Thread: Ironwoods Handsaw Bonanza & Restoration of...

Looks like 6 PPI, or maybe 7 TPI depending how you measure them.
Has a bigger handle than a lot of the others, I can fit 4 fingers in the hole.
Not as refined as most of the others, but still comfortable to hold.
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Before I started, I thought I better build a new tool for removing the nuts on the handles.
I didn't cut a notch for the split nuts on this one, I will make another when the time comes.
I used a piece of Cooktown Ironwood, and finished it with some Orange Oil.
The ferrule is a piece of 1/2" stainless pipe, and the blade is a piece of stainless, salvaged off an old hose-clamp, its .8mm thick.
I cut the blade 11mm wide.
It fits nicely in the palm of my hand with my fingers reaching the ferrule, about 80mm including the ferrule, and 10mm of blade protruding.
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The new nut-driver worked great once I scraped the green paint out of the slots in the brass nuts.
I had a bit of trouble getting the handle off, looks like the handle was put in place on the blade, then old mate tried to drill the holes through the blade with a very blunt drill bit.
Once he had it hot enough, it looks like the drill bit pushed its way through the metal and flared the hole out the other side.
One hole had metal flared out 2-3mm, this one I had to use a small screwdriver to snap the flared bits off, still needed to tap the handle off.

This one was the biggest problem, I poked a small screwdriver in through the hole in the handle and broke off as much as I could.
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Another hole, almost looks more punched than drilled
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There are a few cracks in the handle. I have read where someone said they soaked their handles in boiled linseed oil, and it swelled the timber enough that the cracks almost disappear .
I am tempted to fill them with CA.
Any thoughts out there on the best way to deal with them ?
I was planning on a few coats of shellac and wax to finish off.

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I went down the CA path on similar cracks on the one handle I have restored. That seems to have been effective.

I can't imagine soaking a piece of timber in BLO would do what has been claimed; but I haven't tried it either.

Originally Posted by markharrison

I went down the CA path on similar cracks on the one handle I have restored. That seems to have been effective.

I can't imagine soaking a piece of timber in BLO would do what has been claimed; but I haven't tried it either.

Thanks Mark, I think CA will be the way I go too. I have some super thin stuff that will wick right into those cracks, then I’ll fill them with some thicker CA.
I am not too worried if the cracks are still visible.

I've had moderate success soaking some cracked woods in Danish oil, it soaks quickly into the wood & swells fibres & the dryers in the 'oil' speed up the curing (you can make your own version by thinning BLO with turps & adding dryers). It can work really well, or hardly at all, depends on the wood & how deep the checks go. Those cracks are pretty significant, and probably won't close up completely whatever you do.

Feathered handle holes in the saw plate are a regular feature on saws of the 50s & 60s - the holes were punched through the metal with the handle in place. You did well to get the handle off without major damage - the first one like that I removed, I ended up trashing the handle to get it off, but I wasn't intending to re-use it so I was far from careful.

I bought that saw in the 60s, when my tool budget was next to non-existent, and so I opted for a 24 inch because it was cheaper. It was the beginning of a long education in saws. I did mange to make a handle for it, that looked more like the handle on my dad's Disston, but it still didn't saw anything like the Disston (which we boys weren't supposed to touch, but did so at every opportunity, of course). My saw felt 'dead' which I put down to my not-so-good efforts at setting & sharpening, which I struggled with, my only guide being watching my father sharpen his saws. I did know there was a difference between rip & crosscut teeth, but it took me a while to & figure out how to hold the file to maintain the fleam for a crosscut saw. That was my first major triumph. Later, I learned that real saws have tapered blades & refinements like tensioning & how that radically alters the feel of a saw. As you will gather, I started from a very low base with saws (and an even lower base for hand pllanes!)

By the time you get that lot cleaned up & working for you, you'll have learned a bit more too, I suspect...

Cheers,

Cheers Ian. Thanks for the tips. I still think I will go the CA route with this one, my distance from town means that I generally use whatever I have at hand, and make do, unless I am prepared to wait.

