My favorite type of saws, now to build one!

Please post the progress on the saw! I have a dovetail saw I am trying to make, it is just taking me a looooong time since I only work on it a little every once in a while. You may incite me to work on it some more!

No, I have no saw problem, not at all...

The handle is rough cut and is waiting for me to finish cutting the teeth. Mike W. was kind enough to post a copy of one of his handle patterns a while back. I'm making the blade from a joint tape knife. I made a brake from Leif had on the Norse Woodsmith site to fold the brass back. I am not completely happy with the back because when I hammered it down on the back the corners opened up a little. I may see it I can find some brass rivets to secure it.

I have all the teeth notched and just need to get motivated to finish filing the teeth in.

Here's an old pic. I'm a couple steps further along, but not much!

Alan,

I did something kinda like what you're talking about a couple of months ago. I had an old tenon saw with a handle that just didn't feel good in my hand. I decided to take a piece of walnut and see if I could make one that was better. I've attached a picture of the old handle and the complete saw with the new handle. Fun project until I got to the attachment point. Interesting trying to get the holes in the handle to match up with the saw blade.

Lee Laird

Alan,

Thanks for nice words and sorry for the less then optimum pictures. Still trying to figure out what will work on the forum. The blade and old (Guess "old" is a relative term) handle were made by Sandvik. Saw is probably less than 20 years old. Hard to believe they make handles that don't fit the hand and seem to put the wrist at a poor angle.

Lee Laird

I'm starting to get the handsaw plague myself. Obviously not to the tune some of you are, but finding that 1909 Simonds saw in my shops attic was a neat find. I could not help but notice it had an Apple handle. That did not surprise me as most handles "back in the day" were made of fruitwood. I sawed out some apple wood on the sawmill a few years ago, and actually sent a piece to a guy that was rebuilding a handsaw over on the Wood Forum. I never did here how it came out however.

Still your last post describes me Alan. My Uncle filed saws for awhile as a side business so that means I got the files, tools, and stuff to file my own saws, but was too afraid I would screw something up. In looking at the teeth though, they don't look any harder to do then filing a chainsaw, and I have got that down to a science.

My most interesting saw I think has got to be an old "misery whip" or two man crosscut saw used for felling large trees. The saw is certainly old as can be seen by the pitted steel and riveted handle holes. The wooden handles have long been rotted. But what is interesting is the teeth. The rakers are all snapped off. At first I thought maybe it hit a nail or something, but every raker has been snapped off, even the ones on the far end of the blade. Who ever did it, did so on purpose. I am sure it was to make it cut faster, but you would think the sawdust would collect in the cut without the rakers to "rake" it out? Of course this is the Pine Tree State and back in those days they only cut hardwood for firewood. White Pine, Hemlock and Spruce were about the only woods harvested. Maybe that is why the rakers were removed?

Alan I would love to know how to sharpen my saws. When mine get dull I just go out and buy a new one. Granted, they are the ones from HD but I would still like to be able to sharpen them. If you can explain it I would like to try it.

Gene Miller said:

Alan I would love to know how to sharpen my saws. When mine get dull I just go out and buy a new one. Granted, they are the ones from HD but I would still like to be able to sharpen them. If you can explain it I would like to try it.

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Gene, read through THIS. Lots of great info on sharpening saws!!!

Alan DuBoff said:

many of the cheap saws at HD do in fact have impulse hardened blades, you can't sharpen those

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I was aware of this, but your mention of jointing raises a question. Supposing someone had such a saw with several ruined teeth, and wanted to practice the sharpening techniques on it. Aside from it not being very cost-effective, would it be possible to grind all of the teeth entirely off, joint the edge, and create new teeth from scratch on a saw like that?

Just wondering how "deep" the impulse hardening typically goes....

Ah-so! I always assumed that "impulse hardening" was what caused the discoloration in the immediate area of the teeth. You're saying that the entire blade is impulse-hardened? In that case, it would certainly be a waste of time to practice on one!

On the other hand, there must be SOME use for a piece of hardened steel.... Make some scrapers, maybe?

Is filing a handsaw quite like a chainsaw? By that I mean as long as you follow the compound angle, and make sure you take the same amount of steel off, you should be set right?

Obviously there is no "set" with a chainsaw, or joining or anything like that. The reason I ask is that it seems a lot of people have trouble getting a chainsaw sharp. I figure if I can sharpen a chainsaw good enough I should be able to do a handsaw right?