Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)
Established Member
I decided to make a joinery saw as a break from cutting what seems like an endless procession of dovetails for the chests I have been building for some months. This has been on my list of saws to make for a while. It compliments the carcase saw I built recently. There is a family resemblance in the designs of the two saws. More on that later.
The plan was for a 9" long plate with 1 1/2" of cutting area and 16 ppi crosscut. The carcase saw is essentially a larger version, with a 14" long plate, 2 1/4" cutting area and 14 ppi crosscut.
The joinery plate is also a slimmer 0.018" thick.
The build was not uneventful. Don't you hate it when this happens ...
That was Padauk, from a chunk that was a Christmas present. It was always a borderline choice as it felt soft and brittle. Then I was not careful enough when chiseling the mortices for the screws. Live and learn ...
In the end I used the same Jarrah board that I had for the carcase saw.
Here is the joinery saw (apologies for the pictures which do not do justice to the grain) ...
Klaus (Two Lawyers Toolworks) asked me a question anout the handles of these saws ..
Hi Derek,
... One thing: the rear line of both of the grips is nearly straight. Maybe you feel that to be comfortable. Then all is good. Perhaps you should try to make a handle in your own shape which has a hump at the rear side of the grip just to compare the comfort. I'm pretty sure that you' d like the different feeling.
Regards
Klaus
Klaus' question reminded me of the one of the design features of the saws, something that I have failed to emphasize, and one which I would enjoy hearing comments about.
What I have here for handles is something a little different from those (with the "hump") that I have made in the past. I suspect that others, such as Andrew Lunn (ex-Eccentric Toolworks), have done similar, although their reasoning may be different from mine (and perhaps it is the same ...?).
Here is one of Andrew's dovetail saws ...
My aim is to not only have a comfortable handle, but also to create a controlled grip. The comfort comes from sizing the handle to my palm, and including enough of a "bump" to fit into the palm. It is there but disguised by the second factor, which goes to control.
The second feature is that the handle is triangulated. That is, it is thicker at the base. What this does is support the underside of the hand, and lift it up, where it snuggles into the underside of the horn. The underside of the horn is where I believe the control lies.
Here is a picture of Ernest Joyce using a tenon saw. Note how he uses his thumb on the upper horn to lighten the weight on the saw ...
A while back Chris Schwarz posted something similar. In his case he used the lower horns to do the same thing.
Link: http://lostartpress.wordpress.com/2011/ ... ower-horn/
That's my theory anyway. I do find the saws very comfortable to use.
Regards from Perth
Derek
The plan was for a 9" long plate with 1 1/2" of cutting area and 16 ppi crosscut. The carcase saw is essentially a larger version, with a 14" long plate, 2 1/4" cutting area and 14 ppi crosscut.
The joinery plate is also a slimmer 0.018" thick.
The build was not uneventful. Don't you hate it when this happens ...
That was Padauk, from a chunk that was a Christmas present. It was always a borderline choice as it felt soft and brittle. Then I was not careful enough when chiseling the mortices for the screws. Live and learn ...
In the end I used the same Jarrah board that I had for the carcase saw.
Here is the joinery saw (apologies for the pictures which do not do justice to the grain) ...
Klaus (Two Lawyers Toolworks) asked me a question anout the handles of these saws ..
Hi Derek,
... One thing: the rear line of both of the grips is nearly straight. Maybe you feel that to be comfortable. Then all is good. Perhaps you should try to make a handle in your own shape which has a hump at the rear side of the grip just to compare the comfort. I'm pretty sure that you' d like the different feeling.
Regards
Klaus
Klaus' question reminded me of the one of the design features of the saws, something that I have failed to emphasize, and one which I would enjoy hearing comments about.
What I have here for handles is something a little different from those (with the "hump") that I have made in the past. I suspect that others, such as Andrew Lunn (ex-Eccentric Toolworks), have done similar, although their reasoning may be different from mine (and perhaps it is the same ...?).
Here is one of Andrew's dovetail saws ...
My aim is to not only have a comfortable handle, but also to create a controlled grip. The comfort comes from sizing the handle to my palm, and including enough of a "bump" to fit into the palm. It is there but disguised by the second factor, which goes to control.
The second feature is that the handle is triangulated. That is, it is thicker at the base. What this does is support the underside of the hand, and lift it up, where it snuggles into the underside of the horn. The underside of the horn is where I believe the control lies.
Here is a picture of Ernest Joyce using a tenon saw. Note how he uses his thumb on the upper horn to lighten the weight on the saw ...
A while back Chris Schwarz posted something similar. In his case he used the lower horns to do the same thing.
Link: http://lostartpress.wordpress.com/2011/ ... ower-horn/
That's my theory anyway. I do find the saws very comfortable to use.
Regards from Perth
Derek