Joshua Clark wrote:
> As far as maintenance goes.. If a saw has absolutely virgin split nuts 
> and a loose handle, I don't try to tighten them. When the handles were 
> finished the nuts were filed flat, leaving a nice fit and finish. This 
> also reduces the depth of the slots making them hard to grip with a 
> driver. If you do manage to turn the nuts without caming out, the 
> screw is never likely to be flush with the handle again, and it will 
> look monkeyed with. Instead, use a very thin shim or better yet, try 
> to add some very thin oil to the slot in the handle. Sometimes this 
> will make it swell enough to regain a good grip on the saw plate and 
> spine.
>
> If the saw nuts have been tightened already, then there's no harm in 
> trying to do it again. I use a brace with a split nut bit to make sure 
> I have a good grip and enough torque. Some screws will break off, 
> others may blow-out the wood surrounding the nut if you aren't 
> careful, so go slow. It's good to have lots and lots of spare split nuts.
>
> Earlier this year I sold a nice mid-1800s split nut backsaw to a 
> Galoot. Before shipping it I made sure the handle was tight. When he 
> received it a week later he mentioned that the handle was too loose to 
> use and sent it back. I received the saw and sure enough, the handle 
> was loose. I threw it in my repair pile and didn't think about it 
> again until a few weeks later. When I picked it up again the handle 
> was tight as could be. The difference in humidity between my shop and 
> his led to the handle shrinking and loosing its grip on the blade. A 
> little linseed oil fixed this problem for good.
Dang good information Josh, thanks for sharing. 

I've tried the wooden clamp with a  hole in it to try to squeeze the 
cheeks to encourage the nut to tighten, and that didn't help either on 
the loose handled one I have.

-- 
Kirk Eppler
Pharmaceutical and Packaging Engineering
eppler.kirk@g...

------------------------------------------------------------------------