Hello again everybody, I have this 12" carcase/tenon saw with brass back by "Beardshaw & Son", Sheffield. The saw is pretty much ruined and I hope someone would suggest what to do, how can it be fixed and is it worth doing. I think any vintage/antique saw should have a chance to live again. In this case it will take a lot of work... should I?.. I would appreciate any info about the maker and dates as well. The saw then. Oh, where do I start?.. The pate — it is not original and cut out from a hand saw and very thick (probably about or near to 1mm), which in fact ruined the brass back because the slot for the plate is as wide as Niagara waterfalls. Any suggestions on how to tighten it back up again without hammering (links to any tuts will be appreciated). The plate is not only thick, it is not flat either. Do you think I should stick a brand new steel in it, or use a plate from a similar saw instead. This will be a user saw, obviously. The medallion is drilled through and reads "J.Beardshaw & Son | Sheffield" with an embossed eagle in the middle. Is there any way to fix this medallion? (found it : http://www.backsaw.net/forum/index.php?threads/medallion-nut-repair.893/) The handle is solid with no damage at all but I suspect it might nor be original — the brass back does not fit as tightly as one would expect. Any help ??? suggestions ??? Thank you ... With regards to the J. Beardshaw & Son tool manufacturers, here's what I found so far: J Beardshaw & Son Ltd, steel converters, file, saw and edge tool manufacturers Company records from National Archives date from 1893 to 1976, as I understand, the company was established in 1719 as cutlery manufacturers. Jonathan Beardshaw began making saws around 1823 (from Simon's Historical Brief see second link below) http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/J._Beardshaw_and_Son http://huk1.wkfinetools.com/01-BritishSaws/BeardshawJ/beardshaw-index.asp http://huk1.wkfinetools.com/01-BritishSaws/BeardshawJ/tools/12inch-CarcaseSaw02/CarcaseSaw02-01.asp and one more — http://beardshaw.blogspot.co.uk
Hi, BSSM has Beardshaw, Jonathan and Son (Ltd) from 1823 to 1961, but the Cast.Steel on yours puts the back, at least, to the earlier part of this time frame, possibly 1840 or before. I am the last person who should speak about renovating saws, but by the sound of it, your plate is beyond redemption and I would go for an age related plate, perhaps from a Robert Sorby or some such maker. They are quite common and sometimes not overly expensive, and at least the steel will be of a reasonable quality. As for the medallion, I don't think that there is a lot that you can do about that, but they do come up from time to time on Ebay if you can wait long enough, or buy a very cheap saw (if they exist) with one on. The only thing that I can suggest for the back is if you know someone with a hydraulic press, otherwise I personally would try sandwiching the back between two pieces of 3inch by 2inch wood and the careful and judicious use of a hammer, or as a more gentler method, hand clamps. But I could understand if you did not wish to do it this way. I don't know if it is at all possible to get the back to grip properly again, but if the new blade just about fits, I believe that some people nowadays use a proprietary (cyano-acrylate) glue to keep the blade in place. I hope that the project turns out well. Fred
Fred, Thank you again and... woo'ed! I did not realise it might be that old! I have got a fly press recently for toothing plates (need the tools for it though). I guess, if I can source a couple of long enough heavy-duty metal plates, I will be able to squeeze the back to close the gap. As for the plate, I just got a Trojan O & Co. (bought it to take small split nuts out) but it looks like a very nice 12" saw. It has an unexpectedly thin plate with is little rust. I could not find any references to the maker apart from links to eBay and modern hard-point saws. I include pictures for ref. Do you think I could use the plate from this saw as a replacement, although, probably should find a 14" and cut it to size... The Trojan (O & Co. is, I guess, a reference to saw supplier/merchant) saw looks like it is fro ww2 era (judging from the shape of its handle and quality/shape of the brass back). Medalion-wise, I got one broken flat-headed bolt which I can probably use to fix it until right medallion found, just need to source some soldering equipment. Thank you again, your notes are very helpful.
Hi, BSSM has Onions and Co. as saw makers from 1886 to 1905 although it does say that they sold saws with your mark after 1905. BSSM has a mark similar to yours that it dates around 1920. (Trojan is the brand name). It is not an age related plate by any means, and I am not so sure what sort of quality the steel will be. If the plate is thin, then it may well be a second or lower quality saw. You may well do better renovating the Trojan as an original saw and trying to find another plate for the Beardshaw. Fred
Thanks again for the info, I will clean the "Trojan" and sharpen it, then I will see how good the plate is. I will be look for similar to Beardshaw saws for spares. I also found ref to O&Co being "Onions" in one of Simons posts S