Thread: New To Restoring Handsaws

Paging MrMcGee

I just found this from Veritas...

05g4601s1.jpg

It looks promising.

Craig

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=v...w=1280&bih=705

I think we need some pictures before judging how much needs doing to them ... plus I like saw pictures

There is any degree to which you can clean a saw-blade ... including to the point it looks disturbingly like a chrome bumper-bar ... and the etch or stamp, if any, is long long long gone.

I posted pictures of some I got in red rust and scale - not like sitting in a pond somewhere - more likely a farm shed.
They still have plenty of good metal underneath ... and sometimes the etch or stamp as well.

If the blades are in better condition than that then all the better.

Handles can be in *all* states of disintegration and/or dodgy repair. As you've seen with IanW, Derek and quite a few others - this is easily fixable with some nice wood, a few chisels, rasp, sandpaper and 30 years experience.

No ... I expect (and hope ) that giving it a go is the number one requirement.

You should have a look at a few pictures to get an idea of roughly where the etch is laid. No doubt you already know.
Clean as much as you like around that area - razors - WD40 & wet&dry.
Then try the etch area - but be prepared to possibly mess at least one up by giving it a bit too much attention.

You can take the handle off pretty easily for the later more robust type of saw nuts. If you have a saw with split-nuts the post is considerably thinner and the whole thing easier to break somewhere - best left if possible.


Then there is the whole sharpening process which I am sure we should start a policy of speaking of in less daunting terms. Files of a reasonable quality are available from hardware stores near me and my first and currently only "saw vice" was/is a 2"x2" piece of pallet pine cut 95% along down the middle.
Saw into pine. Pine into vice. Rough but workable.

I started to write ... start sharpening with a roughy with the largest pitch teeth you can find that you want to have, or at least start off with, as a rip saw. My first sharpening practice was on a 4ppi which was pretty cool - it's like filing down horses hooves and seeing those gleaming metal areas start to appear is cool. Also it's easy to see the teeth and what you are doing to them.

The only downside is that it doesn't prepare you for the very light strokes that are all it takes to do little teeth like 12ppi and smaller.

Cheers,
Paul

Thanks for the detailed responses!

It looks like I have a lot to learn ahead of me. I have just started reading about sharpening techniques from vintagesaws.com, which as what appears to be a terrific primer.

I have also discovered I'll need something called a saw vise, and discovered that there are some pretty neat devices out there that do the job.

GT-SAWV_B_big.jpg

This is the Gramercy Tools 14" Saw Vise, which is probably a bit of overkill for my skill level at present

I think I'll be using something more like this:

front-of-sawvise.jpg

The plans included look like this is a snap to build.

The WD40 and Wet'n'Dry is doing wonders on my 9 auction saws, and come daylight, I'll grab a photo of my new tools. Two are probably beyond salvage, but the rest seem to be very usable tools.

I am hoping to get some expert advice to what exactly I have in the way of tools - that is, the function each of the saws was designed to do (yes, I know they cut wood , but is it a tenon saw or a dovetail saw? - not that I can tell the difference).

Any and all advice welcome and appreciated!

Craig

Craig, can you please reattach the images in your previous post?

Originally Posted by BobL

Craig, can you please reattach the images in your previous post?

Bob,

Hopefully that will do the trick!

Craig

Originally Posted by Morbius

Bob,

Hopefully that will do the trick!

Craig

Thanks

You might also get some ideas from this - https://www.woodworkforums.com/f44/mo...10/#post345364
You don't of course have to use the taps

Bob,

Thanks! That's a terrific way to put those bits to use

Craig

Originally Posted by Morbius

I have also discovered I'll need something called a saw vise, and discovered that there are some pretty neat devices out there that do the job.

The plans included look like this is a snap to build.

Craig, a saw vise of some kind is step #1. One for full-size saws and one for back saws is handy. They are not hard to make, if you don't want to shell out for a metal job. Just take care that the jaws close evenly & firmly at the top. Slightly 'sprung' is good, & ensures that the saw is held firmly all along the tooth line.

The simplest way to get started is to make something like this, that you clamp in your bench vise:

saw clamp ed.jpg
This one didn't work all that well, because I made the sides from ply that was a bit thin, and they tended to bow when clamped in the vise. But it worked well enough that it took me several years to replace it!

The vise you showed is very good for larger saws. These take a bit of fiddling & tappity-tapping to get the saw in postion & wedged up, & for small saws, a vise with a screw or cam clamp is more convenient. This is my version:

SV1.jpgSV2.jpg
You can simplify the basic design, a bolt will work just as well as the wooden screw.

And I'm sure the Veritas file guide is a good little attachment, but for heaven's sake, a scrap of wood does exactly the same job; price:$0!

Filing aid red.jpg

Originally Posted by Morbius

the function each of the saws was designed to do (yes, I know they cut wood , but is it a tenon saw or a dovetail saw? - not that I can tell the difference).

The names are actually quite meaningless - there is a tendency for tenon saws to be larger & longer tha dovetail saws, but that's about it. You are better off just thinking of them as devices to cut wood, & that there are 2 basic types, rip, for cutting along the grain (more or less) and crossscut, for going acrosss the grain (more or less). You choose a saw or saws that suit YOU, for the job in hand. The size & heft, the blade length, handle size, & overall weight, need to match your comfort zone. People vary enormously in what they prefer for the same basic task, which is why back saws came in so many sizes. I have yet to see any two people with the same set of saws.

Tooth pitch is the other important consideration. You need a minimum number of teeth engaged in the cut, or the saw will 'grab' (as demonstrated by any larger-toothed saws when starting a cut). The number is usually stated as around 5-6 teeth, but it isn't exact, because you can get away with coarser than optimum if you are practised, and the hardness or softness of the wood makes a big difference, too. Conversely, you can have too many teeth in the cut. If you are using a fine-toothed saw to cut a wide board, the sawdust quickly fills the gullets at the start of a stroke, and prevents efficient cutting. Again, there is no hard & fast rule, it's a matter of getting the feel of your saws & deciding what you like best for any given task. When you've been at it a while, you'll collect a set of saws, but its highly likely they will be quite different from my set....

Cheers,

So, Morbius, you are my major competition in the saw section on eBay! I still haven't "won" an auction yet.

When I do I might consider having a look at this:

Handsaws: Tune-up, Setup & More (Download) | ShopWoodworking

Yes, it is spending more money (again) but you get the download straight away.

Where can we get good saw files from, and what do we need to look for?

I too recently acquired some saws from a nice lady who was happy to part with her late husbands tools. So now I need to clean and sharpen them, not only to make them nice to use, but also to give the tools the respect they deserve .

ImageUploadedByTapatalk 21359847316.099605.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk 21359847414.957036.jpg

Originally Posted by homesy135

So, Morbius, you are my major competition in the saw section on eBay! I still haven't "won" an auction yet.

When I do I might consider having a look at this:

Handsaws: Tune-up, Setup & More (Download) | ShopWoodworking

Yes, it is spending more money (again) but you get the download straight away.

Homesy,

I don't know about being your major competition, that was my first purchase of saws - and I was really lucky and a lot of the seller's auctions required pickup from Fyshwick in the ACT or cash as PayPal wasn't accepted. I suspect otherwise I would have had a lot more competition.

Thanks for the link! I'll be checking that out. I've also spoken to my local library and they are ordering in a couple of Chris Schwarz's videos on handsaws for me

Regards,

Craig

Originally Posted by IanW

Craig, a saw vise of some kind is step #1. One for full-size saws and one for back saws is handy. They are not hard to make, if you don't want to shell out for a metal job. Just take care that the jaws close evenly & firmly at the top. Slightly 'sprung' is good, & ensures that the saw is held firmly all along the tooth line.

The simplest way to get started is to make something like this, that you clamp in your bench vise:

saw clamp ed.jpg
This one didn't work all that well, because I made the sides from ply that was a bit thin, and they tended to bow when clamped in the vise. But it worked well enough that it took me several years to replace it!

The vise you showed is very good for larger saws. These take a bit of fiddling & tappity-tapping to get the saw in postion & wedged up, & for small saws, a vise with a screw or cam clamp is more convenient. This is my version:

SV1.jpgSV2.jpg
You can simplify the basic design, a bolt will work just as well as the wooden screw.

And I'm sure the Veritas file guide is a good little attachment, but for heaven's sake, a scrap of wood does exactly the same job; price:$0!

Filing aid red.jpg

Ian,

Thanks for the advice on saws and the examples. I love the saw vice - a nice solid little unit. I won three auctions over the weekend, all from the same seller. One of the others was for a threaded wooded screw to make a leg vice and the other was for a metal clamp which was also suitable to make a leg vice, but might be used to make a saw vice to fir in the leg vice now

Craig