Thread: BackSaw Bug (a strain of the Tool Bug)

Hi Kevin,

You're in trouble now, It's a slippery slope. That pine mockup looks pretty good to me. Making a mockup is a good way to be sure it fits your hand the way you like. When you get to doing the real thing. You should fit the saw plate and inlet the back while it's still flat.

I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Regards
Ray

Wot Ray sed.

Looks pretty good to me - better finish than I do on a mockup!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by kevjed

Am I on the right track?

Hi Kevin,

don't listen to the others sawmaking isn't addicitive at all.

I sure do like your pattern. For the handle better use some rift or quatersawn wood.

Cheers
Pedder

Hi Kevin

You are more than just on the right track! Very nice!

Now if we can get Pedder (Hi Pedder!) to post some of his work here, then the bar will be set very high indeed.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks for the feed back folks.
A few more trial runs on the handle size and shaping and I'll give it a go. I'm keen to develop the techniques to "get it right"(ish) from the start.
I'll keep posting as the mockups and real tool develop.
thanks for the inspiration
Kevin

Here are a few more mockups straight off the band saw. (lunch time yesterday) No file work yet but made in two other sizes. I decided to laminate up the blanks from 12mm pine with a core of 4mm ply. Yes, this is way too thick but the idea is that I can see a clear center line when I'm shaping the handle and I can have definte reference points to work from when trying to customise the handles.
Ok, all of you saw makers out there. Here is a question for you.
When you measure your hand to custom fit a saw handle what measurements do you take and why?
My guess ...would you measure from the out side of the lower part of the knuckle on the little finger to the the webbing between the pointer and middle fingers and also from the same spot to the out side lower of the pointer finger knuckle.
Comments?
Here are the pics of the next two smaller handle blanks. Will post more next week some time.
All the best
Kevin

Kevin - I find I have to roughly shape the grip & hold it to get a true idea if it's the right shape & size for me - no need to get elaborate, just rough it to close enough.

The other aspect to pay attention to when making handles from scratch is the angle the grip makes (relative to the tooth line). This, I discovered, is one of the true joys of rolling your own (it was well-known to others before I stumbled on it, of course!). You can tailor the grip angle to suit the intended main use of the saw. For example, a saw used up closer to chest height like a dovetailing saw benefits from a grip that is more vertical to the tooth line, while a saw that is principally used low down on a bench-hook, for e.g. is much more comfy with a grip that is around 45* - the actual angle depends on the height of your bench relative to your extended forearm when sawing at a comfortable position. There are no hard & fast rules - whatever you find comfy is what is right. But it makes a huge difference to whether a saw is a real 'go to' or one of the ones that languishes in the tool chest. It's only since I started making multiple saws & fooling with different handle styles that the penny finally dropped for me....

You can still use the same basic handle pattern you have there, you just alter the line of the cheek piece a bit. One thing to watch out for is that the more vertical grips will project below the tooth line on smaller (i.e. narrower) saws. This doesn't matter in some situations, but may mean you can't use it in some situations where the handle would foul the bench or suchlike. You just have to make a couple of new saws, so you have one that fits any situation.
I should do a diagram to explain myself better, but I reckon you will undestand what I'm rattling on about, & I'm past due for going home!

Cheers,

An excellent start. Now just make a saw will you and show it to us?

How on earth do you manage to make pine and ply handles look good Kev? Honestly?!? I need you to come and take photos of my tools

Hi Kev,

Looks like you're getting the hang of it. As far as scaling to suit your hand, just grab a piece of wood about the right thickness using the 3 finger grip and measure across the width of your 3 fingers, then make the inside part of the handle to suit. If you have really long fingers then you might want to increase the thickness, say from 7/8 to 1"

As you are shaping it, try gripping it periodically and tweak where necessary.

The "hang angle" is critical as Ian has said, Look at other saws of the type you are making and copy that geometry, that way you will be starting with something in the ball park, you can tweak things from there.

Regards
Ray

Thanks again.
I found the article by Ian on your website Ray along with some interesting stuff on Pedder's site (why didn't I let Google translate it for me months ago?). So I'll play with hang angles and get something made soon.(Promise Woodwould) I suffer from paralysis by analysis some times. You guys understand I'm sure. The more you know the more you realise you don't know. Sometimes you just need to have a go and suck it and see. Learn from the experience and learn to recover from the errors to turn them into features.
Dave, I'm happy to take photo's for you any time mate. It's all smoke and mirrors.
take care
Kevin
PS I'm off to find some timber for a few saws

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Now if we can get Pedder (Hi Pedder!) to post some of his work here, then the bar will be set very high indeed.

Hi Derek, thank you for the kudos. To tell the truth: most of the visible parts of our saws is made by Klaus. I nearly only make the teeth an some jobs on the splines. I won't show pictures here to avoid kidnapping this post, but there are a few on my blog. Cheers Pedder BTW the fora are extremly slow, aren't they?

Please, Feel free to post as many pictures as you like in this thread Pedder.
Those saws look wonderful.
All the best
Kevin

Still no complete saws but here are a few of the handles as WIP.
I'm happy with the fit in my hand and understand that they will not fit all but that's OK. They fit me.
None are finished but I have several that are close to having the blades fitted.
Gidgee & Myrtle with Blackwood and Ringed Gidgee to come.

A picture of the saw IanW made for me along with an Ebony Adria DT saw is included for comparison. Details still need to be added for cosmetics but the fit in the hand works for me.

I hope to make some complete saws before Christmas.
The last photo is my early Christmas Present from my 2 year old. (her mother has no idea she was so kind)
all the best
Kevin