The very last thing on Saturday

[Branson]

I was gonna post this to the Classic Power Tools, but I couldn't open that section, so here it is. 

I went back into the junk store to see if my wife and step son were finished shopping.  They weren't.  So I started browsing some more.  In the back of the store, on a bottom shelf, I saw a tool box.  It looked interesting, so I bent to pick it up.  Very heavy.  Had to open it.  Inside, I found an old Black and Decker #75 Quick Saw.  Ebay has two ads for sale of this saw, one from '44, and the other from '46.  Then, it cost $104.  I paid a good deal less, and it runs! It also weighs 25 pounds.  The case doesn't weigh a lot less.  I find the reinforced catches very cool.

[rusty]

Nice, they don't make things like that any more, that thing is a beast.
And it draws more juice than my toaster over ; P

"Look ma...all the lights in the neighborhood went dim!"
"ahhh...that's just Branson using hees saw agin.."

[Aunt Phil]

I just had to run it through the inflation calculator; What cost $104 in 1946 would cost $1148.58 in 2010.

A man who owned that saw in 1946 was King of his neighborhood.  The Crown Prince would have been the man who could bring it home from work on weekends.  He probably had a line in his driveway of men with boards to cut waiting for him.

Of course on the other side of the coin were the men who insisted 7" saws weren't worth a dam because they couldn't cut a 2 x 4 on a 45° angle in a single pass, so you really needed a 8" Porter Cable.

[Branson]

I just had to run it through the inflation calculator; What cost $104 in 1946 would cost $1148.58 in 2010.

A man who owned that saw in 1946 was King of his neighborhood.  The Crown Prince would have been the man who could bring it home from work on weekends.  He probably had a line in his driveway of men with boards to cut waiting for him.

Of course on the other side of the coin were the men who insisted 7" saws weren't worth a dam because they couldn't cut a 2 x 4 on a 45° angle in a single pass, so you really needed a 8" Porter Cable.

Not to knock Porter Cable (some of my favorite tools!) but you gotta realize that the #75 was the baby, used for light work.  The #95 did the 2 X 4s at the 45 degree cuts. <grin>

[dimwittedmoose51]

I've got an old sSkilsaw designed very similarly to this one.  It cuts through wood like butta!!!  One of the better $15 investments for sure.  I didn't get a case(well, it came in a plastic typewriter case, but that doesn't count), and yeah it's a heavy sucker, but I like that as I seem to be able to cut straighter lines with it much more accurately than my Porter Cable (US) saw I bout about 24-15 yr. ago.  Great find, especially since it runs.!!

[Branson]

I did theatrical carpentry for a while, and after busting butt to keep up with a 5'4" slender gal, I took a page from her book and got a Porter Cable "Saw Boss,"  a light 6 incher.  It cuts straighter than I can, and drawing 9 amps, it chews through with the big boys.  A garage sale put me in possession of a vintage Porter Cable Guild 6.  I like it too.  When you're working in the rigging of a tall set, light weight tools are a premium.

[ToolsorDie]

I like the massive U handle near the gearbox,

Nice find, it pays to be patient when shopping with the wife!

[Branson]

Nice find, it pays to be patient when shopping with the wife!

Well, we shop in much the same way, which also helps.  She saw the box the week before...