In keeping with past practice at BM GTGs there will be a few items up for sale. I will have a few bits and pieces including hand saws (I know, you guessed).
In addition Brett has agreed to another auction. I am posting some pix and details here as it may just sway one or two of you, who are currently sitting on the fence, to come along. I can say that the auctions are a bit of fun and nothing goes for very much money at all. I think the last saw I sold paid for the fuel to get up Brett's hill and that was it!
Originally I was just going to auction two saws, but I called in on Ian Wilkie yesterday and he now has two saws in the auction too (don't rush for the valium just yet as they are not the saws he builds, but two in his possession :wink: ) .
Also I was critical in another post recently of a large auction house in the US which only posted a single pic of each item so I have a selection of pix. Sorry, if that is a trifle tedious to those who are not terribly interested, but on the positive side you will not be reported to admin for failing to enlarge the pix and studying them with an electron microscope!
Here goes:
A 26" Warranted Superior crosscut handsaw from the first quarter of the twentieth century. Early because it sports a nib wholly intact. 8ppi it has some staining to the plate, but is smooth to touch and cuts well. The sawplate is still over 6 1/2" deep at the handle. This saw is restored and freshly hand sharpened:
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The second saw is a Simonds No.72. I describe it as a hybrid as it originally had suffered some road rage and, although it did start out as a panel saw (fewer saw nuts and thinner saw plate) I cut it down further. It is now 20" and 9ppi crosscut. It cuts well and is a very handy size. The etch is nearly complete:
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The next saw comes from Ian and is a later model Spear and Jackson No.88. Now I have to confess that I am well out of my comfort zone with the British saws so if anybody is able to offer further information, please do so. My comments here are basically just from my observations.
This model is a 28" thumbhole "'88'. It has a progressive tooth being 4 1/2ppi at the heel and 5 1/2 ppi at the toe. Ian believes that it has hardly been used and may still retain the factory sharpening (it's still sharp, but has not been recently sharpened) and I agree with this (not that I add much weight to the discussion :( ).
Although a later era saw, it seems to me that it retains a good deal of style particularly around the handle compared to the "blocky" efforts that normally typify hand saws after about 1960. Sorry about the masking tape on the teeth. We did that in a hurry for protection and I felt the heel and toe would be sufficient. I promise you it is not hiding anything untoward.
Almost everything about this saw is as it came from the factory. It is about 7 1/2' deep at the handle. To my mind a beauty.
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If I was out of my depth with the very handsome S & J, I am about five thousand fathoms down with this next saw that Ian gave me. Incidentally, all proceeds from this last saw will go to a deserving and charitable cause.
Ian thought this tenon saw is Disston made and he may well be right, but I have been unable to corroborate this so again any additional information from you experts is greatly appreciated.
Initially I thought the manufacturer was RH Jays, but after I had talen the pix, I could clearly see that it is RH Davis & Co as it sticks out like the proverbials. The saw is 16" long (400mm to the youngsters), 10ppi and is filed crosscut ( there is not a huge amount of fleam and it would take no time at all to convert to a rip cut if wished)
Research on RH Davis leads me to believe the saw may have been made between 1904 and 1935, but that is by no means certain and it is not clear whether Disston had an involvement or it was just a competitor to Disston. I can't spend any more time on it right now as I am supposed to be painting the house. So please post any additional information you have. Quite a nice saw and although it has not been recently sharpened, it is sharp and in sound condition: Absolutely a perfect candidate to restore and be an everyday user.
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One last comment: I am happy to take absentee bids for those of you not able to make it to the GTG. The rules are (I made them up about two minutes ago) that you send me a PM stating your maximum bid. I will keep that in an envelope ready for the relevant sale and bid to that amount on your behalf. I will start the bidding at between $10 and $20 for each saw at my discretion. So for example, if you place a maximum bid of $60 and it only sells for $30, that is what you pay providing it has met the low reserve price that is on all saws except the RH Davis.
I should add that the winner will have to bear the postage cost if not present and that is neccessary. (It may be that somebody at the GTG can drop it off for you, but you will need to make arrangements in advance.) I can post from QLD for anybody up here. The cost increases a lot as state borders are crossed. For example, I can post to Cairns for half the cost of posting to Melbourne despite Cairns being further away!
Any questions, (about saws; personal problems should be directed to the Forum psychologists), dont' hesitate to ask. Answers may be a problem, but we'll see.
I am really looking forward to this.
Regards
Paul
