Thread: Back Saw Handle

If you google blackburn tools, he has a great deal of info on saw handles and a number of handle templates you can download and print then stick to your piece of wood to cut out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Chris.
No one size does not fit all.
But a bigger saw, you may want a stout handle.
A closed handle will be stronger and are generally used on larger saws.
Requiring extra muscle
A small saw you may get a way with an open grip pistol style handle.
I'm a maverick when it comes to saws and saw handles.
And will push boundaries here just for the sake of it.
So I'm sure others will offer more opinions.
But if you find a handle you like and it fits like a glove as a good handle should.
And your not doing a restoration job
Copy it by all means.
Blackburn tools have a great web page with tons of saw handle templates.
I would recommend a look there.

Excuse my boggnisum learning problem English[emoji41]

My editor is on strike tonight

Cheers Matt

IanW wrote a whole magazine article on saws for Australian Wood Review.
You can read it here: How to Make Handsaws - Australian Wood Review

Strewth, HR, I didn't know you could read it online! I had to have a quick scan just to see if I'd changed my mind on anything in the interim, but I don't think I wrote anything too controversial, and the blurb on handle shaping might help Chris a bit.

Chris, be careful! I started out re-handling a couple of saws and got sucked onto the slippery slope of saw-making, but here's hoping you have a stronger character, & can stop when you want to. You can certainly turn a so-so saw into a very satisfying tool by making a new handle for it, & paying attention to details like the fit for your hand & the grip angle, as well as the contours of the thing. If you have the time & the interest, there's a short video on the topic of hang-angles & my idea of how it relates to the various sawing tasks here.

Cheers,

I have a problem as can be seen in the photos below. I took the handle off a backsaw to trace the shape of and now it won't go on because the holes are a half a hole out which leaves me a bit baffled. In effect it looks like the folded back needs to go forward a bit and I gave it a few exploratory taps with a hammer and it ain't moving. I suppose I could rework the handle but I find it extraordinary that it does not fit any longer. Suggestions are invited.



IMG_1883.JPG IMG_1884.JPG IMG_1885.JPG IMG_1881.JPG

It looks to me it's rotational. If you rotate the handle down at the grip the hole should line up. At the moment your hang angle doesn't match the holes.

Chris,
Did you remove the folded back ?
If not looks like what Dale said twist the handle up a bit.
They can some times get caught up on the saw plate holes if there not a clean cut hole.

Cheers Matt

I have tried every way I can think of to try and make them line up without success. I doubt the back has moved, certainly I haven't done that and I reckon I would have to get very violent with it as I hit it pretty hard, hard enough to reshape the handle end of it and it did not budge at all. I can't leave the house at the moment due to health issues so I can't get someone else to look at it right now. The second photo shows the handle hard up against the end of the folded back so it can't go any higher. To me it looks like it needs to be pushed further forward but it won't go further forward. I just had another look at it and nothing has changed and thanks for the replies and suggestions. If the photos are not clear enough I can do some more if that helps.

Chris, if it came off that saw, it's gotta go back! Like the others said, it looks like the handle needs to rotate down a bit, but that should be obvious because there'd be a gap between the front of the spine slot & the bottom of he spline. I'd double-check that there isn't a dag of metal around one of the bolt holes, that's a very common problem. Maybe a bit of crud has gotten itself into the blade slot & is preventing it from sliding home. Try scraping the slot out with a putty knife blade or something similar. You should at least be able to feel if the slot seems deep enough toward the bottom.

Cheers,

Mystery solved, the holes in the plate and the handle were OK so I ran the plate through the slot and there was heaps of crud built up in the back of it and some at the top of the handle where the folded back sits so I cleaned all that up and it now fits where it should. Thanks for all the help, sometimes the obvious escapes us.

Excellent Chris's
Will you have the new handle shaped by the morning.
Looking forward to seeing it done

Cheers Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hi Chris.

Edit. The simple answer proved to be the right one while I was typing. Read the bit about how to shift the back anyway. At some point in life it will save you some nausea.

By all means check the suggestions above regarding crud in the handle slot or catchy bits on the plate. A little bit of lanolin lubricant or the antichrist WD40 may help the handle slip into place.

Equally, the back of the saw may have had a minor knock and have moved, or it's just a really tight fit to engage the handle slot fully over the back. That part can be a really snug fit.

If so you are approaching the problem from the wrong direction. The back of a backsaw is usually quite easy to move, but NOT by belting it along the plate. It should move UP off the plate, one end first. Much less resistance.

Find a way to secure the saw plate firmly. To shift the back I use a great big slot end screw driver (because it is relatively blunt). Just put the tip of the screwdriver against the plate touching the "bottom" edge of the back, at the handle end. Give the screwdriver a few moderate taps with a hammer and the back should start to move up off the plate at that end.

That's the easy way to remove a backsaw back. It kind of hinges up off the plate. Work your way along the length of the saw tap tapping and before you are halfway along the back will simply pull off by hand.

For your handle problem you don't need to take the back all the way off. You just need to move it up a couple of mil upwards at the handle end. Then work the handle into position and put your screws in loosely. From there, you're home. Tap the top of the back with a soft hammer to push it back down into the handle slot, finish tightening your screws and the job is done.

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Excellent Chris's
Will you have the new handle shaped by the morning.
Looking forward to seeing it done

Cheers Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Not the way I feel right now I won't. Tomorrow I will put a post up on that little project, I think some surgery on the plate might be in order before building the handle. I also have to survey the firewood pile for a suitable piece of timber to use, does firewood make good handles?

Fire wood is the best most logical choice of course

Cheers Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro