How would you restore this D-8 handle?

I picked up the saw today for $3.00. The plate is in the evaporust bath, and here is the handle. It's bleached and cracked. How should it be restored?

Force a bit of superglue into the cracks, then clamp it up. Once that is done, soak the handle in BLO for awhile. Then refinish as wanted.

I recommend a saw handle jack. Jack it up and put a new handle underneath it!!!:)

If you're going to the trouble to retrofit a saw for you're own use,
it deserves a proper handle.

Luckily, you have a full sized template.

The force applied to a large saw through the handle
will likely break the tongue off or shear the lower
part of the grip, after you reglue it.

How many hours will you put into the plate, getting ready?
What's two or three more to make a fresh handle?

I would consider it a gooner. however if you still want to fix it it can be made strong. fill all the gaps with a high viscosity slow cure epoxy and clamp, but don't force the clamps. then drill a 3\8" or so hole from the bottom almost to the end but don't go through the top, then epoxy in a metal rod, and fill the very end of the hole with a short wooden dowel so you can shape it to match. refinish as desired - as said soaking with oil and then sanding is a good idea.

I have repaired enough Disston saw handles to know what I'm talking about. You can take it or leave it:

Forget filling with glue and clamping. The wood has cracked because it shrunk more in the back of the handle then elsewhere. Clamping will just put stress on on the wood that will open a new crack.

Best repair is to saw a kerf along each crack and glue in a new piece of wood to take up the space. Use Titebond II glue. That repair will be as strong as the handle was when it left the factory.

Then you can fill minor checks with whatever you want before sanding with a block for the flats and your choice of backing for the contours.

You can make a new handle, but you can certainly repair that one in a way that will last.

Jim Davis

It isn't that great an object. Just make a new one,using the old one as a templet. No huge historic loss.

Nothing hard about redoing a handle
Attachment 315926
this one was almost that bad
Attachment 315927
Look a little better now?
Attachment 315928
Disston No. 7 with nib, no less.

I have never done this type of repair and wouldn't be confident that it will work. None - the less, there is nothing to lose by trying. I would mix up epoxy though and try and force it in as best you can to fill the bigger cracks - don't use superglue for this type of thing (IMO). I do think you should use this as a template though. At a minimum, carefully trace out the pattern (you already have pictures). Make sure to get the hole locations correct. Put that template / tracing away somewhere werer you can find it if you do decide to make a new handle.

Sometimes, it is easier IF the cracks to open up
Attachment 316005
Then you can add a filler
Attachment 316006
Some Titebond glue and clamps. I kept the bolts in place, so they wouldn't run away.
Attachment 316007
Shine the brass up, install on the cleaned up plate, and THIS D-8 is ready to go.

Thanks for all replies and suggestions!

Here's what I did, we'll see how long the fixes last. I did use superglue, because I don't have any epoxy on hand, but next time...! I made a couple of butterfly keys and inlaid them across the cracks in the handle (I mean TOTE!) on each side after gluing and clamping. Then after sanding and smoothing as much as possible, I saturated the tote with a mix of boiled linseed oil and turpentine. This soaked in and turned the wood quite dark. Then several layers, progressively thinner, of Tru-oil, lightly abraded with 0000 steel wool in between coats. The plate was totally covered in rust. I soaked it overnight in Evaporust which helped. Then I scrubbed the plate along the grain with 400 and 600 grit wet-dry sandpaper (on a block) while squirting with straight Simple Green (as per Matt Cianci). This treatment really was effective in removing more rust and also popped the etch, which was completely invisible before. The plate is absolutely straight and it should be a great saw, once it's sharpened! I like the character of the "restored" original tote, especially considering how trashed it was.

Looks GREAT to me!!!

Looks good. Amazing what a little TLC can do to an old tool.

jtk