Offcuts: A Saw Tale By: Don Heisz

As some of you may recall, last week I related how I was thinking about buying a radial arm saw and was offered one by a total stranger for an extremely low price.

In spite of some trepidation, I followed him to his house. It did briefly occur to me, though, that he was like the stranger in the white van who stops at the side of the road and offers kids candy. You know, radial arm saws , tools in general, are candy for many of us.

But there was actually nothing wrong with him at all. He led me to a slightly dilapidated garage door which opened without the need of a key. It didn’t latch at all, actually. And right at the front, amongst a great many other things, was the arm portion of the saw, with the motor attached. “The cabinet is in the back there somewhere,” he said as we peered into the darkness.

He set to work digging out the various bits and pieces of the saw while I took a short trip to get the money.

When I got back, it was all sitting on the driveway waiting for me. I was happy it was already in a number of pieces since my car is quite small. But the cabinet needed to be fully dismantled as well, to fit in the back seat.

Dan sold me a radial arm saw

So, he helped me dismantle the cabinet. I learned his name is Dan and he’s nearing retirement. He’s been a mechanic at the same company for thirty-eight years. He said the saw had been in his wife’s parents’ basement since it was bought, by his brother-in-law, who only ever made one cut with it. The paint was still completely intact on the original blade.

He said he didn’t do woodworking. He did, however, have a shop in the back yard where he worked on old cars. He brought me back there to show me a detached building with two garage doors. Those doors did latch and lock and the building looked very well made. He said he made the shop himself. I was duly impressed.

Inside, he showed me the engine hoist he’s built in place. It was actually a miniature crane, made out of heavy steel. He has also made that.

this is Dan's Corvette

It was actually sitting right in front of a car under a tarp. He visibly gleamed with pride when he pulled it off and showed me the fully restored, mid ’60s Corvette Stingray.

I could see why he didn’t care about a radial arm saw.

He also had his next project, but I can’t recall what kind of car it is. The shop was extremely clean and well-equipped for doing the kind of work he did. It had a separate section off to the side with a couch and a wet bar and a television. When he retires, I imagine he will move out there semi-permanently.

I did not have a digital camera with me to take any pictures of his workshop. I normally have a film camera with me, though, so I took his picture with that. I think he is truly looking forward to retirement so he can spend his time doing what he likes. That is in sharp contrast to an old carpenter I met who was about to retire. We were working on the roof of a building and he turned to me and said, “What am I gonna do all day”?

I had no answer. If you have nothing you want to do that badly, you may not find anything to do. I don’t seem to ever have enough time to do the things I need to do, let alone the things I want to do.

Anyway, I thanked Dan again for selling me the saw at such a great price and for his helping me dismantle it and load it into my car.

Maybe I’ll bring him a copy of his photo someday. I can make the frame using the saw.