Ottawa drag saw

Since last August, small engine expert Mark Bruto has steadily restored most of the hit-n-miss engines in collection of the El Dorado County Historical Museum. Here he works on the 4-horsepower Ottawa engine for the drag saw.

Mark originally came to the museum last August to peruse the yard sale. He now heads the small engine department for the museum as a volunteer. Since that time, he has rebuilt seven engines in the museum collection.

Local contractor John Rodgers rips a beam from a larger timber. The Ottawa engine is mounted between two such beams. They also support the drag saw mechanism and form a set of handles on the forward end.

John's next task was to notch out a pocket for the engine (not visible), fashion handles and mount the hardware for the saw. Here John measures the location for the mounting bolts with guidance from Mark. Jacob Karoly then helped John paint linseed oil on the beams.