P.O. Box 86, 837 Davis Street, Lamar, South Carolina 29069
Shown here is my old style Wade one Oman drag saw, serial Number
A7872, which was likely manufactured in 1919-20. The Wade is a 4
HP, 2 cycle engine which usually starts on the first pull. I
discovered the saw under a house within walking distance of my
place. The owner gave me permission to get the saw, but several
weeks passed before I could move it. The abandoned house burned
down later the same day that I moved the saw.
The saw mechanism and blade were not with the engine, because it
had last been used to power a generator. The owner insisted that
the missing parts were somewhere around the farm. About two months
later I found the blade in a barn, but no mechanism. While walking
home across a field, I passed by a clump of trees where a house
once stood. Sticking out of the dirt was a piece of metal with two
rods attached. I pulled on the metal and up came the saw works,
including the chains. One bearing and the handle were broken. Using
a metal detector, the bearing part was located, but not the
handle.
The engine was in good shape and only needed babbitt in the rod
and a new coil and wiring. The frame required some wood work on the
narrow end, but is almost original. After everything was cleaned
and painted, the engine which had not run for fifty years came to
life.
I have enjoyed running the engine and I am now looking for a hit
and miss. The picture at the bottom is of a Vaughn saw that I
reworked for John Rogers of Florence, SC.
My thanks to Tim Jensen, Milwaukie, Oregon; Glen Amos,
Hagarville, Arkansas; and Frank Gibbs, Waldport, Oregon. These
‘men responded to a June 1993 inquiry in GEM with much needed
and appreciated information about color and manufacturing date. I
also received ad copies and an operator’s manual
