More Saw Handle Scans

Happy New Year, everyone! In celebration of me leaving my camera at work - with all the photos I meant to start posting over the weekend, here is a post unrelated to anything I am currently doing. I actually have been meaning to get these scanned and put up long ago, but you know how it goes.

The Mother Lode

A while back I went nutso on British eBay, and wound up with a huge stash of old tools.  Some fantastic ones, some not so great.  I found out that when buying backsaws on eBay, the phrase, "just needs sharpening to be put back to work" means something completely different to me than it does to most sellers.

All kidding aside, once you win the bid, there really is no way to know what you'll get until it shows up.  My advice:  don't bid much.  I think I got all (or most) of these saws for around ten pounds each including shipping (to a local UK address - thanks Travis!).

My intent is to add to the online archive of scanned saw handles for posterity's sake.  Feel free to use them as a pattern for making your own saw handles.  Check out some other saw handles here.  When you print them out, the grid lines are exactly one inch squares on the actual handles.  The beauty of computers is this makes it simple to enlarge or reduce the images in size for the exact size you need.

I would love if any readers were able to provide any further information about these saws in the comments.

The first is a fairly unremarkable handle, whose best virtue is the ease in which it can be mass produced.  I thought it was a Spears & Jackson, but there is no evidence on the saw to indicate that.  The medallion says, "Warrented Superior."   Perhaps someone is into restoring old saws for the sake of historical accuracy.  However, the saw has a nice, hefty steel back, and a sawplate that is dead straight.  This is a good candidate for rehab.

10" rip, 14 PPI

The next saw is indeed a Spear & Jackson, with a Leapfrog logo.  I think this was probably a good saw that wasn't top-of-the-line.  A heavy brass back and a handle painted black.  This is a decent sized tenon saw, and the handle fits my hand better with a four finger grip.

14" rip, 12 PPI

This next saw is one of my favorites from the group.  The steel back says "I. Sorby, Sheffield," and has the outline of a jester.  No idea when this saw was made, but it does have split nuts.  Another easy rehab.

10" rip, 16 PPI

The next saw could be the poster child from the upcoming TV special, "Fun With Wire Brushes."  The heavy brass back says, "G. H. Charlesworth, Sheffield, England."  This saw has a nice feel, but I suspect it is a replacement handle.  Regardless, the sawplate is straight and I might try to save it.

12" crosscut, 12 PPI with lots of cows and calfs

This last one is my favorite.  It has a medium weight steel back, split nuts and a massive hang angle.  It is stamped, "I. Colbeck."  It appears to be very old, but unfortunately also starred in the abovementiond upcoming docu-drama.

12 1/2" rip, 12 1/2 PPI

Enjoy! If you use any of these scans, please leave a comment and let us know your plans!

Building a Panel Gauge Part III - Completion - SLIDE SHOW

Artsy photo of my version next to the vintage model.

This project was one of the most enjoyable I have ever done.  The thing that made it so great was when I started, I didn't have a clue as to how to do it.  I didn't know how to box the insert, and I had no idea how to make the oval shaped profile on the beam.  The joy in this project came from figuring those things out and watching this project take shape.

I have put together another slide show of the last part of this project.  I couldn't help but take a bunch of artsy photos of the completed project.  This one is just too easy to take pictures of.

In fact, while it is sitting in front of me, I can't quit staring at it.  My wife said it is too nice to use.

Toss the feathers - Otter's holt (Aislinn) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

I haven't tried it out yet, so I'll have to see how it works.  While working on this project, I thought a lot about how this gauge was put together and how that design must perform in use.

When I first got the vintage model, I thought it was a left-handed version.  I usually hold the stock of any marking gauge in my right hand, as I'm right handed.  This one looks as if it is meant to be registered on the left side of a board while being marked.  When I used it, I just turned it around and used it "backwards" with the horn facing forward. Then I saw this picture in Salaman's Dictionary of Woodworking Tools:

Left handed?

It is the same.  Perhaps those old timers knew something we don't?  Then it hit me.  If the board to be marked is placed on a saw bench, it can be marked registering the panel gauge on the left side and marked on the right.  After marking, it does not have to be flipped end-for-end to start the rip, as you would have to do if registered from the right side. You can mark the board with this gauge and rip right away without movin g anything.

This is faster!  Mary May talks a lot about learning to be ambidextrous while carving so you don't continually have to adjust what you are working on.  This could be a result of the same principle.

