Thread: Hand Saws Made in Australia

You could try PMing planemaker. or IanW. They might be able to help you out.
You can see examples of their work in the saw sub forum here:
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f278

A few links from IanW and planemaker ... there have been *many* more ...


https://www.woodworkforums.com/f278/350mm-tenon-190605


https://www.woodworkforums.com/f278/burdekin-plum-backsaw-183771


https://www.woodworkforums.com/f278/tyzack-backsaw-183940

Hey you two, don't get me into trouble!

Luke, there are a few good reasons why there are not many 'boutique' saw makers. Sourcing small amounts of raw material is one of them, but perhaps the main one is that it's not easy to make a living making saws! It just takes so much time to hand-make a decent saw, that you could never make a sensible hourly rate, that way. The alternative is to mechanise as much of the process as possible, but then you'd have to crank 'em out by the dozens to pay for the machinery. I did consider making saws 'commercially' at one point, but soon realised it would not be a quick path to bankruptcy, for me. I'm more than happy to help others make their own heirlooms where I can, though.

I reckon you still have a few alternatives. You could make a saw or two (it's always hard to stop at one!), and with a modicum of care, they could be very good saws, good to use in your lifetime & good enough to hand on. Or, you could buy a half decent saw & re-handle it with a chunk of nice Aussie wood. The main point, in my view is to get a saw that is really good to use. I've come to realise that everyone's likes are a bit different, so it's impossible to make a handle that fits & suits every hand. Making, or at least customising, your own seems to be the way to go.

Finally, don't lose sight of the possibility that your heirs may have no interest whatever in woodworking or its accoutrements. So make sure that saw is right for you, & enjoy it as long as you can! If by chance your heirs do take up the sport as passionately as you, they will probably enjoy having any half-decent tools you leave them. I have a slightly beaten-up Disston 26" hand saw that was my dad's. Despite being at least 80 yrs old, it still has a lot of life left in it. Whenever I take the Disston out I say to it, "C'mon old pot, you need some exercise", like he used to tell me when he put me on the other end of a thumping great crosscut to slice up logs for fence posts...

Cheers,

Cheers,

Ian, If you were to charge as much as for your saws as these guys do for their tools

"Think of what Chris Vesper and Colen Clenton are doing with marking/measuring tools or what Harold and Saxon are doing with chisels. That kind of thing, only with saws."

You could possibly make a living, just have to find the market for it and I'm not sure it is there with the competition already on the international market. The way to go would be selling in matching sets like Ron Bontz does.

Hi Dale. This could represent an ideal business opportunity for a young bloke like you.

Stewie;

Originally Posted by DSEL74

Ian, If you were to charge as much as for your saws as these guys do for their tools....

P'raps, Dale, but the competition is getting tougher. Ron's saws are very nicely finished, and up there with the snazziest I've seen. The quality of the workmanship alone makes his saws stand out from the crowd, but the engraving (or at least it looks like engraving) really makes a nice final touch. If they cut half as well as they look, they are worth every penny. There should be a small market for nicely turned-out saws, with handles of some of our great Aussie woods, but I don't want to go there - too many other interests to pursue, and diminishing time to do it in! I try to make saws that aren't too ugly, but I'm primarily interested in performance. It isn't a huge step to take them to the next level of shaped blades & spines, but I'll pass on that for the moment....

Originally Posted by DSEL74

...."Think of what Chris Vesper and Colen Clenton are doing with marking/measuring tools or what Harold and Saxon are doing with chisels. That kind of thing, only with saws."..

Yep, and Terry Gordon once said to me that he would be happy to market them, too, if he had a source of top-drawer Australian-made saws. But I've already had a couple of careers, so I'll leave this niche wide open for some keen young bloke to fill...

Cheers,

Ron Bontz presents his saws beautifully.

For those interested, keep in mind the base price (U.S.$) on each of his saws will change as you opt to include different features.
http://www.bontzsawworks.net/home/10-dovetail-saw/
http://www.bontzsawworks.net/home/saw-options/

For those who think Ron may be making enough from his saw making to turn it into a full time career. Not at the moment. But he is undoubtedly heading in the right direction. Kudos to Ron for all the hard work that he has put in towards establishing himself as a quality saw maker.
http://www.bontzsawworks.net/about-me/

Luke

I attempted to get a word in before Xmas but the computer I was working on stalled after I had just typed three pages: Actually it seemed like three pages although it was more like three paragraphs.

Then the "experts" got in, stole any thunder I might have had and now I have almost nothing to add short of a slightly sleazy phaff!

Perhaps the question is more why than whether these saws are not being offered. The quick answer is that they take a lot of time and effort and the people who make back saws are working for cents/hr. Still, why don't they make hand saws for cents/hr? The reason is that hand saws are taper ground if they are to be of high quality and the machinery for that is expensive.

To give some idea of the progressive grinding required, this is taken from a Simonds publication on saw filing and specifications:

Attachment 335382

As you can see, it is not for the average backyard operation . Even Ron Bontz is a little phased by the task as you can see in this thread:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f278/panel-survey-190805

Regards
Paul

The link to the Simonds doc isn't working for me.

Originally Posted by hiroller

The link to the Simonds doc isn't working for me.

I am not sure why it is appearing as an attachment instead of a pic. I can open it, but try this link which is the original source. The diagram appears on page 10 of the booklet:

http://www.wkfinetools.com/hus-saws/...Saw-ocr-ne.pdf

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

I am not sure why it is appearing as an attachment instead of a pic. I can open it, but try this link which is the original source. The diagram appears on page 10 of the booklet:

http://www.wkfinetools.com/hus-saws/...Saw-ocr-ne.pdf

Regards
Paul

Hey great little booklet!
thanks

and that's on of the reasons why I suggested in another thread on this subject that the better oprion might be to go a couple of refurbished quality handsaws with newly made totes/handles