Thread: Tightening tenon saw handle

This may help you Glen.

Stewie;

http://woodworkingmasterclasses.com/...advice-needed/

I have struck a couple of my grandfathers saws with rivets rather than screws and with the same looseness developing. The handles also annoyed me because they couldn't be removed at sharpening time, so my decision was to remove the rivets and replace with saw bolts. I keep a look out at garage sales and at the tip for saws with recyclable bolts and have a bit of a collection. (see this recent thread for an example; https://www.woodworkforums.com/f152/backsaw-renovation-187826)
I have generally found the rivets easy to remove. Drill a hole about 4mm dia. through the dome on the off side of the rivet and use a nail through the hole as a punch to drive out the male side of the rivet. That has worked for me so far.
A carbide drill at low speed is good for drilling the saw blade if you need to do that for the new bolts.

I don't know that the rivets will tighten at all if you give them a whack, but replacing them was my best option.

Thanks for the replies lads. Will try to give the rivets a whack .. and if that fails, will start to look out for bolts.

Hi Glenn,

One reason the handles sometimes come loose is the wood dries out and shrinks.. So if whacking it with a hammer doesn't work, you could try submerging the handle into something that makes the wood swell a little.. Linseed oil sometimes works, might take a day or two,


Ray

Hi Glenn. If you end up needing to replace the existing saw bolt assemblies let us know and I should have some available to suit. You will need to measure the outside head dia of the old assemblies. I will also need to know the thickness of the saw handle; and how many assemblies you need.

Stewie;

Thanks Ray, thanks Stewie !