Reach the woodworkers who ACTUALLY BUY
Articles Forums Gallery Marketplace Videos

WoodCentral Forums

Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge

Build Homes for Homeless Birds – Complete Plans & Cutting Lists. Easy, attractive designs that actually work. Download today!

split nuts on saws

Posts

split nuts on saws

#1

split nuts on saws

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>Went to the Centerville garage sale today, one of the first through the door of course, and didn't find much worth dragging home but did find an old saw for $2. I was wondering what time period split nuts were used on saws. This one has a sunken medallion, unfortunately only says "warranted superior" and the blade has a lot of pitting such that the etch is illegible and the nib is broken off. Will be a decent user saw though, the handle is not in bad shape and I can clean and sharpen the saw and the split nuts are kind of neat, a very coarse rip saw. The only other things I found were a #130 and #30 yankee screwdrivers in great shape, $5 for the pair, the biggest ever screw extractor I've seen in a neat old box for 50 cents, and a EA Berg chisel for a couple bucks.

Re: split nuts on saws

#2

Re: split nuts on saws

Todd Hughes

>I think Disston stopped using Split nuts around 1880 or so but I believe cheap saws kept using them much later probably because they were much easier and cheaper to make....Todd

Re: split nuts on saws

#3

!!That must have been painful!

CONGER - The Irish diaspora in Munich

>I quote... 'Split nuts on saws'!

;-))

Re: split nuts on saws

#4

Re: !!That must have been painful!

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>It really was quite painful having to pay $2 for a 25 cent saw, but with the economy improving things are really on the upswing here. If you ever see a split nut on a saw, you'll understand what I'm referring to; there are two grooves in it beside the the threaded stud, so they are referred to as "split nuts". Just to clarify ;) Of course, when I was a young teenager I used to giggle at stuff like that to, so I really understand what you mean.

Re: split nuts on saws

#5

Re: !!That must have been painful!

Skip in Falls Church

>I don't know about just teenagers, my wife cracked up at a very succinct description of a saw on eBay: Henry Disston, no sons, split nuts. She said she thought she knew what the problem was. :)

Skip

Re: split nuts on saws

#6

Re: !!That must have been painful!... by now OT!

CONGER - The Irish diaspora in Munich

>Yes... I guess the problem was that he had no sense of humour.

This reminds me of the headline in 'NewScientist' some years ago... 'DR FUCHS OFF TO ANTARTICA'. This is only topped by my colleague's name... Anita Fuchs.

-g-

PS... For clarity - FUCHS is a regular german name... it means 'fox'.

Re: split nuts on saws

#7

Re: !!That must have been painful!

kees laan

>LOL

To be On Topic again: How to handle a split nut; is there a tool for it? There's a doctor here to solve or will it be selfmedication?

kees

Re: split nuts on saws

#8

seriously?

Jack from Maine

>If you're serious about that question,I took a good sharp screwdriver and filed a notch in it.If you do this just make sure the blade is a good fit in the slot.I don't know if a tool was ever made for this because I've never seen one but someone must have made one.---Crackerjack

Re: split nuts on saws

#9

Re: seriously?

kees laan

>I am serious!

I have an Adria saw and a CountryworkshopsDrawknife of which the handles have split nuts.

split nut manufacturing is industrie, so I thought there has to be a tool for it.

regards,

kees

Re: split nuts on saws

#10

Re: seriously?

Skip in Falls Church

>I have a tool that appears to be made for split nuts. I don't know for sure as I don't have a saw with split nuts - but I can't figure out anything else it would have been made for. It looks like a screwdriver blade (no shaft) with a notch in the business end of the blade set in a short bulbous wooden handle. It looks like it was made this way - not altered.

Of course this means that I need to get a split nut saw so that I can find out. :)

Skip

Re: split nuts on saws

#11

Split Nut Driver

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>Here is the Lie-Nielsen split nut driver. $25US in curley maple.


img

Re: split nuts on saws

#12

Re: Split Nut Driver

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>And how is that superior to a cheap screwdriver the right size with the middle filed or dremeled out? I mean, besides being prettier.

Re: split nuts on saws

#13

Re: Split Nut Driver

Dennis

>Well i have no idea but this is what i got,and it cost me 10 cents at yard sale......nothing like being a bottom feeder imo.

Dennis remove nospam for email


img

Re: split nuts on saws

#14

Re: Split Nut Driver

Jack from Maine

>I have a set of turnscrews in the works. If I ever get aroung to finishing them,one is going to be a split nut driver. ---Jack

Re: split nuts on saws

#15

Re: Split Nut Driver

William R. Duffield on the Cohansey

>The advantage of the L-N is that it exactly fits the split nuts on the L-N backsaws. Since the nuts are brass, and therefore soft, and are finished flush with the highly polished wooden handle, any mismatch of size will end up spoiling the slot of the nut or the finish of the handle, or both. If you are maintaining or building a different saw, then you need to make your own driver to match it. The more valuable the esthetics of your saw, the more carefully you have to machine the driver. BTW, the L-N nut driver will not fit the nuts on the equally well made Adria saws. Both the diameters and the width of the slots are different.

Re: split nuts on saws

#16

Re: Split Nut Driver

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>In general, I do not know that it is any better.

Narrowly, it is perfectly sized and shaped for the LN screws. It also feels better in the hand than the cheap dime-store screwdrivers that I have.

👍 This page answered my questions

Your vote helps other woodworkers quickly find the answers and techniques that actually work in the shop.