# Found a saw that somebody turned (defaced) into "wall art", what should I do?



## Marn64 (Apr 1, 2016)

So at the Habitat for humanity that I volunteer at we are doing an art show, and it is tool based. A local painter decided to enter the competition by painting "art" on a very old and very fine split nut Disston rip saw. This is the first time I have ever encountered a split nut Disston and I immediately felt the urge to save it. The nib on the spine of the saw is gone and the teeth need to be completely reshaped but the handle is intact and quite fancy, even for a Disston. I hypothesize that it was a custom order saw. The auction is April 28th and the starting bid is 40$, what do you all think? Should I rescue it?


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## Johnny7 (Jun 1, 2015)

> ... the handle is intact and quite fancy, even for a Disston. I hypothesize that it was a custom order saw."
> 
> - Marn64


Why is there no image provided?


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## wflather (Jul 15, 2015)

If its not kinked, and you are willing to find a good sharpening service (unless you can do this yourself) and take a chance that the teeth have not gotten brittle, it sounds like it is worth some investment.


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Possible problem is that some artists will take a random orbital sander to a rusty saw to get a clean surface to paint on. That would obviously destroy the etch. I wouldn't pay much money to find out personally, but it's up to you.


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## Marn64 (Apr 1, 2016)

Sorry I didn't get any pics, my phone was dead. As for what tim said, the paint is on the non etched side and the etched side is untouched and still rusty.


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## bridgerberdel (Dec 31, 2014)

Hard telling what to do. If the value of it as a saw exceeds the sale price of it as art, it might start to make sense financially- but with a starting price of $40 it's going to have to be a pretty desirable saw. I have put together a reasonably complete set of old users including some fine old saws for about $5 each.

The value of rescuing a venerable old tool is a bit more intangible. If you do you'll have a great story to tell, a possibly excellent old tool and the good feeling of having done a good deed. Before you do though make an assessment.

1. is the saw worth restoring. Bad kinks, cracked plate, filed down past it's service life, deep rust- these kind of things mean you won't get a working saw out of it no matter how much effort you put into it.

2. How bad is the art. Some indignities are worth taking a loss to rectify, but if the saw isn't salvageable and the art is not horrid it might be best let to decorate some other person's life


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## Marn64 (Apr 1, 2016)

> Hard telling what to do. If the value of it as a saw exceeds the sale price of it as art, it might start to make sense financially- but with a starting price of $40 it s going to have to be a pretty desirable saw. I have put together a reasonably complete set of old users including some fine old saws for about $5 each.
> 
> The value of rescuing a venerable old tool is a bit more intangible. If you do you ll have a great story to tell, a possibly excellent old tool and the good feeling of having done a good deed. Before you do though make an assessment.
> 
> ...


The saw plate is fine, no kinks or cracks. It is missing it's nib on the spine near the end, and for some reason it has like 5 teeth near the front that are filed tiny like a crosscut and the rest are giant rip teeth. It has SOME life left in it, though I've seen better, maybe 10-20 years, at which point I would put it on a shelf before it looks pointy at the end of the plate. The handle is in fine condition, some hairline cracks that would be easily repaired and invisible with hot hide glue or fish glue, but it doesn't have any of the original lacquer anymore. The art isn't anything to write home about, it is done with spray paint and tape as a stencil.


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## BlasterStumps (Mar 13, 2017)

If you get down to the point where you are wanting to remove the paint from the saw plate, you could try soaking it in Pinesol. I soaked one that I found with a painting on it and it all came off fairly easy after soaking for about 12 hours. I wouldn't have bothered except that saw has nearly a full saw plate. It drives me crazy when people paint good tools or make lamps out of them, etc. Gads!


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