I need to find a resource which explains tooth geometry and filing angles etc. for the different saws.
I am not too bad freehanding chainsaw teeth, because I’ve sharpened a million or so, but handsaws are something new to me.

Originally Posted by Ironwood

Cheers Ian. Thanks for the tips. I still think I will go the CA route with this one, my distance from town means that I generally use whatever I have at hand, and make do, unless I am prepared to wait.

I need to find a resource which explains tooth geometry and filing angles etc. for the different saws.
I am not too bad freehanding chainsaw teeth, because I’ve sharpened a million or so, but handsaws are something new to me.

I’m a little under the weather due to having a few apple beverages last night at a friend’s 50 and no one was driving [emoji41][emoji41][emoji41].
But try this link Ironwood

http://www.woodworkslibrary.com/repo...filing1864.pdf

Cheers Matt.

Thanks for that link to that bit of light reading Matt, he certainly had a way with words that I haven’t seen for some time.

I have found the best cure for that ailment bought on by the excessive consumption of the Apple or Malt beverage, is to have a swim in some cold water, followed by a greasy bacon and egg burger. Failing that, a few of the same beverages drank in quick succession can sometimes be of benefit

I have cleaned up the blade somewhat with CRC and W&D. On the heal of the blade is stamped 26 , 7T. I assume that means it’s 26” long and 7 tpi.
Another thing I have noticed once I started sanding, there is a small kink in the blade. Hardly noticeable, but it’s still there.
The CA filled the cracks satisfactorily. I sanded and scraped the old grime off, I have left a few of the battlescares in place to keep a bit of its history.

I couldn’t find my shellac, so I opted for the tin of Penetrol Wood Oil. Two flooded coats, wet on wet, then waited 15 minutes , and buffed off with an old T-shirt . Looks good, may still wipe a bit of wax on tomorrow.

Still to do, buff the brass bolts and cap nuts and clean the disc that sits behind the medallion. Oh, and sharpen the teeth. Still not sure whether to make it a crosscut or rip

I got a bit impatient and put the saw back together .
The stamp was 7P not 7T as I formally reported.
I haven't jointed or sharpened yet.

More scraping and less sanding helped preserve the edges a bit, I did think about rounding things off, but decided to keep it looking as standard as I could.
It doesn't seem to feel uncomfortable like it is. A couple of hours of sawing though and I might change my tune.
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Lots of fine medullary rays visible on the endgrain. And a few spots of green paint in the dings, part of its character I guess .
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The kinks are visible as shiny spots, the worst of them is near the end of the key. They probably only account for .5mm variation in the blade along its length, so might not be an issue.
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And the opposites on the other side of the blade.
You can also notice the hang hole that some low-flyer drilled in the blade.
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Brad, if you are after a bit of reading, try this, I think it will answer most of the questions you are likely to ask for a while. Bear in mind it's from the northern hemisphere, and relates to their sissy woods more than our hard hardwoods. Later, when you feel you've got a bit of a handle on what variations in rake & fleam angle do for you, you might like to experiment a bit. You'll probably end up settling on angles pretty close to what's in the 'primer', they are a good all-round choice..

Those high & low spots look pretty regular, I suspect they might be the result of someone doing an enthusiastic tensioning job. Anyway. your saw has cleaned up nicely, you have the makings of a good user there, by the looks...

Cheers,

Thanks for that link Ian, a pretty handy looking reference. Probably a bit handier than H.W.Holly’s scripture, I think he was on the same rotten Granny Smith juice as Matt has been taking .

My aim is to build a set of users that look good and I get pleasure from using . So far, I am happy with how the first cab off the rank has gone, though the proof will be when I sharpen the teeth, and put it into some timber.

Ironwood,
That is looking much much better than when I last sore it.
I think you can comfortably pass Go, an commence saw number two.
If the kinks are not a problem I would possibly just leave them alone.
Ian’s link is an excellent read, actually even better than the one I linked too.

Cheers Matt.

Cheers Matt, I still haven’t decided which one will be #2.
Will have a look through the candidates tomorrow and see which one it will be.