I ran across this vintage M-tooth crosscut buck saw about 2 years ago on Craigslist and purchased it for 10 dollars. I don’t have a pre-restoration photo but the saw sat in a barn for many, many years and was caked in grey and brown dirt/dust. None of the color shown in the photos was evident before some restoration. In addition, the tensioning system barely worked but now functions freely. Luckily, none of the wood was damaged by splitting or cracking but the longer arm is slightly twisted. After some rigorous cleaning and gentle sanding what remains of the original finish shines through. I actually like the looks of the thing now rather than what would have been solid red. The darkly rusted blade looks nice as well set against the finish, is sharp, and the tensioning system works like a charm. For those interested, this will NOT hang on our cabin wall, but will resume life as a tool…tools are meant to work.
I plan to post more on saws, their designs, uses, teeth patterns, etc. over the next little bit so stay tuned.