Well, some people can fall into a cesspool and come out smelling like a rose!

 

A few days ago I acquired a Pootatuck brand Lion Miter Knife. The price was reasonable and the conditions was Very Good +. According to the seller, he found it in the back of a workbench cabinet belonging to a friends grandfather. The grandfather was a woodworker and has passed away almost 30 years ago. So, the trimmer has not seen the light of day for the past tree decades. Who knows how long before that since it was last used.

 

Anyway, I thought that I would share some photos for your enjoyment:

 

 

The original paint was, conservatively, at 85-90%. The bed and the right and left "wings", the channels, etc all had a little surface rust and staining.

 

 

The first order of business was to completely disassemble the tool, cleaning the components as I went.

 

Boeshield RUST FREE (Phosphoric Acid) was sprayed onto the tool one section at a time and gently scrubbed with brass brush and a maroon 3M Scotchbrite pad. The screw heads and threads, nuts, and machined bearing surfaces were appropriately cleaned and oiled as needed.

 

Here is the first pass with the Rust Free on the bed. The intent is not to polish and make pretty. This tool has earned its patina and I didn't want to destroy it or the original paint if at all possible.

 

 

There was no pitting anywhere. The bed and wings only had surface rust and staining. Once the Rust Free did its job, the components were cleaned again with Mineral Spirits and a maroon pad. The entire tools was then waxed and the applicable areas had light machine oil applied.

 

The tools was reassembled and the needed adjustments were performed:

 

The wings were trued up and the stops adjusted on both sides at the 90° and 45° marks.

 

 

For those who don't know. The stops, which are spring loaded plungers are contained in a round plate. When the wing is where it should be, you butt the plunger up to the wing and lock it in place with the plate screw. This assures a locked in wing at the two primary angles.

 

Here is the completed, cleaned-up and ready to use Lion Miter Trimmer.

 

 

Fences at the 45° angle.

 

 

The back side all cleaned up.

 

You can even see a little debris in the channel from a quick test-out.

 

 

Hope you guys enjoyed this. If you have any questions or I didn't cover something ask away.

 

 

 

That is one awesome score!

 

I keep my eye out for these on Craig's List but most of what I've seen are apparently made of gold- judging from the asking prices.

I have heard those miter cutters are pretty cool tools! Congrats!

11 minutes ago, lew said:

That is one awesome score!

 

I keep my eye out for these on Craig's List but most of what I've seen are apparently made of gold- judging from the asking prices.

I gave up on Craig's list...you just never see them. I have come across them in my area, but as you observed they think they are gold bearing. They want as much for an original as they do for some  of the modern ones. I can't attest to the quality or lack thereof for the newer ones, but people buy and use them and seem to be happy. I got lucky on this one. It didn't see much use and/or was well cared for. I suspect, that, the blades could do with a good sharpening. I'll have to play with it and see.

Very nice.   Keep your fingers clear.   I've heard you can send the blades back to Pootatuck for sharpening (but that was 20 years ago, so I don't even know if they're still in business)

15 minutes ago, kmealy said:

Very nice.   Keep your fingers clear.   I've heard you can send the blades back to Pootatuck for sharpening (but that was 20 years ago, so I don't even know if they're still in business)

Nope, apparently they gave up the ghost a couple of decades ago.

cool find Schnooge...

welcome to the 1/100° degree crowd...

1 hour ago, kmealy said:

Very nice.   Keep your fingers clear.   I've heard you can send the blades back to Pootatuck for sharpening (but that was 20 years ago, so I don't even know if they're still in business)

 

they closed up shop some time back...

it's cake and pie to make a holder/sharpening jig for the blades...

did you ever get one for yurself....

Edited August 19, 20179 yr by Stick486

Cool find indeed!

Cal

Nope, I never found one.

Great find Bill...Excellent job on the restore. Thanks for preserving and sharing it with us.

A well built machine.  Thanks for sharing the restore.

Nice find and restoration! Some guys have all the luck.

John

Nice!

WOW...you were right...I am impressed...

 

Good luck with it...

 

That is pretty sweet!!

I HAVE ONE VERY SIMILAR TO THAT ONE. I DON'T USE IT, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO ASK FOR IT. Any ideas on price? It has a pair of new, never used blades with it. 

I'll give you $1 and pay the shipping 

13 minutes ago, lew said:

I'll give you $1 and pay the shipping 

 

Geeze!  I think it has to be worth at least twice as much as that!

33 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

 

Geeze!  I think it has to be worth at least twice as much as that!

OK, I'll go to $2 and I'll still kick in the shipping