Originally Posted by
IanW
Thanks for the link, Stewie. For the few holes I need to enlarge, my current method works well enough, so I'll probably just stick with that, thanks. I could simply work in Imperial, it's just that my taps & dies set in Imperial is gappy. I don't have starter or intermediate taps for 3/16", which makes nut manufacture a bit less convenient. You can tap brass in a single pass, well enough, it's just not as easy on my setup, & the intermediate taps are very handy for cleaning out the dags that form on the threads after parting the nuts off & re-facing them. I keep saying I'm not going to make any more saws after I finish this lot (yer, right! :C), & I'm trying not to accumulate any more dedicated sawmaking gear.
I have a bit more saw plate than foreseeable needs, though, which I won't want to keep around for too long. I have it well-slathered with Lanotec, & well-wrapped, so it's safe for now, but I always worry about the demon rust, in our climate. One little rust spot sure spoils the look of a nice shiny new blade! When I get myself sorted (sometime in the next 20 years :;) I might offer to make up some kits of blade, spine and bolts for any would-be saw-makers who don't have the gear to do that part, but want to give it a go. They can find their own drills... :U
Cheers,