Hello all, It has taken me from when I started collecting saws until now to come across a saw sharpening vice that I could (wanted to) afford and today my sojourn to my local car boot sale provided one. And a little beauty it is too. A Disston No.2 in very good condition for its age. But it will not take a backsaw as the spring mechanism (see 2nd pic) fouls the back and you cannot get it in. If you got a saw with exactly the right width blade and the back could go below or in the indent in the spring mechanism it might work. But it cannot surely be designed for such saws only. Was a Disston No. 2 designed for handsaws only, or am I doing or trying to do something wrong. If it cannot be used for backsaws, what manufacturer/ type of vice should I look for. Fred
Fred, You can remove the spring and it will not effect anything. My first saw vise was a Disston 2, got it from a friend for free at a Bag-A-Thon. I think I might even still have it, if i didn't give it away to someone else. You can make one pretty easy out of wood, which is longer than most commercial vises...for a manufactured vise, a lot of folks clamor over the Tools for Working Wood vise that Joel made, it looks like a nice vise but I have no experience with it. It is also pricey at close to $200. I own 2 Disston 3D vises, considered one of the better "clamp mount" vises. What I mean by "clamp mount" is that it is attached to a bench/board/desk with a c-clamp. By putting 2 of these together you can hold longer saws. The 3D is much heavier than the 2, and because they are cast they tend to break and/or get cracks in them as well, so they will be repaired in some cases. They are also pricey on ebay and tend to fetch a fair amount of coin. Hard to find them unless you can pick one up at a garage sale at a decent price. Personally, I think this saw vise design by Dominic Greco would suit you better than a vintage one. All of our mileage varies. Of course if you can find an Acme, they are probably one of the better ones, but I'd make my own...out of wood...as the above.