Disston/Mercury saw update

[Rleonard]

You might recall that I have been restoring some Mercury and Disston saws over the winter. I am happy to see this project wind up. These turned out great. Start and run nicely. Here are some pictures of the last two Mercs.

Bob

 

[joatmon]

You might recall that I have been restoring some Mercury and Disston saws over the winter. I am happy to see this project wind up. These turned out great. Start and run nicely. Here are some pictures of the last two Mercs.

Bob

WOW! I'm speechless.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[livewire]

Pretty!

Nice lookin' pair!

 

[troutfisher]

Very nice work.

 

[computeruser]

Looks good. I'll PM you my mailing address later.

 

[huskydave]

looking good the old merc saws are my favorite that engine was also used in their early snowmobiles they had two coils for reverse starting but overheat real bad and most were recalled great job kill switches could use a polish though and one has a nice cover bolt looks new and the other looks dull but im a perfectionist.

 

[Rleonard]

looking good the old merc saws are my favorite that engine was also used in their early snowmobiles they had two coils for reverse starting but overheat real bad and most were recalled great job kill switches could use a polish though and one has a nice cover bolt looks new and the other looks dull but im a perfectionist.

Wow What Eyes! Nothing gets by you guys! Good thing that I did not post the high resolution pictures!

I wanted to replace the switch but it is a unique one. It's a toggle switch with two wires, but it grounds both wires to the case when "off" grounding the mags. The case orientation is perpindicular to the axis of the switch, i.e. Think of a normal toggel switch, hold it at the mounting threads, then rotate the back, or plastic case 90 degrees.

The one case bolt (if it is the one I am thinking of, on the air filter upper rear (blower housing) side) is a different length. It is 1/4" longer than the others. I did not have another new screw that fit.

Bob

 

[mini kahuna]

I have a mercury two man,it is orange,I don't know if it is correct color or not.
me and my dad had it running a couple of years ago,it actully cut pretty well,it really chews at the wood,funny as hell to watch.

 

[Rleonard]

Mini,
The Disstons were silver (aluminum paint) with safety orange trim. The handles, stinger, chain cover, plug cover and air filter are orange. Like this one;

As I understand it, when Disston went out of business in about 1953, Mercury, who was building them, branded them as Keikafer, painted them white and sold them for a short time. I am not sure how long this arrangement lasted, but in those days, saws were advancing rapidly by providing more power with lighter weight. The 75 lb machine's days were numbered.

These machines were painted with paint matching the origional factory colors and scheme.

Can any of you guys help with more details of the timeline?

Bob

 

[belgian]

Very nice saws and good rebuilt.
I sure hope to find a decent two mens saw one day !

 

[Mold Mechanic]

Those saws look really nice, I almost bought a Reed-Prentice on an auction Saturday, it only sold for $40. I knew the other guy that was bidding on it, so I let him have it because I knew he had more money than me....he took it home and poured the old gas out of it, guess what...it runs! :bang: