Looks like a nice little saw. Does it look like it was shop made? When I look at the pics I see a drift punch and a c-clamp or am I way off. Wonder the original owners intended use was. I guess that's what make tools like this so much fun, always lot of questions.
bill
I'm certain it is shop made. I have a similar saw marked 1870 and Sacramento California, with a touch mark and the maker's name, William M. Brown. Brown was a machinist who lived close to the Rail Road yards. It's a couple of inches longer, but the pattern of the frame is the same.
My suspicion is that these are both tools of a pattern made and used by machinists -- the sort of tool that served, in part, as a demonstration of the maker's skill.
Brown's has an oak handle, but I think the smaller one was never intended to have a wooden handle. The handle is a very well worked tapered round that would work fine for very small jobs.
