Thread: Small Backsaw Rack

Nice little collection CK. What's your favourite saw?

Ck, a word of warning! That looks like southern silky oak (Grevillea robusta) you've used for your rack. I hate to rain on your parade, you've done such a good job of it, but that stuff can be lethal on steel. I used it for some saw storage racks in my toolbox some years ago & got nasty rust patches wherever the blades contacted the wood in a very short time. I thought it was well dried, but either there was a bit of residual moisture in it, or enough atmospheric moisture got in afterward, but it sure did a number on the couple of small saws that were in contact with it. For safety's sake, I suggest at the very least that you work some paste wax or wood sealer into the slots & make sure you rub your blades over with a bit of paste wax before you put them away.

One wood that's not a rust-promoter & readily available locally is camphor laurel. Someone recommended it to me after my S.O. episode & I've used it ever since for tool racks & drawer liners in my tool chest. It hasn't caused me any problems so I feel safe recommending it. Another local wood that seems to be very safe is Hoop pine.

You didn't say if the new saws did their job properly - I hope that doesn't mean they disappointed....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Nice little collection CK. What's your favourite saw?

Ok, you asked for it [emoji6] Here is a little show and tell.....

These are the two new saws and therefore currently my favorites and I like to use them where suitable to get to know them. E.g. on the rack.



Some might recognise them from Ian's recent saw making campaign. I had the privilege not only to be able purchase some, but also to give them all a test drive. And these two just didn't want to leave my hand [emoji6] (the top one is a 12tpi and the bottom 18tpi)

Then I really like these ones:




The top ones is a Disston I restored and had to make a complete new handle. It was the very first handle I ever made. So it is a bit special for me. She cuts well too with about 15tpi.
The bottom is my workhorse. She is nothing special, but cuts well and I really like the handle. Feels right and I use it for any quick job.

From the panel saw these ones



The top is a Disston, but I think not very old or so. I like the size and again cuts well and straight. (10tpi)
And then the bottom is a Disston D-8 with 7tpi if I measured correctly. I just sharpened her and I think I am going to like her.

Finally these two



Well the top one is a favorite to show. The #43 is not very common and unusual with all the features. Not a user for me I think, but a nice saw to show people when they visit. I posted the restoration here as well. The replacement vials finally arrived and there will be an update when they are installed soon. (6.5tpi)
The bottom one is the 4tpi Sperior 88 I was fighting with in the other thread. I am determined to make this one one of my main saws for the various jobs.

There you have it. The other saws still need some work and I will play around with them, but these ones are my main go to saws for now [emoji6]

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Originally Posted by IanW

Ck, a word of warning! That looks like southern silky oak (Grevillea robusta) you've used for your rack. I hate to rain on your parade, you've done such a good job of it, but that stuff can be lethal on steel. I used it for some saw storage racks in my toolbox some years ago & got nasty rust patches wherever the blades contacted the wood in a very short time. I thought it was well dried, but either there was a bit of residual moisture in it, or enough atmospheric moisture got in afterward, but it sure did a number on the couple of small saws that were in contact with it. For safety's sake, I suggest at the very least that you work some paste wax or wood sealer into the slots & make sure you rub your blades over with a bit of paste wax before you put them away.

One wood that's not a rust-promoter & readily available locally is camphor laurel. Someone recommended it to me after my S.O. episode & I've used it ever since for tool racks & drawer liners in my tool chest. It hasn't caused me any problems so I feel safe recommending it. Another local wood that seems to be very safe is Hoop pine.

You didn't say if the new saws did their job properly - I hope that doesn't mean they disappointed....

Cheers,

No problem Ian. I am glad if someone points out a problem and helps me prevent frustration later down the track.
The timber is actually ment to be Chinese Elm, but in any case I cannot confirm how well dried. So I spent the last half hour working paste wax into the slots and also give the saws a thin coat with yoyoba. That should do for now.

I was planning to add some doors to the cabinets some day. So maybe that day is earlier than I thought. Then I can put the saws on the inside of the doors. Good project for the xmas break beside all the other projects [emoji6]

Even if the rack is not in use for very long it was still worthwhile to practise and improve skills. So no loss at all.

And yes the saws worked very well. The hang angle on the dovetail saw is just right. I had no problems staying behind the line even on the opposite site of the board. Just naturally stopped the cut perfect on both sides. I did have the problem with other saws that I cut too far on the side I could not see. Maybe I pay more attention now, but I think the angle on that saw helped as well.
The gaps in the dovetails were more my issues with cleaning them with the chisel. I have not made many dovetails. So it's down to more practise [emoji6]

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Originally Posted by Cklett

Ok, you asked for it [emoji6] Here is a little show and tell.....

