o_LuCaS_o
Member
Hi!
Recently there has been some discussion about old saws on the forum, so I thought, I could put something in from myself. Some time ago I bought an old saw from eBay. It's a 10"/12TPI brass backed-saw with no makers markers on it. It looked like this:
It was blunt, barely cutting and not to good looking, so I thought, I'll try to make it a little nicer. I made a new handle out of a piece of birch I had in the pile. This is the first one I've ever made...as a matter of fact, I haven't done much yet
I wanted to show i to you Guys and ask for Your opinion, what do You think about it, do You have any recommendations for future ones. I also have some questions upon making these...
As I mentioned, this was my first handle and I couldn't help myself not to make a few mistakes Of course, the biggest one was with the mortise for letting in the back and blade. As You can see on the picture below, I spoiled it a little (sic!).
I had a problem with getting the blade aligned with the holes and till I found out, that the problem was with the shape of the mortise, I made it too deep and also elongated the kerf for the blade The first time I repaired it, by gluing in a little portion of wood and the fit and griping was good. But then, the urge of perfection was so big, that in the end I resulted with with the tenon a little to wide and deep again. The worse was, that I found out after finishing the handle with oil and a few coats of paste wax. The fit was loose, to loose to use the saw. I didn't want to throw it away, because I've put so much work in it. To be able to use the saw, I made a little wedge out of a scrap of walnut and made a kerf in it. It fits nice and keeps the blade enough for using the saw (it gets loose some time, so I have to tap it in a bit). My wife said, that if I haven't mentioned it as a flaw, she would thought it's a special decorative feature The other mistake I'm aware of, was leaving too little stuff on the outer sides of the screw. What it caused was a little crack on the right side of the blade at the beveled curve under the back.
Then I sharpened the saw my first two times...two, because after the first time, the saw teeth points formed a beautiful example of a chaotic curve...it looks so easy on DVD's I made some test cuts in pine, birch and ash and I think it cuts not bad.
Please forgive me the poor sawing technique, this is just an example and I've never cut any dovetail yet, so don't have much experience. However, the saw is not an easy starter (probably because of the 12TPI and zero rake angle), it cuts quite fast and, I think, quite straight. Overall I'm quite happy with the appearance and working of the saw and I learnt a lot about shaping wood. What do You think?
I have a question about drilling the holes for the screws. I didn't want to use any machines and I drilled the counter bores with a brace and 1/2" bit. The problem is, that I couldn't get a flat bottom of the hole. I always got a part of a spiral at the bottom. I could clean it with a chisel a bit, but I think there must be a better way. How did a craftsman do it in the old days before the electric drill and Forstner bits? Are/where there Forstner bits for a brace? Maybe there is a different method. How do You do it?
I'm also wondering about the saw itself and it's purpose. By the look of it, one would say it's a dovetail saw. But what gives me a think are the 12TPI. When I look at dovetail saws made nowadays I don't see anything coarser than 14TPI, where Gramercy goes up to 19TPI, Lee Valley 20TPI. I also found this cite on Joel Moskowitz (sorry, but I can't place links with my account):
So maybe my saw is an example of one of those mis-named tools? What was considered as "general work" for a saw like this?
As I said...I learnt a lot with this little, probably very simple project for an intermediate craftsman, project. Shaping wood...ba! what fantastic things can turn out from a single little board, saw sharpening, mistake repairing, but also, that wanting to be too perfect is not always good Anyway...I recommend this kind of project for anyone who is thinking of it and has a nice example on his eye!
Regards,
Lukasz.
Recently there has been some discussion about old saws on the forum, so I thought, I could put something in from myself. Some time ago I bought an old saw from eBay. It's a 10"/12TPI brass backed-saw with no makers markers on it. It looked like this:
It was blunt, barely cutting and not to good looking, so I thought, I'll try to make it a little nicer. I made a new handle out of a piece of birch I had in the pile. This is the first one I've ever made...as a matter of fact, I haven't done much yet
I wanted to show i to you Guys and ask for Your opinion, what do You think about it, do You have any recommendations for future ones. I also have some questions upon making these...
As I mentioned, this was my first handle and I couldn't help myself not to make a few mistakes
Of course, the biggest one was with the mortise for letting in the back and blade. As You can see on the picture below, I spoiled it a little (sic!).
I had a problem with getting the blade aligned with the holes and till I found out, that the problem was with the shape of the mortise, I made it too deep and also elongated the kerf for the blade
The first time I repaired it, by gluing in a little portion of wood and the fit and griping was good. But then, the urge of perfection was so big, that in the end I resulted with with the tenon a little to wide and deep again. The worse was, that I found out after finishing the handle with oil and a few coats of paste wax. The fit was loose, to loose to use the saw. I didn't want to throw it away, because I've put so much work in it. To be able to use the saw, I made a little wedge out of a scrap of walnut and made a kerf in it. It fits nice and keeps the blade enough for using the saw (it gets loose some time, so I have to tap it in a bit). My wife said, that if I haven't mentioned it as a flaw, she would thought it's a special decorative feature The other mistake I'm aware of, was leaving too little stuff on the outer sides of the screw. What it caused was a little crack on the right side of the blade at the beveled curve under the back. Then I sharpened the saw my first two times...two, because after the first time, the saw teeth points formed a beautiful example of a chaotic curve...it looks so easy on DVD's
I made some test cuts in pine, birch and ash and I think it cuts not bad.
Please forgive me the poor sawing technique, this is just an example and I've never cut any dovetail yet, so don't have much experience. However, the saw is not an easy starter (probably because of the 12TPI and zero rake angle), it cuts quite fast and, I think, quite straight. Overall I'm quite happy with the appearance and working of the saw and I learnt a lot about shaping wood. What do You think?
I have a question about drilling the holes for the screws. I didn't want to use any machines and I drilled the counter bores with a brace and 1/2" bit. The problem is, that I couldn't get a flat bottom of the hole. I always got a part of a spiral at the bottom. I could clean it with a chisel a bit, but I think there must be a better way. How did a craftsman do it in the old days before the electric drill and Forstner bits? Are/where there Forstner bits for a brace? Maybe there is a different method. How do You do it?
I'm also wondering about the saw itself and it's purpose. By the look of it, one would say it's a dovetail saw. But what gives me a think are the 12TPI. When I look at dovetail saws made nowadays I don't see anything coarser than 14TPI, where Gramercy goes up to 19TPI, Lee Valley 20TPI. I also found this cite on Joel Moskowitz (sorry, but I can't place links with my account):
So maybe my saw is an example of one of those mis-named tools? What was considered as "general work" for a saw like this?
As I said...I learnt a lot with this little, probably very simple project for an intermediate craftsman, project. Shaping wood...ba! what fantastic things can turn out from a single little board, saw sharpening, mistake repairing, but also, that wanting to be too perfect is not always good
Anyway...I recommend this kind of project for anyone who is thinking of it and has a nice example on his eye!Regards,
Lukasz.
