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  1. #1
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    Default Saw Handle Timber

    Hi All...... Have ordered a Back saw kit from Blackburn tools and now am pondering what timber to use in the handle. Just wondering if anyone has had a go at making a saw handle and what they used and what worked well or not so well. Being a 10" saw kit we would need to keep the weight balanced. I am wanting to keep to an Australian native species if possible... any thoughts.

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  3. #2
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    Have a look in hand tools handmade.
    Saw making section there is a ton of information.
    Cheers Matt

    Silky oak is a favourite amongst saw makers

    Cheers Matt

  4. #3
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    hard to beat the old sheoak or blackwood IMHO

  5. #4
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    I rather like walnut.

    Cheers

    Doug
    I got sick of sitting around doing nothing - so I took up meditation.

  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gaza58 View Post
    Hi All...... Have ordered a Back saw kit from Blackburn tools and now am pondering what timber to use in the handle. Just wondering if anyone has had a go at making a saw handle and what they used and what worked well or not so well. Being a 10" saw kit we would need to keep the weight balanced. I am wanting to keep to an Australian native species if possible... any thoughts.
    I had Isaac (Blackburn Tools) put together a 16" brass back and plate for this mitre saw I built for a Miller's Falls #15 1/2 mitrebox restoration. The handle is Fiddleback Jarrah ...









    Frankly, it does not really matter too much which timber you use. Use what you have (the handle was just scrap from a build), although fruit woods were popular. The important part is to orient the grain in the correct direction.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  7. #6
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    Gaza

    I agree with Derek Cohen in that it doesn't really matter what you use within reason. By "within reason" I mean there are not too many enthusiasts out there recommending Radiata Pine for example.

    Most people select timber for one of three reasons. Firstly it is attractive; Secondly it is easy enough to work with the tools at their disposal and lastly because it either fits the budget or again, as with Derek's rather attractive Jarrah handle, it was lying around in the scrap bin.

    Jarrah along with many Aussie hardwoods is at the other end of the spectrum from Radiata Pine and can be a little challenging to work. I keep mentioning Radiata Pine, but I would not use it: Boring as bat ****, but a good material for a dummy run.

    I know that IanW looks for tight grained figure in the timber he uses for saw handles as a large pattern looks great on a table or a chest of drawers but is completely lost on the small hand saw surfaces.

    This is why the Casuarinas (She Oak, Bull Oak, hairy Oak etc.) with their prominent medullary rays are so sought after, but it is difficult to get them in large enough defect free sizes. Handsaws need about 150mm wide with panel saws and back saws needing 125mm. An open handle back saw might only need 100mm, but you will need to watch the grain orientation for that style as they are not as robust as the enclosed style.

    Just a quick comment, which you may well have already taken care of, is that you will find rasps at the least helpful and in some cases essential.

    Naturally we will be eagerly awaiting the pix.

    Regards
    Paul
    Bushmiller;

    "Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"

  8. #7
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    Thanks for all the useful info... I did go through the tool making threads but unfortunately a lot of the pics are no longer available.... I did see some very nice handles in Burdekin Plum....... I do have a piece of myrtle Burl that may be big enough to get a handle out of... just wasn't sure if a burl would be stable enough for a handle.......As a first timer maybe this sort of timber will be far too challenging anyway. Up here in Central Queensland we don't have access to a local timber merchant and therefore I will need to purchase something from elsewhere.....so was trying to get an idea of what might do the job and be pleasing to the eye as well. Was also thinking of some of the Acacia species Particularly Brigalow as this grows in abundance on my Dads property....would just need to wait for it to dry though.

  9. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gaza58 View Post
    I do have a piece of myrtle Burl that may be big enough to get a handle out of... just wasn't sure if a burl would be stable enough for a handle.......As a first timer maybe this sort of timber will be far too challenging anyway.
    You want something easy to shape for the first few handles at least, so even if you want the final handle from myrtle burl you might want to practise on some straight grained hardwood first. I would also be very careful of the random grain in the burl leaving protruding parts very vulnerable to breakage.

    Cheers

    Doug
    I got sick of sitting around doing nothing - so I took up meditation.

  10. #9
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    Would you like me to look into getting some Sheoak to you , well seasoned and fault free?

  11. #10
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    regards
    Nick
    veni, vidi,
    tornavi
    Without wood it's just ...

  12. #11
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    That's a kind offer from Dusteater, though our own east-coat variety of she-oak (Forest she-oak or Rose she-oak A. torulosa) is also good stuff for handles imo. With any of the she-oaks, make sure they are dry, their wood is quite acidic and if there's any moisture in there, it will do a right number on your saw plate. I smear the saw plate with paste wax before assembly as insurance, & that seems to hold the rust at bay.

