Thread: Burl Backsaw build.

Originally Posted by planemaker

Hi. Some of you will remember seeing this photo I posted on the toothing plane build.



There was a good reason for selecting this wood to flatten its top face surface. Its being used for my next backsaw build. Now I am reasonably confident that this wood will be stable enough to use as a closed handle. But not enough to risk adding a traditional lambs tongue to the base of the cheek. Instead I have chosen to make this union much more solid in form. The following shows the template shape I came up with. Also shown beside it is the burl handle in its early stages if shaping.



You can see how I applied an inward curve to the bottom of the rail to cheek connection to maximise its potential strength.

I plan to fit a 16" x 3.5" (below the spine) x 0.025 blade, sharpened 13tpi rip tooth.

Will the handle look alright when finished. Too early to tell. New design.

Stewie;

Stewie, Do you ever sleep?, first you tease us with your plane and now another awesome saw in progress, I would just like enough time to read and get an understanding of all the facets of saw making
I reckon the handle will look amazing when complete, Cheers, Richie

Looking good so far Stewie. How did the plane perform on that burl?

Just as a bit of an afterthought (and without wishing to rain on you plane parade) - would there be much difference in effort/time on a small piece like that if you used a couple of flat rasps (say a #6 followed by a #10)?

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Looking good so far Stewie. How did the plane perform on that burl?

Just as a bit of an afterthought (and without wishing to rain on you plane parade) - would there be much difference in effort/time on a small piece like that if you used a couple of flat rasps (say a #6 followed by a #10)?

The toothing plane performed exceptionally well. Couldn't be happier. I cant see why you wouldn't be able to do a similar job using a flat rasp, but it will be a slightly more difficult task compounded the narrower width of the rasp. But its doable. As long as you complete the flattening process on a sheet of glass with a coarse sandpaper adhered to it you should be fine. Just periodically highlight the face surface of the wood with a pencil to highlight your progress. Before flattening the opposite face of the blank, scribe your final target thickness on all 4 sides with a marking gauge.

Stewie;

Thanks for the feedback Richie. With luck the handle should turn out just fine. Got ta think positive.

Stewie;

Looks to be another great saw
Stewie,
But what do you do with so many great saws ????

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Looks to be another great saw
Stewie,
But what do you do with so many great saws ????

Too early to tell Matt but I am sure it will turn out okay.

The Burdekin Plum Backsaw and any after that I will be offering for sale.

Here is a reminder of that Burdekin Plum Saw.





Stewie;

I should have mentioned at the start of this post that its always a good idea to check the moisture level on the handle blank you are looking to use for your saw handle. The range I prefer to work with is 6 - 8%. The following is an offcut that I checked with the meter. If its too high I seal the edges with a wax and leave it to dry out further.



I have made some reasonable progress on the burl handle. As you can see the handle grip and finger hole are now rounded off, and the blade slot has been completed.





Before I round off the cheek line, the spine mortise needs to be formed.


Stewie;

Full marks for giving it a go, Stewie. I've thought about using burl wood for a handle, it would look spectacular, but have always hesitated because the grain just goes every which way, & I am fearful they'd be just too fragile for everyday use. But as I've said elsewhere, the grain of the 'lamb tongue' is always hopelessly 'wrong', even on straight-grained stock, no matter how you lay out your handle, and yet they seem to survive the ravages of time remarkably well. So chances are, your burl handle will be no more susceptible to failure than any other. Time will tell....

Cheers,

Thanks for the feedback Ian. As you would have noticed I have taken a different direction from using a traditional lambs tongue, opting for something that I believe will be a much stronger union to suit the burl timber being used for the handle. My personal view, the traditional lambs tongue has served an important role in the past by providing addition strength to the backsaw handle. It or a similar union such as seen on this handle should be seen as a worthy addition within the handles design. Especially suited for larger sized blade assemblies.

regards Stewie.

Completed the spine mortise, the cheek rounding, as well as cut and assembled the blade & spine. The tooth length for this backsaw is 16", with a 3 1/2" depth below the spine. Progressing nicely.

Stewie;

That looks like it'll come up a treat with some finish Stewie. Shellac?

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

That looks like it'll come up a treat with some finish Stewie. Shellac?

Yes that's right. Garnet shellac.

Stewie;

Stewie, what size brass flat are you using for the spine on this saw? A couple of people want to make longer saws than I've made before, and I think 3/4 x 1/4 is a bit light for saws over 300mm, what size do you think is most appropriate?

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Stewie, what size brass flat are you using for the spine on this saw? A couple of people want to make longer saws than I've made before, and I think 3/4 x 1/4 is a bit light for saws over 300mm, what size do you think is most appropriate?

Cheers,

Hi Ian. IMO there is enough weight in 3/4 x 1/4 brass to suit a spine for backsaws with lengths of 12" and above. Because we are dealing with a saw that is primarily designed to be used for deeper cuts I would also suggest that compared to that of a smaller saw, a slightly heavier set would be a requirement to greater assist the saw blade from binding within the kerf. The correct ppi and tooth shape is another important factor to this backsaws peformance, and I will need to make a serious judgement on that when I get nearer to that stage.

Stewie;