Author Topic: best hacksaw frame????  (Read 2661 times)

Offline Justin Urbantas

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best hacksaw frame????
« on: December 16, 2019, 11:51:29 PM »
I am getting sick and tired of garbage hacksaw frames. I've bought about 5, and spent good money on them, only to be disappointed.  Some just snapped, some had terrible tension adjustment, some adjustment parts stripped, some twist the blade etc.. What do you guys think the top of the line, best hacksaw frame you can get is? I will get it for my Christmas present to me. Thanks

Offline msellers

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2019, 12:04:09 AM »
Mine is an old timer. I picked up second hand, by far best frame I have used to date.
Mike





Offline Jim Kibler

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2019, 12:06:47 AM »
A high tension frame by Lennox or Starret.

Offline WadePatton

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2019, 12:31:52 AM »
Wow, apparently they don't make the kind I prefer any more.  I have a pair of them-found one in a flea market once.  Forget the make, but they have the tensioner on the user/handle/drive side, not the far side.  I see similar on the market but they've been slightly re-designed. 

Here's one:  Note the tubular top-section.  I think that is key and that now they use rectangular tubing instead of round.  Also the tension has been moved to the bottom of the handle not the top.   

I learned of these from professionals in the auto repair field.  And mine has never been an issue--just that now it's out in my other shop.  They may have been sold as Blue Point brand back then.   My first one has blue plastic, the backup has red, and this one yellow--likely one maker filling different brandings.

The best blades I ever had came out of the old country, and are very difficult to source these days-so I get by with lesser.  They could likely be bought direct with Ebay and all. Been a while since I checked.


« Last Edit: December 17, 2019, 12:35:05 AM by WadePatton »
Hold to the Wind

Joe S

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #4 on: December 17, 2019, 12:51:30 AM »
I have a Stanley STHT20140 Tubular Frame High Tension Hacksaw. I like it.

Offline Stophel

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #5 on: December 17, 2019, 01:05:13 AM »
I got sick of the standard hacksaw frames wobbling and crumpling on me, and I finally got a good high tension saw frame by Nicholson.  It has the screw tension at the bottom of the grip that you set then force a lever on the side of the frame down to really tighten it up and slip the lock ring over the lever to hold it down.  I vaguely recall trying one or two other high tension saw frames before choosing this one, but it was many years ago.
When a reenactor says "They didn't write everything down"   what that really means is: "I'm too lazy to look for documentation."

Offline James Wilson Everett

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #6 on: December 17, 2019, 01:08:41 AM »
Guys,

In my opinion the old 18th/19th century frames are the best, very rigid and stout.

Jim



From the mid-18th century Wyke tool catalog.




Joe S

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #7 on: December 17, 2019, 01:30:30 AM »
There you go Justin. Fire up your forge. You can make one of these.

Offline msellers

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #8 on: December 17, 2019, 01:39:28 AM »

Offline flehto

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2019, 01:43:25 AM »
My hacksaw was made by the Crescent Tool Co, {maker of the Crescent wrenches} and was bought in 1956 and is still in excellent condition and was first used when I was a toolmaker and then when building guns and home use.  It's all steel ...no plastic or wood  on it....Fred

Offline Jeff Durnell

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #10 on: December 17, 2019, 02:04:43 AM »
Great question. I have three of them and they get me by, but they're certainly not what I WANT. Not enough support or tension. I'm not happy. But I haven't bought a new one yet because Im not sure which is best.

Listening....

Joe S

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #11 on: December 17, 2019, 05:17:47 AM »
Justin - Here's instructions for forging a hacksaw frame, courtesy of David Rase.












Offline dogcatcher

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Offline T*O*F

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #13 on: December 17, 2019, 06:46:32 PM »
Quote
I learned of these from professionals in the auto repair field.

Wade,
Having been one of those, it's what I used.  It's still going strong after 40 years of use.  I bought it from the Matco tool truck, which is probably why most mechanics use them.
Dave Kanger

If religion is opium for the masses, the internet is a crack, pixel-huffing orgy that deafens the brain, numbs the senses and scrambles our peer list to include every anonymous loser, twisted deviant, and freak as well as people we normally wouldn't give the time of day.
-S.M. Tomlinson

Offline JBJ

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #14 on: December 19, 2019, 12:49:20 AM »
While I actually have , but rarely use, a frame like Gordo showed, I cast my vote with Jim K. Get a Lennox frame and don't look back. Don't stint on blades - use the best quality!
J.B.

Offline Jeff Durnell

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #15 on: December 19, 2019, 02:45:50 AM »
Well I ordered a Klein high tension saw. It looked like a good one and I've always had good luck with the brand so we'll see.

Offline Ross Dillion

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #16 on: December 19, 2019, 04:23:08 AM »
I have a Lennox high tension that has so been pretty good. My favorite is a vintage Miller Falls with the straight wooden handle. It’s the easiest to make straight cuts with and is solid as a rock.

Offline Waksupi

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #17 on: December 19, 2019, 04:37:08 AM »
I think the proper blades are more important than the frame. I stick with Lenox brand. After that, it is up to the craftsman to learn control and speed. I also use the Lenox frame.
Ric Carter
Somers, Montana

Offline Justin Urbantas

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #18 on: December 19, 2019, 08:21:18 AM »
Sounds like Lenox is the way to go. I'll also make one of those forged frames, just for fun. Thanks guys

Offline Stophel

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #19 on: December 19, 2019, 08:32:31 AM »
I think the proper blades are more important than the frame. I stick with Lenox brand. After that, it is up to the craftsman to learn control and speed. I also use the Lenox frame.

A good blade don't do you any good if the saw frame crumples under tension. 
When a reenactor says "They didn't write everything down"   what that really means is: "I'm too lazy to look for documentation."

Offline davec2

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"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1780

Offline AMartin

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Re: best hacksaw frame????
« Reply #21 on: December 19, 2019, 01:23:32 PM »
I find that a 10" blade seems to work better and more precisely for me .. less flex and twisting going on ..

Al