    There'll be dissenting opinions, but imo, the weight of a handle is rarely of concern, and in fact a heavier wood makes a saw feel better balanced, to me. In the scheme of things, most woods recommended range from a density of around 0.6 or so to a bit over 1, and by the time you knock off all the bits that don't look like a handle, the difference in weight of the final product would amount to something less than 50 grams...

    As Bushmiller says, I tend to favour woods which have small repeat patterns, for backsaw handles, otherwise the pattern gets lost from the small areas of cheek or handle. I like tight-grained woods, because they take a nice polish and have a silky feel, which rules out most Eucalypts; River red gum is about the best of those I've tried, and can be quite nice, but it's not easy to find a piece that has both desirable figure and is free of internal faults! Pretty-well any of the Acacias is good to excellent, they nearly all take a very high polish, though the really hard ones like Mulga and Gidgee will challenge you a little. This is some nicely-figured black wattle out of my backyard: 11 Black wattle carcase.jpg A nice piece of Blackwood with very fine fiddleback figure would look similar.

    Here are 3 different 'she-oaks': first Flame or 'hairy' oak: Flame-oak.jpg
    Eastern She-oak: D-t 2.jpg and some W.A "lace" she-oak: Halfback handle lace she-oak.jpg

    Most cabinet-grade woods like Myrtle Beech are good, Here's a couple in 'Tiger" myrtle: TM handles.jpg and a couple in Tulip Oak: TO handles.jpg

    Use burl wood with great caution, but if you can get some with the grain going through the right areas in the right direction, you can end up with a very spectacular handle. A handle I made from Budgeroo burl is just about my favouritest-ever effort at a handle: Budgeroo handle.jpg

    That's a quick sample of handles I've posted over the last few years, but it will give you some idea of the range of suitable woods. When you are making something small like a handle, it doesn't matter a lot to me if it's a very hard wood, rasps don't mind hard woods and that's the tool I mostly use in shaping saw handles. In fact, I prefer the harder ones because they tend to finish easily when you get to the sandpaper stage, and in most cases, are actually easier to fashion into a saw handle than softer woods. And let cloth-backed paper be your friend, the stuff is really worth the extra cost, I reckon!

    As Bushie said, you need a piece about 125mm wide, that will dress to no less than 22mm thick, any thinner & the handle feels a bit too wimpy, imo. You can squeeze a handle out of a slightly narrower board, but it's tricky, because you usually need to skew the template a bit, or sometimes a lot, to get as much long-grain as possible flowing through the narrow piece from the top of the handle to the cheek. Also, I strongly suggest making a prototype handle from something that's easy to work and cheap, before committing to the magnum opus. If you own a couple of decent small to medium-sized rasps, it will make the job heaps easier, but plenty of folks have managed a very creditable handle by whittling, and using coarse cloth-backed paper glued to wooden forms in place of a rasp. No need to rush out & drop a hundred bucks on a hand-stitched rasp unless you envisage using it on other projects (in which case, you'll be very glad you did, they are magic tools!)

    Ok, I think I've raved on more than enough!
    Cheers,
    IW

  13. #12
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    Thanks Dusteater for your generous offer.....I really don't like the look of sheoak and the silky oak family though....Probably comes from my days restoring furniture..... once you have done Red Cedar everything else is pretty ordinary.

  14. #13
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    Thanks Ian....... I should have read your post before I said I didn't like She Oaks....that WA Lace Oak is just divine.... my pick though is that Black wattle.... That's exactly the look I had in my head..... I will take everyone's advice and do a few out of pine first to get the skills honed before destroying a nice piece of timber..... I think that Cyprus Pine would look pretty neat as well but not the colour that I had in mind for this project..... Maybe once I get started I'll get the bug and be producing some beaut examples like your self from all sorts of timber. Hope I haven't offended anyone with my dislike for She Oak By the pics that have been uploaded I think I may be swayed one day..... I just remembered I do have a she oak slab up in the rafters some where. Scored from a scrap heap on the side of the road. The Main Roads had employed this guy with a Lucas Mill to slab the She Oaks that they were clearing to straighten the road. The first and only time I have seen the Main roads do anything smart like this. Now they just mulch everything.
    Love seeing everyone's Saws by the way amazing craftsmanship.. just hope I can share some of mine soon.

  15. #14
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    Hi Gaza,
    If you ever come through Townsville, give me a call as I can show you some nice Qld Maple and Maple Silkwood.
    Rgds,
    Crocy.

  16. #15
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    Gaza58,

    Ian's a tuff cookie.i think he will be ok ,regarding your timber choice or not choice [emoji3] of timber.
    He does have a thing for she oak tho.
    I'm very privileged to have one of his saws in she oak on my rack at home.
    Its one of my best tools.
    Just be very mindful ,it's extremely hard to stop making ones own tools once you start.
    I no longer look at tool catalogues , I find more enjoyment looking for bits of tool steel and brass.
    It's really quite sick[emoji3]

    Cheers Matt

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