Finished Presentation Saw

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I only finish about 2 projects per year so I figured I would post this here as not everyone goes too the Neanderthal Section of this forum. Anyway this is a Presentation Saw, which means it is functional, but not really made to saw wood everyday...

This saw is unique in that most of it is handmade. It starts with the steel...it's hand polished 316L stainless and is fitted with a spline that is not only welded, but also angles upwards as it meets the handle. I do not know of any saws that do this with their spline.

The handle is also unique since it was cut from Crab Apple that is 150 years old and planted by my Great Grandfather² some 150 years ago. It was hand fitted, hand sanded and wed into the handle to match my hand exactly and is extremely comfortable.

The Screw Bolts that bolt the handle to the 22 guage blade I made on a manual lathe at the shipyard. I used 316L stainless as well and hand polished them to match the rest of the saw.

The saw is a ripping dovetail saw, and every tooth was made the hard way...by hand filing each tooth. I then set the teeth, lapped the tips and then refiled the saw for incredible sharpness. Its actually a pretty good saw even though it will not be used very much since it is a presentation saw.

In the end I stuck the saw in a oak case with stainless hardware to match the saw of course. Red felt was used to help give the saw a regal feel. But inside the case I stuck a bit of a surprise. When I did the saw's first test cut, I saved the piece of wood and epoxied it onto the back of the case. I used aromatic white cedar for a reason. Inside the case you will see a mini-sanding block with 220 grit sandpaper epoxied to the bottom. Attached is a chain. In this way 100 years from now, the owner of this saw can sand that first piece of test wood and fill the saw case with the smell of cedar. It will also keep out moths.

All in all it took me a year to complete, but I think it came out well. If nothing else, at least I do not have to worry about this saw rusting! There is more to the story, but you can check that out on the Neanderthal Section if you want on a post titled, New Tool, Old School.
 

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Thanks guys, because as always it is one thing to get accolades from the fans, but quite another to get them from the players.

I ended up giving it to a family friend yesterday. He certainly enjoyed it, and as a contractor it was certainly fitting. I think he is going to etch the name of his company into the blade part of it and said something about putting a Made By Travis Johnson thing on it as well, though I don't like to sign my woodworking as a rule. For me it was just fun building it, even though it took a year to complete.

Thanks again...
 
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