Needs Pictures Needs Pictures:  0
Picture(s) thanks Picture(s) thanks:  0
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 17
  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,357

    Default Another backsaw build.

    Hi all. Attached is the latest backsaw I finished working on. The handle wood is tiger myrtle. The length of saw tooth is 10 inches, and its been sharpened 12 tpi.

    Regards; Stewie.






  2. # ADS
    Google Adsense Advertisement
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Posts
    Many





     
  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Age
    74
    Posts
    6,132

    Default

    Hi Stewie,

    Spectacular, I like the subtle recurve on the top horn, that adds a distinctive flair, the way the line of the lamb's tongue flows into the heel of the saw plate..

    All in all, a very attractive well balanced saw.. I love it.

    Regards
    Ray

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Brisbane (western suburbs)
    Age
    77
    Posts
    12,094

    Default

    Stewie, you're just tossing them off like old clothes!

    As Ray said, nice lines - different, and your own style, but not so radical they don't look nice to use. Well done, again!

    Cheers,
    IW

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Armadale Perth WA
    Age
    54
    Posts
    4,524

    Default

    Hi Stewie.

    I have to start with how amazing it looks ... as everyone can see. I absolutely love the horns ... and have never ever come anywhere close to making anything of that sort of quality.


    I have looked at a lot of old saws and handles, so I hope you won't mind me asking you a few things that come to my mind ... without it being in any way criticism. It is more that I know (sometimes) how I see things and I'm interested in your reaction.

    To me the front section of the handles around the saw-bolts looks modern and 'square' and linear, contrasting the organic shape of the horns and nibs. Does it strike you that way? and was it a conscious decision?

    Some of the old saws have a bevel to the front sweep of the cheek ... so I wondered whether something like that could work in this case?

    (a couple of pics attached)

    Please excuse my impertinence <<crawl crawl whimper whimper>>
    Paul

    20130829_175417.jpg 20130829_175501.jpg

    20130829_175242.jpg 20130829_175323.jpg

  6. #5
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,357

    Default

    Thanks Ray and Ian.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,357

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by pmcgee View Post
    Hi Stewie.

    I have to start with how amazing it looks ... as everyone can see. I absolutely love the horns ... and have never ever come anywhere close to making anything of that sort of quality.


    I have looked at a lot of old saws and handles, so I hope you won't mind me asking you a few things that come to my mind ... without it being in any way criticism. It is more that I know (sometimes) how I see things and I'm interested in your reaction.

    To me the front section of the handles around the saw-bolts looks modern and 'square' and linear, contrasting the organic shape of the horns and nibs. Does it strike you that way? and was it a conscious decision?

    Some of the old saws have a bevel to the front sweep of the cheek ... so I wondered whether something like that could work in this case?

    (a couple of pics attached)

    Please excuse my impertinence <<crawl crawl whimper whimper>>
    Paul

    20130829_175417.jpg 20130829_175501.jpg

    20130829_175242.jpg 20130829_175323.jpg
    Hi Paul. The beauty of designing your own backsaws is that you have full control over the direction you wish to take your work. In my case I wanted to develop a unique style of work that provided a look that was slightly different from that of early and still existing saw makers. That's not to say I purposely excluded key elements of previous design on the basis of change alone. Its more the case that I have trialled all aspects of traditional design and through trial and error made finally come up with some alternate designs that pleases my eye. One of those areas I looked at was the shaping to the front cheek edge. A rounded edge has always been the traditional treatment applied and there is nothing wrong in doing so. But when I compared it to leaving this edge square, I much preferred the sharper look it provided to the cheeks shape. From a mechanical perspective the square edge does provide one slight advantage over the rounded version. That being you can position the saw nuts slightly closer to the edge of the cheek and in doing so increase the clamping pressure applied to the saw plate. I fully understand your thoughts on the differing dynamics to the handles overall shaping. That is one of the ongoing challenges I face with the direction I am taking with my saw making work. Some may like it , while others are a little less convinced.
    Thank you again for your thoughts Paul. Is saw making an area you see yourself getting into in the near future.?

    Regards; Stewie.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Armadale Perth WA
    Age
    54
    Posts
    4,524

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by planemaker View Post
    Thank you again for your thoughts Paul. Is saw making an area you see yourself getting into in the near future.?
    Regards; Stewie.
    Thanks for the reply ... I appreciate hearing about how you approached it.
    My influences re style are I think very much biased to the 100+ yo saws, jacobean + medieval furniture etc ... so my question was to try to see out of someone else's head
    And to answer you question ... God No ... for the fff (far forseeable future) the closest aim I have is repairing old handles.

