Back to making a few saws

[IanW]

Finally, after more than a year trying to get my hands on enough suitable saw plate, I can continue my saw-making career. I started with this pair, a 12 inch carcase saw, 12 tpi and 25 thou plate, and a 9 inch, 15 tpi dovetail saw in 20 thou plate:

319045

Stewie (Planemaker) has been showing us up lately, with his lovely handles, so I decided to add a couple of decorative touches. Nothing too bold, I put a couple of notches in the spine, just in front of the handle, followed by my usual straight chamfer.

319047

Not very adventurous at all, but I found it hard to dream up some decoration that doesn't look too tizzy, and these are going to be working saws, so they are likely to pick up a few scars over the coming years.

I left the carcase saw spine with plain chamfers, & added a notch in the handle chamfer instead: 319046
(Edit: It doesn't even show in the pic! :C )

I'm not sure what the handle wood is, it's a chunk I got in Nth Qld. last year. I think it's Salwood (Acacia aulacocarpa), but I'm not taking bets. Finished up ok, but it's one of those woods that requires you to work through every grit, to get the marks out. Despite my care, I still ended up with a couple of small scratches on each handle under the finish. :~ Noone will notice, I'm sure, and in 6 months, it will have worse scratches from use, I expect, so I'm not going to fuss over them this time.

Cheers,

[planemaker]

Nice work Ian. Great to see your back into making some backsaws again. I have an idea Ray will be back into when he is free from other commitments.


Would be great to see some new guys take up the challenge.


Stewie;

[IanW]

....Would be great to see some new guys take up the challenge....

True, Stewie. We've got a few going, though, and 3 more are about to launch into their first saws this weekend, so the word is slowly spreading... :U

Cheers,

[wheelinround]

They are beaut Ian worthy of any craftsmans tool box who would proudly use them till he could hand them down.:2tsup:

[IanW]

Thanks wheelin'. These are going to a family member, so I will be able to keep an eye on their welfare. :;

Cheers,

[FenceFurniture]

These are going to a family memberLucky old Bro again?

Nice work as usual Ian. The timber kinda looks like Blackwood (at least in the pics).

[IanW]

Lucky old Bro again?....

Yep.


.... The timber kinda looks like Blackwood.....

That's a pretty good suggestion, Brett. In fact, I thought it might have been Blackwood when it was in the rough, but when I hit it with a plane to clean it up, it didn't behave like any Blackwood I've struck before. It has a much coarser grain, and a paler, brown colour which is consistent with Salwood (which used to be a common & relatively cheap wood, going back a few decades). Anyway, whatever it is, it is more than tough enough for saw handles, and looks ok once licked into shape. Should last a lifetime or more with a modicum of care!

Cheers,

[tdrumnut]

Great work as usual Ian, always look forward to seeing your craftsmanship & once again I am truelly impressed.

[Ron Bontz]

Nice saws there, Ian. I really like that wood. Salwood?

[planemaker]

Hi Ian. Did you use the solid carbide bit I sent you to drill through the saw plate.

Stewie;

[IanW]

Nice saws there, Ian. I really like that wood. Salwood?

Hi Ron, yes, don't ask me where the name comes from, but it's one of the few Acacias that lives in rainforest down here. All our Acacias have certain similarities, and most finish pretty nicely, but they range enormously in terms of the porosity of the wood and density. They also vary as to whether they are inclined to have a lot of figure or be more plain. Salwood tends to be pretty straight-grained - compare that with Blackwood (A. melanoxylon) which often has a lot of curly or fiddleback figure. Koa and Blackwoood seem to be very similar.

Cheers,

[IanW]

Hi Ian. Did you use the solid carbide bit I sent you to drill through the saw plate.

Hi Stewie, yes, in fact I think I used it for the first time on these saws. I like it, is easy to centre, & isn't inclined to wander, & makes a nice hole. Unfortunately, I was using some 5mm bolts I'd made up some time ago, so had to ream out the holes a bit, but that was no drama. I'd sure like a couple of metric ones! :U

Cheers,

[planemaker]

Hi Stewie, yes, in fact I think I used it for the first time on these saws. I like it, is easy to centre, & isn't inclined to wander, & makes a nice hole. Unfortunately, I was using some 5mm bolts I'd made up some time ago, so had to ream out the holes a bit, but that was no drama. I'd sure like a couple of metric ones! :U

Cheers,

Next imperial size up from 3/16 (4.7625mm) is 13/64 (5.1594mm) . Good luck with trying to locate a metric sized 5mm Solid Carbide Spade Bit.

Stewie;

[IanW]

Next imperial size up from 3/16 (4.7625mm) is 13/64 (5.1594mm) . Good luck with trying to locate a metric sized 5mm Solid Carbide Spade Bit....
Stewie, It's hard enough to get anything much apart from common twist drills in genuine metric. Bought a 'metric' set of Forstners a few years ago, without checking them. Of course they weren't metric at all, just Imperial sizes, with the nearest metric size printed on them, with paint that almost came off when you touched them! While some sizes, like 5/8" and 16mm are close enough for woodwork, some are nowhere near good enough for a decent fit. And anyway, it was all those in-between metric sizes I really wanted. It was my own fault, had I been thinking, & looked more closely at the sizes in the set, I would have smelled the rat immediately, but I was too excited by the price. :doh:

Didn't realise the carbide bits were available in 64th increments. I like to have a good clearance fit for my saw bolts, but maybe 0.6mm is a little too generous. I get by ok with the metric carbide-tipped bits I have, but they are not as sharp-pointed & easy to centre as that sweet little solid carbide jobbie, so I used that first, then reamed the hole with the metric bit. A bit of faffing about, but when you're only drilling a few holes it isn't a major hassle......

Cheers,

[planemaker]

Stewie, It's hard enough to get anything much apart from common twist drills in genuine metric. Bought a 'metric' set of Forstners a few years ago, without checking them. Of course they weren't metric at all, just Imperial sizes, with the nearest metric size printed on them, with paint that almost came off when you touched them! While some sizes, like 5/8" and 16mm are close enough for woodwork, some are nowhere near good enough for a decent fit. And anyway, it was all those in-between metric sizes I really wanted. It was my own fault, had I been thinking, & looked more closely at the sizes in the set, I would have smelled the rat immediately, but I was too excited by the price. :doh:

Didn't realise the carbide bits were available in 64th increments. I like to have a good clearance fit for my saw bolts, but maybe 0.6mm is a little too generous. I get by ok with the metric carbide-tipped bits I have, but they are not as sharp-pointed & easy to centre as that sweet little solid carbide jobbie, so I used that first, then reamed the hole with the metric bit. A bit of faffing about, but when you're only drilling a few holes it isn't a major hassle......

Cheers,

Hi Ian. I found a supplier for metric and imperial pilot counterbores. The problem I can see is the pilot dia. increases in size as the outer bore dia. gets larger. ideally the pilot dia. needs to remain constant. In my case that constant needs to be at a 3/16 dia.

Stewie;

CDCO Machinery Corp. (http://www.cdcotools.com/)

[IanW]

Hi Ian. I found a supplier for metric and imperial pilot counterbores...

Thanks for the link, Stewie. For the few holes I need to enlarge, my current method works well enough, so I'll probably just stick with that, thanks. I could simply work in Imperial, it's just that my taps & dies set in Imperial is gappy. I don't have starter or intermediate taps for 3/16", which makes nut manufacture a bit less convenient. You can tap brass in a single pass, well enough, it's just not as easy on my setup, & the intermediate taps are very handy for cleaning out the dags that form on the threads after parting the nuts off & re-facing them. I keep saying I'm not going to make any more saws after I finish this lot (yer, right! :C), & I'm trying not to accumulate any more dedicated sawmaking gear.

I have a bit more saw plate than foreseeable needs, though, which I won't want to keep around for too long. I have it well-slathered with Lanotec, & well-wrapped, so it's safe for now, but I always worry about the demon rust, in our climate. One little rust spot sure spoils the look of a nice shiny new blade! When I get myself sorted (sometime in the next 20 years :;) I might offer to make up some kits of blade, spine and bolts for any would-be saw-makers who don't have the gear to do that part, but want to give it a go. They can find their own drills... :U

Cheers,

[Richie Rich]

Thanks for the link, Stewie. For the few holes I need to enlarge, my current method works well enough, so I'll probably just stick with that, thanks. I could simply work in Imperial, it's just that my taps & dies set in Imperial is gappy. I don't have starter or intermediate taps for 3/16", which makes nut manufacture a bit less convenient. You can tap brass in a single pass, well enough, it's just not as easy on my setup, & the intermediate taps are very handy for cleaning out the dags that form on the threads after parting the nuts off & re-facing them. I keep saying I'm not going to make any more saws after I finish this lot (yer, right! :C), & I'm trying not to accumulate any more dedicated sawmaking gear.

I have a bit more saw plate than foreseeable needs, though, which I won't want to keep around for too long. I have it well-slathered with Lanotec, & well-wrapped, so it's safe for now, but I always worry about the demon rust, in our climate. One little rust spot sure spoils the look of a nice shiny new blade! When I get myself sorted (sometime in the next 20 years :;) I might offer to make up some kits of blade, spine and bolts for any would-be saw-makers who don't have the gear to do that part, but want to give it a go. They can find their own drills... :U

Cheers,

Hi Ian,
Beautiful Saws mate, Thanks heaps for the workshop really appreciate the help and tuition, Cheers, Richie:2tsup::2tsup: