All That Glitters

“So this is what they used to look like. Wow!” That’s what I told all my friends after spending hours completely disassembling, cleaning and polishing a Porter-Cable Model 507 Extra Heavy-Duty circular saw, made in 1956. I went to all this extra trouble because I thought this particular saw was something special. It had what looked like a gold nameplate (regular 507s have a silver one). “A presentation saw,” I thought. “Maybe unique!”

I eagerly polished all the aluminum surfaces by hand—machine buffing would have changed the saw’s appearance too much. As a last step, I thought I would gingerly clean the nameplate, too. As I rubbed, the gold turned to silver. That beautiful yellow was just tarnish, or an old finish, or stars in my eyes. I simply have an average 507, but man, does it sparkle! –Dick Ford