    Thanks for your reply,
    It is a great job - great work - I'd retire from woodwork if I came up with that handle ... just go to sleep with it under my pillow.
    Cheers,
    Paul.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Brisbane (western suburbs)
    Age
    77
    Posts
    12,094

    Default

    I think Stewie's & my design philosophies are very similar. I like to figure out what features of old tools are there for practical reasons, and what are just decorative flourishes (or at least someone's idea of decorative). The shape, size & angle of the grip on a saw handle are pretty much defined by the anatomy & action of human hands, but much of the rest is up for whatever treatment you like to apply, within limits. For example, it's a good idea to acknowledge the physical limitations of the wood, if you want your creation to last a generation or so. As Stewie says, you can get a bit creative with cheeks & decorative bits, keeping in mind you need enough material to do it's job properly.

    Like Stewie, I also like to blend curves & sharper features. I particularly like curves that change profile, and blend into chamfers, or chamfers that change depth over a curve - something easy to do with hand tools, but difficult to emulate with any machine. The interplay of surfaces adds a pleasing (to my eye!) complexity to the basic shapes. I'm not quite as adventurous as Stewie, so my designs look a bit less un-ordinary. Here are a couple of takes on the original Disston D8 halfback handle, for example - the grips are pretty standard & boring, but the cheeks have evolved away from the originals...

    Olive D8 handle red.jpg Halfback handle lace she-oak red.jpg

    Interesting how a different wood gives a different look to a handle, too...

    Cheers,
    IW

  10. #9
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,357

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by pmcgee View Post
    Thanks for the reply ... I appreciate hearing about how you approached it.
    My influences re style are I think very much biased to the 100+ yo saws, jacobean + medieval furniture etc ... so my question was to try to see out of someone else's head
    And to answer you question ... God No ... for the fff (far forseeable future) the closest aim I have is repairing old handles.

    Thanks for your reply,
    It is a great job - great work - I'd retire from woodwork if I came up with that handle ... just go to sleep with it under my pillow.
    Cheers,
    Paul.
    Hi Paul. I am going to trial a more traditional cheek & leading edge on my next backsaw build.

    Stewie;

  11. #10
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,357

    Default

    Hi all. Some of the feedback I received were rightly critical to the sharpness of shape to the top left hand corner of the handle where it meets the spine.



    Today I reshaped this area to give it an inward curve.

    Stewie;


  12. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Brisbane (western suburbs)
    Age
    77
    Posts
    12,094

    Default

    Stewie - I was quite happy with your original shape, but vers1.1 does look quite elegant! Interesting how just taking off that little bit alters the look of whole cheek so much....

    Cheers,
    IW

  13. #12
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,357

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by IanW View Post
    Stewie - I was quite happy with your original shape, but vers1.1 does look quite elegant! Interesting how just taking off that little bit alters the look of whole cheek so much....

    Cheers,
    Thanks Ian. Wish I had the capacity to get things right the 1st time.

    Stewie;

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Age
    74
    Posts
    6,132

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by planemaker View Post
    Thanks Ian. Wish I had the capacity to get things right the 1st time.

    Stewie;
    Well, I liked the first version better... but the second version is still up there with the nicest I've seen..

    Regards
    Ray

  15. #14
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,357

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by RayG View Post
    Well, I liked the first version better... but the second version is still up there with the nicest I've seen..

    Regards
    Ray
    Thanks Ray. Check your mail on the woodnet site. I sent you some info.

    Stewie;

  16. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Armadale Perth WA
    Age
    54
    Posts
    4,524

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by planemaker View Post
    Hi all. Some of the feedback I received were rightly critical to the sharpness of shape
    Feedback, comment, opinion ... all valid ... but criticism would be entirely undeserved!

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Sweet looking backsaw.
    By planemaker in forum Saws- handmade
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 30th December 2012, 05:32 PM
  2. Mallee Red Backsaw.
    By planemaker in forum HAND TOOLS - UNPOWERED
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 12th July 2011, 11:59 PM
  3. A new backsaw
    By Woodwould in forum HAND TOOLS - UNPOWERED
    Replies: 60
    Last Post: 26th February 2011, 02:32 PM
  4. My First Backsaw Project
    By thumbsucker in forum HAND TOOLS - UNPOWERED
    Replies: 30
    Last Post: 23rd October 2010, 01:14 PM
  5. Very Old Disston Backsaw
    By SW1864 in forum ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE TOOLS
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 8th February 2010, 01:33 AM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •