Wee stair saw

Found a moment to make something that I've been meaning to make for ages, a stair/trench saw to go with the dovetail plane. It's on the small side for my hands at 20mm thick but that's the piece of wood I had (casurina sp.). I had the blade and nuts but had to resharpen the blade cross cut. It takes a good bite and takes a bit of practice to cut to the line but I think I'll get the hang of it.

The blade projection ranges from 7mm to 20mm which hopefully will cover most scenarios.

This is my first trial blind tapered sliding DT.
Attachment 289044Attachment 289043

Well it looks the part, & obviously works, Matt!

I see you kept the tooth line straight. I rounded-off the toe on mine a bit (is that 'breasting', or 'nosing'?). Whatever the anatomical reference, the idea is to make starting easier, & reduce catching. Of course I can't cut full-depth to the end of a blind cut, but this is easily cleaned up with chisels. The main problem with saws like these, which are 'trapped' in a blind kerf is clearing sawdust, and I've been toying with the idea of adding a more exaggerated breasting, similar to a veneer saw, but that complicates getting the depth even. The best solution I can think of is to curve the body of the saw & cut the teeth at a complementary radius. Haven't tried it yet, that's a few items down the 'to do' list, and not high priority, so it may be some time before I get back to this one, but someday I'll revisit the problem & see how my idea works (or doesn't! :U).....

Cheers,

It is a bit grabby, Ian and the swarf is a problem. The idea I had was to file a deep gullet every 30mm or so but I figured I shouldn't try to improve the tool until I'd improved the operator but I may nose/breast it a bit to smooth the action.

How long did you make yours? This one is 150mm which is how it came so I assume is a typical length but it does feel short to me.

(first outing for the new layout tools too, Ian :) )

Cheers
Matt

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Berlin

It is a bit grabby, Ian and the swarf is a problem. The idea I had was to file a deep gullet every 30mm or so but I figured I shouldn't try to improve the tool until I'd improved the operator but I may nose/breast it a bit to smooth the action.

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Matt - I only noticed after a second look that you made your saw cut on the pull-stroke, which makes sense - you can drag out the sawdust by doing an almost complete exit every few strokes. Mine cuts on the push stroke, which compounds the problem of waste build-up. Making the entire blade elliptical & using a circular cutting stroke is the only way I can see to clear sawdust effectively on continuous cutting, but unfortunately, that brings some other problems to design & use. I must try reversing the blade on mine, next time I use it on a job...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Berlin

This one is 150mm which is how it came so I assume is a typical length but it does feel short to me.

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I couldn't remember, so I looked it up & it's 225mm. I lit on that length after a bit of trial & error to find length that was easy to manoeuvre & would register nicely against the fence. That seems like the right size for me. Others' mileage will vary.....

Cheers,