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View Full Version : One Saw a Week: 26-inch Simonds No. 5 Rip – 6 TPI



Jonathan McCullough
03-08-2011, 1:04 PM
One Saw a Week (more or less (mostly less)): 26-inch Simonds No. 5 Rip – 6 TPI

http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss199/Jonathryn/Simonds%20No%205%20Rrrrrip/DSC03110.jpg

It has been a long and brutal winter in New England, but I’ve been trying to chip away at the legendary pile-o-saws. Submitted for your possible interest is this nice rip saw. The saw plate is full, feels heavy, and has what I suspect to be quite a bit of tensioning. Despite its 26-inch length and relatively high tooth-per-inch count, it cuts with authority through a variety of woods. It could be just me, but I associate longer rip saws of 28 or 30 inches and coarser (4–5˝ TPI) tooth counts with rougher carpentry type work in pine. This saw is more what I would call a hardwood cabinetmaker’s rip saw for benchtop use, though like many tools it would be suitable for a variety of purposes.

This is not one of Simond’s premium “Blue Ribbon” saws, but I’ve not run across enough of them to be able to discern much of a difference. The steel is very good quality, tough on the file, and I believe the etching is stamped/embossed as well as chemically etched.

http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss199/Jonathryn/Simonds%20No%205%20Rrrrrip/DSC03111.jpg

Despite my preference for handles of the older Disston No. 7 type, I found the handle on this saw to be quite comfortable. I repaired the bottom horn on the handle with some apple wood donated by a fellow Creeker. As you can see, I have not yet mastered the art of blending such patches (anyone notice that’s harder than learning how to sharpen a saw?!). I’d humbly submit that any suggestions or pointers here about how to do that would be most appreciated. It’s just that some woods react differently to the same tung oil.

http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss199/Jonathryn/Simonds%20No%205%20Rrrrrip/DSC03116.jpg

At any rate, I consider these working tools. Very fancy and old working tools, but working tools nonetheless. Maybe in a few decades the new apple wood will have oxidized enough for no one to notice. Better yet--for the saw to have been so well used and loved that the grime of honest work obscures a well-maintained tool.

Other One-Saw-a-Week Projects
Diamond in the Rough (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?137471-Diamond-in-the-Rough&highlight=)
Resistance is Futile (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?137489-Resistance-is-futile&highlight=)
Pinkie (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?137251-Pinkie&highlight=)
22-inch Riverside Tool Company No. 6 Panel Saw 12 TPI (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148134-One-Saw-a-Week-22-inch-Riverside-Tool-Company-No.-6-panel-saw-(Disston-No.-7)-12-TP&highlight=)
22-inch D-8 Panel Saw 10 TPI (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148696-One-Saw-a-Week-22-inch-D-8-Panel-Saw-10-TPI-1896-1917&highlight=)
26-inch Atkins 200 rip saw (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?149700-One-Saw-a-Week-26-inch-Atkins-200-rip-saw-%96-5-%BD-TPI&highlight=)
18-inch Simonds No. 10 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?150091-One-Saw-a-Week-18-inch-Simonds-No.-10%BD-Panel-Saw-10-TPI&highlight=)
18-inch Russell-Erwin 9 TPI Panel Saw (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?152471-One-Saw-a-Week-(More-or-Less)-Russell-amp-Erwin-%93Russwin%94-18-inch-panel-saw-9-TPI&highlight=)
26-inch Disston No. 16 Crosscut 8 TPI (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?156562-One-Saw-a-Week-(More-or-Less)-26-quot-Disston-No.-16-Crosscut-8-TPI&highlight=)
26-inch Atkins No. 53 Rip 5˝ TPI (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?150524-One-Saw-a-Week-26-inch-Atkins-No-53-rip-saw-%96-5-%BD-TPI&highlight=)

Mike Allen1010
03-09-2011, 4:42 PM
Jonathan,

I really enjoy your "one saw a week" posts!

Your impressions of how the steel quality, saw plate and handle actually function together when sawing are very insightful and helpful for someone like me you doesn't have a lot of experience with different brands/models of saws. It's one thing to read a description of a saw in an old catalogue, but for me it's a lot more helpful to hear about how it works from someone who's actually using it a.

By the way, your restoration work is beautiful! You are inspiring me to rehabilitate my old rusty hand saws with dried out handles into something that hopefully looks and more importantly works like yours.

Thanks for sharing, Mike

David Weaver
03-09-2011, 4:47 PM
That's a really nice saw in a tooth size that's a nice compromise between speed and finish for a good sawyer. I wish it was mine!

Good job on the repair.

David Weaver
03-09-2011, 4:49 PM
By the way, I've had luck going to bare wood and using a dark shellac to put the color on the tote instead of a stain. That way, the absorption rate doesn't really matter (and you know new apple like you put on there has a really slick non-porous quality).

I know i've seen darryl weir mention that, too, and I can't usually see his repairs on the pictures he puts up.

Deane Allinson
03-09-2011, 7:38 PM
I really don't mind the "not perfect" tote repairs. I know that old saws are not "antique furniture" but still, I don't mind the obvious, honest repairs.
Nice saw! Good work.
Deane

Jonathan McCullough
03-09-2011, 10:04 PM
Thanks guys. I'm learning about finishes. Is it advisable to put something like garnet shellac on wood that's been treated with tung oil? Sometimes my patches blend in with the original handle woods when I put tung oil on, sometimes they don't.