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Thread: Diston saws

  1. #1
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    Diston saws

    Just a quick question. I you were only going to get two saws, (a cross cut and rip) which two would you get? Diston comes to mind.

  2. #2
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    I would get a 5 1/2 point rip, and an 11 point cross cut. I would get both Disston # 12's before 1927. i would make sure that both were straight and had a near full plate.
    Deane
    Originality is the art of concealing your source.
    Franklin P. Jones
    Comments & criticism on postings welcomed.

  3. #3
    The best saws are clean, straight, and sharp. Beyond that there are lots of really good saws out there by different manufacturers. Hard to go wrong with Atkins, Simonds, and a lot of Disstons. Bishop too, and some but not all Keen Kutters. Find someone with a bad saw habit, maybe at a local wood working club, a swap meet, or a flea market, and ask to see their secret stash. Try to find something that feels comfortable. I generally favor saws that are thin, well tapered and tensioned, and proportionally more heavy toward the toe, like Deane's No. 12 suggestion. Other folks have completely different criteria for judging saws, like ship-point D-8s, and that's okay too. Just don't become a collector . . . !

  4. #4
    I really like my Stanley sweetheart crosscut saw. At 20" it is perfect for me. If I was to have just two saws, the other would be identical, but filed for rip cuts.
    If it ain't broke, fix it til it is!

  5. #5
    Expect to pay $100-$200 for each No.12 in very good condition

    I'd buy Diston No.8s or what every old brand name I could fine in very good condition..
    No.12s are crazy high in prices these days where some saws mmade buy Disston of the same quality of a No.12 sell for a 1/2 the price..
    Disston made maybe 50% of all saws back in the 1920s and maybe 60% in the 1800s..

    OH I forgot to add they all did not say Disston.. They made lots of saws for different companies with different names and no name at all on the saws. When I worked for Keystone Camera with made cameras for Sears with their name on them and no name on them as well..
    Last edited by Johnny Kleso; 05-01-2011 at 1:10 AM.
    aka rarebear - Hand Planes 101 - RexMill - The Resource

  6. #6
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    I you were only going to get two saws, (a cross cut and rip) which two would you get? Diston comes to mind.
    Two that could breed so I wouldn't be stuck with only two saws.

    I have half a dozen backed saws and that seems somewhat limiting.

    There are just too many differences in all the wood around me that needs to be cut at times for me to allow myself to be so limited.

    Maybe in the hand saw arena, a fine, medium and coarse tooth pattern in rip and crosscut would be OK, but the other day when it took me 10-15 minutes to shorten a rail road tie, it occurred to me something with less than 5 teeth to the inch might come in handy around here.

    Sometimes I want to saw a log and getting out and setting up the chain saw takes more time than doing one off by hand.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Bontz View Post
    Just a quick question. I you were only going to get two saws, (a cross cut and rip) which two would you get? Diston comes to mind.
    I would buy 2 Lie-Nielsen panel saws, one in rip, and one in fine crosscut. The reason is that the best saw is a sharp and correctly set saw, regardless of brand. I'm all for antique tools - I have lots and lots of them, but I also have a saw vise, a bunch of saw files, a Stanley 42X saw set, and the knowledge to use them.

    It is, of course, possible to buy a nice Disston and ship it off to one of the folks that do sharpening & tuning as a sideline, but few of us have the patience for that, particularly when we have no saws. The Lie-Nielsens will come sharp and correctly set for kiln-dried wood, and will work out of the box. If you're just getting started with hand-saws, I'd suggest spending your time building a saw-bench - it's pretty much a must-have in addition to your saws:

    http://www.popularwoodworking.com/pr...ional_sawbench

  8. #8
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    +1 on Jim recommendations for 3 saws, double that if you are cutting both green and KD wood. I suppose you could get by with a medium for each, then that would be four saws. If you are only going to cut KD (which means nothing from either of the Borg stores) then you could get it down to two.

    Price: what are your realistic ranges? Under $100 to $150 then it may be good to look locally for someone with a saw problem as earlier suggested. Although it may not be in great shape or well sharpened if froma collector. Once you break about $150 then you should be getting a great saw in great condition. I don't mean museum quality but I do mean something without flaws and very well sharpened. If you are condsidering a new LN at $225 I would suggest Bad Axe Tools for a refurb in the ranges of $150 - $195. The owner finds saws to rehab then puts them up for sale. They sell out soon after they are posted. Send Mike (the owner) an e-mail or call (he actually answers the phone) and tell him what you are lookinng for and your price range. He may have something waiting that may work. I own five older Diston's, a couple other new brands, and a Bad Axe. That saw is in a league of its own. If I had more money I would own more saws from him. You should also search here for saw rehab flolks that sometime post for sale on e-bay. Just make sure to really look for those specifc folks that have been mentioned to have good products. There are lots of sellers that post blanket descriptions for every saw they sell making the same claims for every item. I would likely look elsewhere for ready to use saws based on my experience.

    Or you could get a $10 rehab case and learn to sharpen. For the price of a couple of triangular files ($5 ea) and a saw set ($25) you would be in business. You could make your own vice or pick one up at the auction site mentioned earlier. I think mine was $10 plus shipping. I am still learning and have a long way to go but it is an important skill to have if you are going to do this for more than a week.

    If you can stop at two saws you are a better man than me. Including back saws I think I am at 12 and I don't even build furniture.

    Rick

  9. #9
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    Hmmm. Much food for thought. Thank you.

  10. #10
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    Also suggest 1-2 bow saws for in the woodlot/fenceline, rough cutting, etc (for this something like a BAHCO saw is fine)... For RR tie sized objects, something in the 30-36" is good, something a little shorter for bushwacking is also nice (if I had to pick one... maybe 24"). Last week I was (re)introducing a friend (he's a difficult learner) to the joys of the bow saw, he needed to cut notches in a bunch of fence end braces and was planning to head back to the shop for the cordless skil saw like thing. We soon set that to rights and notches were quickly made! When I was a kid we had a lot of range (cattle) with a few cabins, you can pack the wood frame bow saws quite nicely as a bundle on horse back and combined with a good axe (and a shovel) build a whole cabin (not to mention mounds of firewood)! I like using some found wood so something light, cheap and durable is nice when wandering around looking for bits and pieces. Pondering expanding that bit of the collection to include a few fine(r) toothed models for in shop work, lots of folks seem to use old bandsaw blades..

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