I also have a concern about using a blade as opposed to a scratcher for marking.  A blade should leave a nice, neat line, but there is always a danger of a knife blade following the grain of the wood where a scratching blade would not.  After all, ripping will require cleaning up, anyway.

Lastly, this blade only works in one direction - forward.  Being a single bevel blade, I forsee problems if I try to pull the gauge toward me.  I'll try it out, and if it is a problem I may try re-grinding the blade to a spear point configuration. The great part about this single bevel blade is it should be easy to sharpen freehand.

AAR:

• Ebony is rather enjoyable to work with.  At least in these small quantities.
• Not all maple is created equal.  This beautiful piece must be from some softer species of maple.  It is very lightweight, and works easily with hand tools, as opposed to the maple I usually use.
• There is no point on hanging onto a special piece of wood for that "perfect project."  It turns out, the project you are working on is the perfect project.
• The wedge holding the blade is so small because it is intended to not get in the way of anything.  It might interfere if it had a mechanism to prevent it from falling out.  The problem is, eventually it will fall out.  I can envision in 100 years some woodworker picking this thing up at a yard sale for 50 cents, wondering how to make such a small replacement wedge on a table saw and putting it back on the table for some other sucker to buy.  Perhaps a manager will want to nail it to the wall of his restaurant.
• Making a custom scraper is a cheap and easy way to shape parts.  However, grinding metal with a power tool is much faster and easier than using a file.  I used a Dremel wheel on my cordless drill (I got rid of my Dremel tool).

Just in case you would like to make one, here are the specifics: The scratch stock is part of a 2 1/4" circle.  You can use the template for marking out the beam mortise, and the scratch stock also is used to shape the head stock, as opposed to rasping a chamfer or roundover. I used a #7 Jennings bit to start the beam mortise.  The original beam was 24" long.  Mine is a bit longer. The beam's wedge is 3/16" thick. Here's a scan of the headstock:

Enjoy!

Panel Gauge

I recently acquired a couple of old tools from eBay.

New stash.

So I went a bit nutso (thanks for the term, Ralph). Sue me.

I'll get to more of these treasures in future posts, but one particular gem from this batch is one of the panel gauges. I couldn't see the pattern on the auction listing, I just thought it was a nice size.

It turns out, it has some style.

I am not sure of the species of the arm, but the head seems to be beech, and it has a boxwood wedge. There is also a boxwood insert on the cutting edge. Unfortunately, when the original cutter wore down, some yahoo drove a nail through the arm which caused a small split.

I think it looks very cool! It seems also to be comfortable in the hand, too. Plus, it will be easy to make. I think I'll make one at some point when my list of things that need to be built dwindles down some.

In case any of you would like to give it a whack first, here is a scan. The arm on this one is a bit over an inch wide, and is rounded on both the top and bottom, requiring the oval mortise seen in the scan.

Send a photo if you make one, and let me know what you think.

My Crosscut Saws

A couple years ago, I bought a couple saw filing kits from the guys at vintagesaws.com. Saw filing kits from this site are great.  You get to pick out whatever vintage saw you want, have the teeth shaped however you want them, and they throw in the correct saw file.

I wound up with two pretty cool saws.  A mid 20th century Diston D7, and a really cool old, old saw with split nuts that is of an unknown maker.  

I really like the handle of the old saw, it fits my three finger grip perfectly.  The D7, not so much.  I'm thinking of making a matching saw handle for the D7, and sprucing up the old unknown saw.

Here they are, enjoy.

Spear & Jackson (BadAxe-ified)

This is what I would consider the very first "decent" backsaw I have ever owned.

I feel like this saw is an extension of my hand when I use it.

I got it from Mark Harrell at BadAxe Toolworks.  It is a Spear & Jackson 10" backsaw with a steel spine that I use for dovetailing.  It is hard to tell from the photo (which is actually a scan), but the saw plate is shiny and new.  At least it was in 2010.  Mark put a brand new saw plate on this old saw.  It definitely makes a sweet user.  I don't know much about the dating of S&J saws.  Perhaps someone out there knows when this beauty was built?

I've recently bought a bunch of used backsaws from eBay, with the intention of learning how to rehab them.  Over the weekend I spent some time following the links around on the Old Ladies blog, and I think that I am ready to try making a new saw handle.  While I'm at it, I should finally get around to repairing the chipped bits on this one.

Here are a couple of shots of this saw handle that one should be able to print out and use as a template.  The lines in the photos are one inch squares.  You should double check before you start that the template printed exactly the way you want.  Enjoy!