Vintage miter boxes

[Mike Holbrook]

I wonder if Tim or anyone else with the Stanley 150, would care to comment on what saws they have tried using in their miter box? Has anyone actually tried using a panel saw or maybe a half back in this box? I understand that saws with backs that do not work in two post miter boxes should work in the 150. I hope this means that many of the larger saws made by Bad Axe or Ron B will work in it? I am also wondering about the size of the box. My MF 74C has a 19" long heavy metal box. The box on the S 150 appears to be more like the 12- 16 " boxes on the smaller MF miter boxes.

My new bench will have a Veritas QR Tail vise on it. I am thinking of mounting the 150 on a bench hook with a tab (made to the thickness of the Tail Vise jaw) which the tail vise can clamp to, holding the jig in place at the edge of my bench. Should be very fast to set up and super sturdy.

[Tim Null]

Many of the cuts I made withe the Bad Axe and Stanley 150 combo were placed on the table straight from the saw. Fine tuning of a few were done with a shooting board. This combo is very accurate fight from the saw. I found that a light touch especially at the start, keeps the saw aligned correctly.

[Richard Kee]

I would like to know where anyone is finding decent vintage miter boxes for any kind of reasonable money. The only ones I see are high priced on Ebay. Perhaps we could have a sticky in this forum or something about them....I find myself rarely using my chop saw and doing most of my cutting by hand any more, so it would be a huge forward push to my woodworking to find one. Good info here on the weight of the saw and so forth... THANKS to you guys for the time to post this stuff!

Don't be afraid of something other that Stanley or MF. Just two weeks ago, I picked up a Wards Master Quality that essentially a Stanley 358, then this week, I picked up a vintage Craftsman that is essentially a MF 74C. As long as the box shows no cracks, these boxes made by Stanley and MF for other companies are excellent boxes.

Richard

[steven c newman]

This "portable" one?SDC15390.jpgSDC15389.jpgSDC15391.jpghave since found a better saw for it..

[Bill Fleming]

I would like to know where anyone is finding decent vintage miter boxes for any kind of reasonable money. The only ones I see are high priced on Ebay. Perhaps we could have a sticky in this forum or something about them....I find myself rarely using my chop saw and doing most of my cutting by hand any more, so it would be a huge forward push to my woodworking to find one. Good info here on the weight of the saw and so forth... THANKS to you guys for the time to post this stuff!

Chris - I know how you feel, I started my quest about 24 months ago - in my case I didn't do a lot of crawling the antique stores, etc. but rather just kinda kept a watch on e-bay. First I found a very nice MF but that box has a couple of odd thread sizes and it had a missing part - Mark Baldwin on this forum gave me a part and I had to buy another box at a very reasonable price to get the rest. The crazy fellow on e-bay packed very poorly so I paid only for part value when it arrived damaged - to "play forward" Mark's generosity I will will give the parts I don't use to anyone wanting them all. I also found a nice Stanley 150 on e-bay for a fair price. What I have found is that as the hand tool interest increases, these tools are demanding a higher price. It is easy to dream of a $35 Stanley 150 with a nice BadAxe saw but if you plan to use that kind of saw then it shouldn't be unreasonable to pay $100 to $150 for a nice box that is complete. Of course cheaper is better and if you can re-hab a saw that is great.

Anyway I guess my point is keep looking and when you find one move on it. In my case I wanted to put it to work and not make a hobby of the re-hab - but I can appreciate the joy of doing that as well.

[Mike Holbrook]

You make a good point Bill. I bought what looked like a bargain 150 in good shape that just needed some rehab. I am still working on a gentle restore, trying to figure out how well the one I have works. At the moment it looks like a screw needs to be loosened and tightened down in order to change the miter settings.

It seems, if the screw on my 150 is left loose enough to move between settings the entire assembly the saw hangs in is loose enough to move around. The one large screw holds the saw assembly to the box. Maybe the box I have is old or has a screw in it that a past owner replaced the original mechanism with....The Stanley 150 manual does not mention the screw or show it in any pictures which would seem odd if it is an integral part of adjusting the saw for use.

[Peter Pedisich]

I saw this Ulmia 354 and got it to complement my 352, in pretty good shape, not sure of the age.

[Peter Pedisich]

by the way - it's HEAVY.

[Mike Holbrook]

Looks like a very nice saw Peter. I have been struggling trying to work an old twisted, cupped piece of white oak to make a new cutting surface for the newer Stanley 150 I got at auction. Turns out the first saw was missing a few parts but the newer one even has the little piece used to make repeat cuts at the same length. Now that I have a working saw with all the parts I can tell what needs to be replaced on the older saw too. I have also been flattening the two surfaces the saw blade slides between as they looked quite rough and I was afraid they might wear on the saw blade. I may even attach something to the metal that the saw will slide easier against. Once I get the new surface done and installed I will post a picture.

[Richard Kee]

I scored a small Goodell Pratt 1265 miter box off the auction site recently. It's 12" wide and takes a 16" saw with 2 1/2" under the spline - a saw that I'm having great difficulty finding.

[Phil Mueller]

I find my miter saw cuts very clean, but very slow. I sharpened it to what I read was recommended; 25 degree rake, 30 degree fleam. I like the clean cut, but I'm considering reshaping the teeth to something more aggressive, or getting a second saw and sharpen that more aggressive. I'd be interested in hearing what angles others use for their miter saws.

[steven c newman]

Used this one tonight...
GEM mitre box.jpg
But, I had to fix two items, first. The saw was too big. The guides were set too wide.
loose guides.jpg
smaller saw.jpg
Got out my 14" No.4 backsaw ( 9ppi, filed rip) loosened that screw. clamped the guides to the saw's plate, and tightened the screw back down.
square cut.jpg
Does a decent enough job.

The "Main" mitrebox in the shop is a Stanley358. 5" x 28" saw..
full picture.jpg
It was just too big for the cuts needed tonight.
Had this one for a while, but decided I had too many in the shop, so it got sold
red letters.jpg
Stanley No. 150

[Tony Zaffuto]

I scored a small Goodell Pratt 1265 miter box off the auction site recently. It's 12" wide and takes a 16" saw with 2 1/2" under the spline - a saw that I'm having great difficulty finding.

LN will make one for you-from what I remember, the price is very reasonable.

[Derek Cohen]

I scored a small Goodell Pratt 1265 miter box off the auction site recently. It's 12" wide and takes a 16" saw with 2 1/2" under the spline - a saw that I'm having great difficulty finding.

Hi Richard

I made my own mitre saw to fit this Millers Falls #15 1/2 mitre box I restored.




The saw is the same dimensions as the one you are looking for. Filed 13 tpi crosscut in a plate 16" x 2 1/2". The plate was custom made by Blackburn Tools (Isaac Smith).

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mike Holbrook]

Derek that must be a great little miter saw. I was looking for one for years, never could find one, so I bought the Stanley 150. I wish you would stop posting pictures of it because I always think if I shopped that auctions site just a little longer....

Ron Bontz made a 20" saw for mine and it cuts like a dream. I believe Ron will sell the parts to make a saw or kits now. I have a half back I made from a Wenzloff kit but it looks like Mike stopped making kits. Tools for Working wood sells a kit for their 14" sash saw. It looks like Ron Bontz offers: 10,12, 14, 16 & 18 inch saw kits and lots of options for parts at reasonable prices too.

I like my miter saw so well I reworked an extra kitchen cabinet, placing a Festool table top on it, and a folding/drop leaf on the side for stacking wood on:

Miter saw table.jpg

Saw:glue station.jpg