OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

267635 Erik Levin 2019‑01‑12 Re: Next best to Stanley 42X
Adam asked:
> I don't see a Stanley 42X for sale on fleabay. Is the regular 42 a good
alternative?I am not a saw sharpening pro, but I have done a fair number. I have
a 42, a 42W, and a 42X (as well as other non-Stanley). I prefer the 42X overall,
as the plunger blade grip is much nicer than the fence on the 42 for most
things. I use the 42W for fine teeth, as I can adjust the stop fence to control
the set angle more readily (it doesn't clamp the blade, but has a small fence,
more like a tiny foot, relative to the 42, which has more of a fence) though
alignment is more of an issue. The 42 is OK, as well, but I don't tend to use it
much. The wider fence (than the 42W) does help with some saws.

Any of them will easily handle 14TPI, and I have done 18 and 20 with the W. It
is graduated on the adjuster to 16TPI, but the "hammer" is narrow enough to go a
little finer (on mine, at least. May have been modified at some point before I
got it). If you can find a good deal on a 42 or a 42W, it will, in my opinion,
be fine, if not as nice as the 42X, and certainly nicer to use than the Sterns.


Minor gloat: When I got the 42X, it was in a box marked "42", and the seller, a
usually savvy tool purveyor, didn't realize. He had a few 42's unboxed on the
table, as well as some Sterns and several other makes, and some higher end units
for actual money. The 42's and Sterns were $US1. I think he was trying to clear
stock. It was $US1 more because mine had the box..... I have no Idea what came
over him that day several years ago, but I have never seen it again.


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Recent Bios FAQ