Thread: Burdekin Plum backsaw.

Hi all. I completed some more work on the Burdekin Plum backsaw today. As you will the blade has been shaped and fitted, as well as the fit of the brass back within the handle. Both the tenon as well as the mortise within the handle have been stepped similar to how Pedder & Klaus do on some of their backsaws. Just a not with the blade used. It one of a number that Ron Bontz sent to me as a gift a while ago. All pre-toothed. This blade is 0.025 plate, after shaping the heel has a 10" tooth length, and is 70mm in depth. Its been and toothed at 14 tpi, with a 25 degree rip tooth. I have also scribed 2 horizontal lines to each face of the brass back so it can be later shaped with 2 deep bevels. If this doesn't look quite right I still have the option of rounding these off. I still have to complete the final smoothing off with the shellac finish on the handle, but I leave this till the end of the saw build.

Stewie;

Very Nicely Done!

Do you use all your saws or are they display pieces?

Originally Posted by fields

Very Nicely Done!

Do you use all your saws or are they display pieces?

Hi fields. I have dedicated backsaws that I have made that I use on a regular basis. The others I will be selling.

Stewie;

As you can see from the attached photo's I have started the job of shaping the profile to the flat faces of the brass back. I applied some blue tape about 1.5mm past the tenon line that will fit within the handle, and this will protect it during the shaping work. Each flat bevel takes about 20 min. to rough shape.

Stewie;

Coming along nicely there Stewie
Do u draw file towards the end to keep it flat?

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Coming along nicely there Stewie
Do u draw file towards the end to keep it flat?

Initial stage is to cross file the bevels using a fine toothed file which is shown in the photo's. That will then be followed up by the draw filing using a scraper file .

Originally Posted by planemaker

Initial stage is to cross file the bevels using a fine toothed file which is shown in the photo's. That will then be followed up by the draw filing using a scraper file .

What's a scraper file??

Finished shaping the brass back with flat bevels. Just need to polish it up with some brasso. I also completed the final sanding on the handle, followed by 2 coats of wax that's been machine buffed. The handle ended up a few shades lighter than previous photo's shown. I prefer this color much more. if you look at the photo below, I did a lousy job of cleaning up the crud between the lambs tongue & bottom cheek.

Apart from polishing the brass back, all that left to do with this backsaw is complete the final sharpening to the saw teeth and apply some set.

Stewie;

I like the lighter handle more than the darker one.

Originally Posted by Christos

I like the lighter handle more than the darker one.

The lighter tone also allows the wonderful grain pattern of the Burdekin Plum to shine through. Its a lovely timber to use for saw handles.

Finished final sharpening & set on the saw teeth today. Picked up some Brasso down town to shine up the brass spine tomorrow morning. Completed pics should be posted same day all going well. Last backsaw build for this year.

All finished. Apologies for the photo quality. The camera don't appreciate focusing on too much shine. No more backsaw builds till the start of next year. Yahoo.

Stewie;

Hi Stewie,

Very nice, there's a lot to like about this saw, the nicely placed split nuts, the shaped spine, and that plum handle.

Regards
Ray

Originally Posted by RayG

Hi Stewie,

Very nice, there's a lot to like about this saw, the nicely placed split nuts, the shaped spine, and that plum handle.

Regards
Ray

Thanks Ray. Its a neat way to finish the saw making year.

Stewie;