From the sublime....

**IanW** · 27th February 2015, 10:05 AM

..to the ridiculous!

This is definitely a bit of an anticlimax after the rather nice saws that have been posted lately, but thought I'd put it up, just for fun.

I needed to make some very accurate cuts in a very confined space. Some practice tries with a keyhole saw showed it just wasn't up to the task - the flexible blade and rip teeth just didn't allow the accuracy I needed. So what else could a sawmaker do than 'design' a saw to do the job? I could've just cobbled it up well enough to do the job, but I'm sure there'll be plenty of other occasions where it will be handy, so I thought I may as well spend a bit more time on it & have something I wasn't ashamed of putting in the tool cupboard: Mini halfback.jpg

A bit of trial & error indicated 20 though plate was stiff enough in the dimensions required, and the addition of a half spline added to that, while leaving plenty of free blade to fit in where I needed it to go. The handle is miniaturised, but still comfortable enough to hold, & lets me see what I'm doing. Sharpening those teeth (20 tpi x-cut) was a chore - my eyesight definitely isn't improving!

Cheers,

**chambezio** · 27th February 2015, 11:12 AM

Ian, its one of those cases where we spend more time making the tool than actually doing the job we wanted to do. How many times have we done that....
I was restoring a WWII Jeep trailer that needed a new floor as well as a front and back wall because some one had cut them out and had made up folding tail gates front and back. The problem I was confronted was the top of the trailer tray had a ¾ roll pressed into the sheet metal. To duplicate the roll I made up a sheet metal folder that took a couple of weekends to make. To do the roll over with it only took, maybe 10 minutes. Well it meant that I now have a sheet metal folder to add to my collection of machines.

**tdrumnut** · 27th February 2015, 03:19 PM

Odd but splendid looking saw Ian, once again you have shown us all what a master sawmaker can do. Love your work.

**IanW** · 27th February 2015, 08:52 PM

Originally Posted by chambezio

Ian, its one of those cases where we spend more time making the tool than actually doing the job we wanted to do......

Only by a factor of about 100x in this case....

Still, that's the fun of being an amateur!

Cheers,

**Isaac S** · 27th February 2015, 09:18 PM

Nothing like custom tools, and that looks orders of magnitudes better than some of my shop tools.

How long is the blade? And 20 tpi x-cut makes my eyes hurt just thinking about it.

**IanW** · 2nd March 2015, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by Isaac S

Nothing like custom tools, and that looks orders of magnitudes better than some of my shop tools.....

Isaac, I was dissembling, & avoiding some other (more important) jobs, so it is far more elaborate than I would normally make for a one-off job too!

I decided this saw might have lots of other uses, so that was an excuse to put in more effort than it really required. I have an ultra-flexible keyhole saw but it is hopeless to start accurately in a tight spot. This little thing solved that.

Originally Posted by Isaac S

...How long is the blade? .....

Sorry, I meant to give its vital statistics & forgot. The blade is about 4 1/2 inches long to the handle, with not quite 3" free in front of the spine. It slopes from about 3/8" at the toe to just under 5/8 where the spine ends. So it's small, but the 3" of 'free' blade is adequate, & stiff enough to start easily on a fine line....

Originally Posted by Isaac S

.... And 20 tpi x-cut makes my eyes hurt just thinking about it.....

Mine too! Four inches of such fine teeth taxes both my eyesight and my patience!

Cheers,

Thread: From the sublime....

Thread Tools

Search Thread

From the sublime....

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions