120 years old and still the most effective for its purpose.

[formariz 11,988]

Did a little restoration and tuning to one of my favorite tools. It’s a very early Marsh Miter Clamp and Saw. These are with no match when doing any frames such as picture frames. About 120 years old and as effective as the day it was made. Four of them are used . Three without the saw feature are used to clamp first 3 miters and on last one ( the one that always gives you trouble) one cuts through joint on both pieces simultaneously creating a perfect miter with this one. One then just moves pieces together and clamps until glue is set. If any fasteners are used they are used while its clamped .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by formariz

[tom2p 2,394]

form - have seen similar tool but don't recall the clamp 

 

( my dad - currently 92 yrs old - was a carpenter ) 

 

gotta take a closer look at the one my dad has - maybe he has a Stanley or something like that 

someone recently borrowed his old tool to install hardwood flooring ... surprised - thought everyone these days used power (pneumatic or electric)

 

[tom2p 2,394]

my dad also might have one of those measuring tools ( subject of a different thread )

 

he was a carpenter for 60 ... 60+ years ?

 

He was a union carpenter / worked on large commercial buildings - and also was a contractor / house builder etc 

 

worked 7 days per week - day and night  ( no evenings on weekends )

 

in addition to day job and building houses / additions  - he also built apartments / duplexes ... in his spare time  lol ... ( his 'retirement' )

 

[stevasaurus 22,882]

Cas, you have the neatest tools!!!   

[Mickwhitt 4,730]

Similar tools today are flimsy and made of monkey metal. A pale immitation of the cast iron beauty we see here.

Such a shame that tools are now made not to do the job but to a price point and for convenience of the tool company.

There is a machine at a local museum and the stand is made of cast iron, but it has Queen Anne style legs with claw and ball feet just like a fine table. It's just a wire forming machine and has no need for such ornate legs, but they did it because they could and were proud of their products. These days it would be pressed steel.

Our local foundry is now a housing estate, forced to close by cheap foreign goods, lost forever.

Progress is what they call it.

Mick 

[Herder 2,354]

I love old tools, especially ones that can still be used.  Nice job on the restore.

[953 nut 55,904]

I have one just like it an must agree that it is one of the finest tools I own. I used it to miter cut the half-round moldings for a set of utility room cabinets and they fit perfectly. The oak was harvested from our property while we were clearing for the new house.

 

[squonk 41,461]

Old tools are cool. I have my Grandfathers planes and mason tools. I still don't know how to use them! 

 

Prolly the coolest tool I ever bought and used was a Mac Tools cylinder balance anatyzer. Used it almost every day in the 80's for electronic carburetor tuning.

 

[Bill D 1,943]

Beautiful.  I find it sad that to best place to find American made tools are estate sales.  

[formariz 11,988]

I have always been sort of amused watching others try to make frames. It’s always a frustrating affair.Most of the time you cannot ever get all four miters to fit 100% correctly. Every time you take a tiny bit out of one it changes the whole thing. The first 3 are always relatively easy to do but its the last one that always gives you the most trouble since any error on the others its tripled on the last one. The secret to easy perfection all around is this tool. With the other 3 clamped and glued, one cuts through  the joint on the fourth miter with this tool creating a perfect joint once pushed together. I have two of these and two regular ones without the saw, this way I also have the option of adjusting a second joint if needed. Miters are first rough cut with another miter saw and then cleaned out with a "guillotine".

Edited May 27, 2020 by formariz

[formariz 11,988]

9 hours ago, Mickwhitt said:

Similar tools today are flimsy and made of monkey metal. A pale immitation of the cast iron beauty we see here.

Such a shame that tools are now made not to do the job but to a price point and for convenience of the tool company.

There is a machine at a local museum and the stand is made of cast iron, but it has Queen Anne style legs with claw and ball feet just like a fine table. It's just a wire forming machine and has no need for such ornate legs, but they did it because they could and were proud of their products. These days it would be pressed steel.

Our local foundry is now a housing estate, forced to close by cheap foreign goods, lost forever.

Progress is what they call it.

Mick 

Very true. Change however happens quickly. Although both units on photo are of high quality, second unit (black one) is about 5 years younger. Stanley bought Marsh about then. Units were then manufactured in a much larger quantity. Although castings are about the same, actually a bit better on the later Stanley, and there are improvements on it which make it better to use and more reliable, they act totally different. The original Marsh is an absolute pleasure beautifully smooth in all aspects where the Stanley is a bit rough in usage. The Marsh even has some defects from factory which were addressed there with some carefully  made repairs.I guess they could not afford to just discard it. There is just another level of care on the manufacturing of the Marsh.I always find interesting on how quickly things change once productivity and profitability becomes a factor.

Edited May 27, 2020 by formariz

[formariz 11,988]

12 hours ago, stevasaurus said:

Cas, you have the neatest tools!!!   

Thank you. I have been a student of my craft all my life and was always fascinated by the incredible number of inventions and innovations developed at around the Industrial Revolution Period to address most tasks not only in my profession but all others as well. Incredibly although we have been reinventing the wheel for decades with better mouse traps, many of those innovations are still the best there is for many of the functions they were intended for. One outstanding thing they did, was that although they made those tasks easier and that was the intent,in the process of doing so, they educated the user on the nuances of that specific  task. By looking at them, one understands and learns exactly the finer details of what it takes to achieve perfection in that task. The same cannot be said for tools made today. Case and point my description of my amusement at individuals attempting to create a perfect frame using a modern saw to achieve that. Its possible but its frustrating and time consuming the end result many times winding up not being the dimension wanted since one keeps trying and cutting. And, once completed they still do not have an understanding why its happening. These tools are excellent teachers created by individuals that possessed knowledge and understanding that sadly  is basically non existent.

I always said that if one would go to a job site today and took away the table saw, miter saw, router, pneumatic guns , drills, and just gave them a handsaw, set of chisels, hammer, stick ruler, a brace and a plane, 99% of them would not know what to do. I know its harsh, but it is the sad reality today. Speaking of sad, I have been asked already more than a dozen times by other "carpenters" while installing my work specially cabinets and using a plumb bob to set them, "how I knew that it was level" "does that really work".

Edited May 27, 2020 by formariz