Mystery Tool

Yes it is a saw setter. I try to minimise my wood butchering but I have 3 saws which were as ‘blunt as a badger’s back end’. I also had some metal band saws that needed re welding (Hungarians will not be told how to use them and will insist on trying to force them to cut faster).

At the local Faripari works they welded the band saws no problem. Then Ii produced the old spear and Jackson panel saw. The foreman looked at it pinged it and smiled. He called over the others burbling in Hungarian to admire it. I then producer a little ‘Gent’s Saw’ which made him purr. And then my ‘tenant saw’ (by Tyzak Sons and Turner). The foreman and the others went into a sort of dreamy reverie and ‘Bloody Lad’ was sent to fetch the Boss, who appeared very quickly. For the next 10 or so minutes the whole lot were passing the saws around sort of caressing them. Then one produced an old violin bow and played tunes on the Spear and Jackson. They were then arguing who should sharpen which saw and through my wife explained they would have a problem setting them. I fished out the Tool (or one rather like it). There was then a long discussion as to what the numbers on it meant. In the end they got the idea that it was the number of teeth per inch. There is an old Hungarian measurement the ’Hülveyk’( which is converted to 25.4mm). it is still sometimes used by the oldest of ‘Gazsda’ and old barrel makers.

There was a discussion about the files to be used –theirs were knackered- so I slipped out two Valrobe 3 square files –one No 2 cut and one No 4 cut- I had bought a job lot of them somewhere for about £1.

Two weeks later we went over to collect them. The Boss greeted us and put the saws down for us to inspect. He then introduced someone (a very bulky person with hands full of gold rings) my wife recognised him and there was a long discussion (which I was left out of) about the Spear and Jackson which the stranger seemed to want. Wife struck a deal and large denomination notes passed in several directions. and my old Spear and Jackson was carefully wrapped up and taken away by the stranger.

I gave the foreman the tool which I will never use and the files. He stowed the remaining saws into my motor and bundled us out of the place. Later my wife explained what was going on. It was the problem of the boss’s commission on the sale of the saw and who was to pay it, and the foreman’s expenses for the tools. . On the way home my wife bought the lunch at a very expensive road house and gave me 30,000 forint to buy a new saw.