobby wrote:The "Warranted Superior" buttons have also been used on a number of other handsaw makes. It's somehow almost a catch-all.

Ultimately the best saw is the one that cuts the best for your needs. There is a very educational site, thesawblog.com by Matt Cianci. More expensive and older saws are considered to be better, but at the same time the basic sharpening & tooth-set is a big influence for any saw.

If your example has rusty bolts, then they're not brass bolts, so it's maybe a bit lower on the pecking order, but there's no reason you can't get it tuned up pretty nicely.

It is my understanding that Disston manufactured saws to be sold under several different names and that "Warranted Superior" was used as an identifying feature on many of those.

Well, since I have a 1960s Sears Craftsman with a Warranted Superior button, I'll still maintain it's not made by Disston. From Dusty's link above, quoting:

Most of the larger American manufacturers made saws with both branded medallions and WS versions. The purpose would have been to differentiate between the products on which they put their name and lower-priced tools on which they chose not to put their brand name. The irony is that, in America, the Warranted Superior label often was put on the companies' inferior products. Many top-grade English saws have WS medallions while others have brand-name medallions.

When you find an American WS saw, there may be a slightly less than 50% chance that it was made by Disston. Disston had a very large portion of the market, but it was not a monopoly. Atkins, Bishop, Jennings, Woodrough & McParlin, and Simonds (1900-1926) were a few of the large saw manufacturers that made saws with some form of a WS medallion with an eagle. Atkins' secondary line was actually labeled "Phoenix Warranted."

nuhobby wrote:Well, since I have a 1960s Sears Craftsman with a Warranted Superior button, I'll still maintain it's not made by Disston. From Dusty's link above, quoting:

Most of the larger American manufacturers made saws with both branded medallions and WS versions. The purpose would have been to differentiate between the products on which they put their name and lower-priced tools on which they chose not to put their brand name. The irony is that, in America, the Warranted Superior label often was put on the companies' inferior products. Many top-grade English saws have WS medallions while others have brand-name medallions.

When you find an American WS saw, there may be a slightly less than 50% chance that it was made by Disston. Disston had a very large portion of the market, but it was not a monopoly. Atkins, Bishop, Jennings, Woodrough & McParlin, and Simonds (1900-1926) were a few of the large saw manufacturers that made saws with some form of a WS medallion with an eagle. Atkins' secondary line was actually labeled "Phoenix Warranted."

This is pretty much the same information I found on a the website 'The Disstonian Institute' which is an on-line reference for Disston saws. About 50% of these lesser quality saws were produced by Disston, with the remainder produced by the aforementioned companies. Still I am curious as to how they cut once I get the opportunity to clean them up......For more information, you can check put the Disstonian Institute at the following link...

http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/index.html

Todd