These are the two new saws and therefore currently my favorites and I like to use them where suitable to get to know them. E.g. on the rack.



Some might recognise them from Ian's recent saw making campaign. I had the privilege not only to be able purchase some, but also to give them all a test drive. And these two just didn't want to leave my hand [emoji6] (the top one is a 12tpi and the bottom 18tpi)

Then I really like these ones:




The top ones is a Disston I restored and had to make a complete new handle. It was the very first handle I ever made. So it is a bit special for me. She cuts well too with about 15tpi.
The bottom is my workhorse. She is nothing special, but cuts well and I really like the handle. Feels right and I use it for any quick job.

From the panel saw these ones



The top is a Disston, but I think not very old or so. I like the size and again cuts well and straight. (10tpi)
And then the bottom is a Disston D-8 with 7tpi if I measured correctly. I just sharpened her and I think I am going to like her.

Finally these two



Well the top one is a favorite to show. The #43 is not very common and unusual with all the features. Not a user for me I think, but a nice saw to show people when they visit. I posted the restoration here as well. The replacement vials finally arrived and there will be an update when they are installed soon. (6.5tpi)
The bottom one is the 4tpi Sperior 88 I was fighting with in the other thread. I am determined to make this one one of my main saws for the various jobs.

There you have it. The other saws still need some work and I will play around with them, but these ones are my main go to saws for now [emoji6]

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Green with envy!! And like children, you can't just have one favourite? Glad that you enjoy having and using them. What timber is the handle of the angled brass back saw, made from?

Now you've told me it's Celtis, I can see it clearly is!

Don't know how safe Celtis is in contact with steel, I've not used it in that context, but your efforts can't do any harm.

Wrt saw handles, there's no one-size fits all, hand sizes & the way people hold their saws vary. One of my hobby-horses is that the hang angle of the grip is a very big contributor both to comfort & accuracy in sawing. Some like to place the work higher up (especially when the old eyes aren't so sharp any more!), and some lower down, which is why hang angle makes a difference, it determines how the the tooth-line sits relative to the work when you hold the saw with your wrist in a 'neutral' position. So it's so much better if you can try a saw to see if it suits you rather than buy one sight-unseen based on someone else's recommendation.

This is your saw with its birdseye Maple handle, in front of a (Walnut) handle which has the steeper hang-angle I prefer for a dovetail saw: 6 Hang angles.jpg

Your saw is a fairly close copy of the small Kenyon in the Benjamin Seaton tool chest, the grip angle may be a degree or two different from the original, I had to judge that from the pictures, but it should be pretty close. The angle is higher than mine, but nothing like the Gramercy, for example, which has a very high grip angle and a very skinny grip, both of which would makes it an uncomfortable saw for me, but plenty like it.

The main reason your saw came to be is because after Bushmiller made copies of all of the Seaton chest saws, I decided I wanted a copy of the little saw to play with. I only had a very small piece of suitable saw plate left, & I was trying hard to convince myself I wasn't making any more saws, & didn't want to buy more plate. So I made a short-bladed version, and toothed it at 24tpi (just to prove to myself I can still do it! 1 Beech handle.jpg

It turned out to be a sweet little saw, & quite handy for small stuff, so it was given a space in the toolbox. But then I stumbled on a piece of lace she-oak I'd forgotten about, and I have saws with handles of many different species of she-oaks, but no lace versions. Well, before too long I'd bought more thin plate and now I have a saw with a much closer copy of the original blade: Lace S-oak.jpg

This one is toothed at 18tpi, the same as Mr. Seaton's, and though he would never have heard of lace she-oak, of course, it does make a pretty handle. The little saw's handle is European Beech, like the original, and I copied the lines fairly faithfully, but I took a few more liberties with the lace oak, since it was not meant to be an exact replica.

Now I have two copies of the Kenyon saw, which I don't need, of course, but can't decide if I want to part with one. The new saw is nice, and great for some tasks, but it would never oust my favourite D/T saw. It will be very handy to have around, if only to demonstrate the difference hang-angles make.

Saws grow on you & I predict that before long you'll find yourself favouring two or three saws that cover the vast majority of jobs, & you'll become so used to these that the others will feel strange when you first pick them up & your brain has to do a whole lot of re-calculating to drive them....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Green with envy!! And like children, you can't just have one favourite? Glad that you enjoy having and using them. What timber is the handle of the angled brass back saw, made from?

MA, Ian has already answered this within his post, but just in case. The handle is made of birdseye maple.

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Beautiful!!