Creative Woodworks & crafts 2005-03, страница 44
Mm /\ntiaue Scroll (^ollecti (fart One) on by Rick Hufcheson
Getting Started 1 have been asked any number of times, "How do you start collecting something like scroll saws?" Heck, 1 have even asked myself that a bunch of times over the last few years. It all started in 1995 when 1 bought a Barnes No. 7 treadle saw from an old friend. Il sal around here and I used it a few times just to show people who stopped in the shop. Actually, it is really fun lo operate and is still the favorite of all of the old saws 1 own. 1 am really interested in the way it was designed and operates, so much so that I decided it would be nice to check other brands of old saws. Then in 2000,1 bought a few more from the Internet. Once I started picturing them on my web site, more people contacted me with saws to sell or give away, and before 1 knew what happened there was a whole bunch of old saws upstairs. Now, no matter where I go (such as the Wisconsin Scroll Saw Picnic where I picked up three old saws) I end up bringing something back. Just yesterday two more old saws were delivered. In fact, I have three more that 1 am trying lo buy right now, and upstairs in the showroom there at least 160 of them on display. I guess that as long as there is room I will probably keep buying them. Every one of them has a story, concerning cither how it was made, who owned it, or where it came from. Some just have unusual features, and totally different drive systems. There is just so much to look at, from the designs of each one, to trying to think of why that system is not used anymore. Some of them have functions that 1 would like to sec put back on saws today. I guess you could say that it has become a kind of obsession to find more, so that T can sec if there is anything I have missed. This is the first in a two-part series. We will focus on as many of my saws as possible this time, and save the rest for the following issue of Creative Woodworks & Crafts, so stay tuned! My Collection: Part 1 I would guess this saw was built by Barnes in the 1870's to early 1.880's. I would base this on the fact that the drive gear looks like his 1871 patent and uses the name "Velocipede," which is cast into the bottom of the leg (it has no other markings). If this is the case, it may be one of their earliest saws. It is a very unique system that operates the piston that the blade clamps are on. The arm lifts the piston up and down so the saw has a perfect up and down stroke, not the roeking-type stroke of most saws. This is the bottom view of the drive train. Notice the very unusual drive link setup used on this saw. The thumbscrew is used to tighten the blade clamps, but it is not a wing nut like we see on most of the saws. The unusual thing about the whole design is that it uses cast-iron arms that pivot on a C frame (also cast-iron) that, in turn, is mounted to a wood frame that appears to be cherry. Another strange thing is that the big heavy cast arms sire used only to hold and make a pivot point for the lightweight arm that actually runs the saw. There is an early form of turnbuckle used to apply the tension to the arms after the blade has been installed. Tlie table might have been a replacement. It is interesting to think that if it is one of the first saws, it had true vertical motion. 44 • Creative Woodworks S. Crafts March 5005 |
