Restoration of a Cuyahoga Saw Co 7ppi Rip Saw

[enjuneer]

I picked up this saw at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago. Not sure why I wanted it because the plate was very dirty and the handle didn't look to be all that special. It felt good in my hands though, so I bought it.

Lightly polishing the etch revealed the words "Cuyahoga Saw Co., Cleveland, O, Spring Steel, Taper Ground". A discussion with some saw collectors led to the conclusion that it was one of Disston's special order saws made for a hardware company in Cleveland, Ohio.

Since the finish on the tote was very dry and flaking, I scraped it off and learned that the wood underneath that horrible finish was actually apple. I then repaired the chipped horn with a bit of applewood given to me by a woodworking friend. While the glue line is not as tight as I would like, the repair is solid and should last a long time. The tote was finished with a bit of BLO and several coats of shellac.

Here is what it looked like before restoration:







And after:

[Steve Friedman]

Great restoration Bob. I probably would have walked past that saw at a yard sale, but you did an amazing job on that handle. Love it.

Steve

[TobyC]

Evaporust, citrus, or electrolysis?

Why do I ask? They take the color out of the etch.

I was wondering when you were going to post this here.

You did a very nice job, cool saw! What kind/color shellac did you use?

[cputnam]

Oh man!, that do be purty! Great save.

[Bob-Jones]

That is ridiculously nice. Great work.

[Jonathan S]

Great job on the restoration. Schaffer (Handsaw Makers of North America) lists Cuyahoga Saw Company but does not give any working dates or other information.

Jonathan

[Jack in omaha]

Very nice result. You can be proud of the way that turned out. Thanks for posting the photos. Your handle really is sharp! No pun intended.

[Blacky's Boy]

Wow, nice save!!! I'm really digging that handle.

[enjuneer]

TobyC said:

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Evaporust, citrus, or electrolysis? Why do I ask? They take the color out of the etch.

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None of the above since I do not like the dull gray tone that these methods impart on high carbon steel. I used the old standby methods: scraping with a razor blade, sanding with 280 and 400 grit wet-or-dry lubricated with Simple Green, followed by a polishing with Autosol and sealing with Johnson's paste wax. I think I spent too much time near the etch during cleaning which lightened it more than desired.

TobyC said:

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What kind/color shellac did you use?

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Way up here in the North Country, the only shellac available in stores is Zinsser amber. Zinsser is too thick to use straight out the can, so I put a little bit in a glass jar and thin it with alcohol to improve absorption. After cleaning up the tote, I applied a couple of coats of BLO and let it dry for a couple of days. Then, I applied three light coats of shellac and rubbed it out with 0000 steel wool after letting it dry overnight. This was followed by three more coats of shellac. The shine was removed with 0000 steel wool and then paste wax was applied. That's it.

[GNP]

Great job.