An interesting miter box

Monday, besides bringing the beginnings of a nice little snowstorm, brought an email from a reader with some questions about a fascinating cast miter box. It is a Union No. 2, but beyond that I know nothing about it. I don’t have any old Union tool catalogs, and have not been able to find any pictures or references to this model online.

I have to admit that I cannot recall seeing one like this, so suspect that it is not very common. Does anyone have any knowledge of this model that they can share? Age, scarcity, or even a catalog reference to it would be of great interest. Please leave a comment or email me with any information.

Union No. 2 miter box - picture 1.

Union No. 2 miter box – picture 1.

Union No. 2 miter box - picture 2.

Union No. 2 miter box – picture 2.

Union No. 2 miter box - picture 3.

Union No. 2 miter box – picture 3.

Union No. 2 miter box - picture 4.

Union No. 2 miter box – picture 4.

Union No. 2 miter box - picture 5.

Union No. 2 miter box – picture 5.

Union No. 2 miter box - picture 6.

Union No. 2 miter box – picture 6.

Union No. 2 miter box - picture 7.

Union No. 2 miter box – picture 7.

Union No. 2 miter box - picture 8.

Union No. 2 miter box – picture 8.

Union No. 2 miter box - picture 9.

Union No. 2 miter box – picture 9.

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5 Responses to An interesting miter box

  1. Smitty says:

    That’s a Bishop’s Patent adjustable backsaw…

    • admin says:

      Close – it’s marked Disston No. 14 (I only know because there was a photo that showed the logo, which I did not include).

      I found this reference when I searched for the patent. Did Disston and Bishop both buy licensing rights to the patent? Or is the Dissotn version based on a different patent?

  2. No information for you, but oh, man is that a nice looking miter box!

    Currently looking up info for one I’m restoring; if I happen across anything that might be useful, I’ll pass it along.

    Be sure to let your reader know… miter boxes can be addictive. Need to be careful.

    Cheers,

    TKW

    • admin says:

      Thanks, TKW. I have a few of them myself, and a nice one is hard to pass up. Too bad they take up so much space.

      • I have… four right now. One I picked up for a song; it’s in great condition and a bit newer (as in, not cast iron, but a Stanley one from the 60’s or so). It works great and would work even better after being sharpened a bit. I just can’t stand what I call the “ambiguous tote”. Ugh. So unsexy and unflattering. I need to just give it to a woodworker who wants a miter box in their shop and doesn’t care about tote shape as much as me.

        I have a Langdon w/original miter saw I need to fully restore. It has cast iron break repaired with brazing that was done by the previous owner’s dad, who I think was the original purchaser. A bit rough, but will be a great addition once I take it all apart and put it back together…

        I have a Craftsman miter saw (similar to the Stanley 150) I restored. That’s the subject of the article I wrote for WKFineTools.

        I picked up an older Stanley 150 shortly after finishing the Craftsman restoration. Possibly to replace the Craftsman? Who knows what I was thinking…

        Seriously, though, I should try and pare it down to two – the Langdon and either the Craftsman or the older Stanley. Like I said, it can be addictive.

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