Burl Carcass Saw.

[Stewie Simpson]

have attached photo's of my latest backsaw. Its a 14" blade at 14tpi X-CUT with a 1/4" taper. The handle is made from Blackeyed Coolabah burl timber and is fitted to the saw plate at a 15 degree hang angle.. The lowest point of the handle is 1/4" above the toothline. By not including the 1/2" heel of the blade as part of future sharpenings the degree of taper towards the toe will minutely increase after each sharpening. This will also have an increasing effect on the amount of clearance seen at the heel end of the blade from the low point of the handle. The backsaw is intended for bench work use.

Regards; Stewie

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/Backsaws/SDC11041.jpg

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/Backsaws/SDC11035.jpg

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/Backsaws/SDC11038.jpg

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/Backsaws/SDC11037.jpg

[Brian Ashton]

must be an aussie... who else would call coololababababah timber.

[Steve Thomas]

That stuff is like a rock....
How is the balance? Coolabah has to be a good 30% denser than other normal timbers used for handles? ( beech walnut etc)

[Chris Griggs]

Gorgeous piece of wood. Cool saw!

[Brian Ashton]

That stuff is like a rock....
How is the balance? Coolabah has to be a good 30% denser than other normal timbers used for handles? ( beech walnut etc)

And that's not even a hard wood is it down under is it. Being burl that handle would be tough enough to use as a hammer without worrying about splitting. I've always been amazed that more open handles like that style don't break along the grain.

[David Weaver]

Very interesting wood! How can you tell what the grain direction is, or is it strong in every direction? I like this one the best of all of the ones you've posted so far.

You guys down under have an unfair advantage on hardwoods. I can't think of anything non-porous here harder than a good piece of apple or a good dense tight ringed hard maple.

W.r.t, the flat on the back of the plate, I often leave the back teeth on my saws partially jointed and unfinished, though I cut them down with a mill file when I give the teeth a light joint. No reason to sharpen them if they never touch wood.

Stewie, do you sell these saws, or are you filling a wall with them?

[george wilson]

Can you comfortably get 3 fingers into the handle? I agree with David about the unpredictability of burl strength/grain direction. It is certainly tempting to use such a fancy piece of wood,but where appropriate is the question. Don't take this as harsh.

P.S.: that wood looks like high grade Turkish walnut,which is mega $$$$$ in gunstock sizes with that much figure. Like,over $1000.00 for a stock blank.

[Stewie Simpson]

Very interesting wood! How can you tell what the grain direction is, or is it strong in every direction? I like this one the best of all of the ones you've posted so far.

You guys down under have an unfair advantage on hardwoods. I can't think of anything non-porous here harder than a good piece of apple or a good dense tight ringed hard maple.

W.r.t, the flat on the back of the plate, I often leave the back teeth on my saws partially jointed and unfinished, though I cut them down with a mill file when I give the teeth a light joint. No reason to sharpen them if they never touch wood.

Stewie, do you sell these saws, or are you filling a wall with them?

Hi David. The burl I have worked with lacks any singular grain direction. This as you mentioned does gives the wood additional strength in all directions. I would described the burl as being quite stable. It does though earn some precautionary repect when working with and I made sure I kept the edge grain sealed with a shellac after each session of shaping.

I concur with your comments on the back teeth seeing little work. I am also a bit of an advicate for low angle backsaw handles as it makes practical sense to have the wrist and forearm aligned as close a possible to the direction of the saw stroke. Adding some taper to the tooth gives line some slight additional downward tilt that can assist its compatability for bench work,. This saws handle was fitted at 15 degrees but I will make the next backsaw with a 20 degree hang so I can compare both saws. As far as selling these saws, at the moment I am more focused on refining my skills as a Saw Maker.

Regards; Stewie.

[Stewie Simpson]

Can you comfortably get 3 fingers into the handle? I agree with David about the unpredictability of burl strength/grain direction. It is certainly tempting to use such a fancy piece of wood,but where appropriate is the question. Don't take this as harsh.

P.S.: that wood looks like high grade Turkish walnut,which is mega $$$$$ in gunstock sizes with that much figure. Like,over $1000.00 for a stock blank.

Hi George. I have quite large sized hands and have no issie with 3 fingers within the grip. When working with the burl I did so with caution to the unknown and resealed the edge grain with shellac after each session of shaping work. Your comments are always welcome George.

Regards; Stewie

[george wilson]

They were intended to be helpful. Glad you regard them as such. So were David's. There is really no telling which way the strength of that burl is going.

[Mark Baldwin III]

Another neat tool. Thanks for sharing.

[Brian Ashton]

Very interesting wood! How can you tell what the grain direction is, or is it strong in every direction? I like this one the best of all of the ones you've posted so far.

You guys down under have an unfair advantage on hardwoods. I can't think of anything non-porous here harder than a good piece of apple or a good dense tight ringed hard maple.

W.r.t, the flat on the back of the plate, I often leave the back teeth on my saws partially jointed and unfinished, though I cut them down with a mill file when I give the teeth a light joint. No reason to sharpen them if they never touch wood.

Stewie, do you sell these saws, or are you filling a wall with them?

Even strait grained wood down here is evil when it comes to grain direction. I'm carving a fluted pedestal for a tilt top table out of some sort of gum (which is the more common wood down here I think). The flutes are 1/4" wide and about 8" long spaced out about every 3/8" around the tapering column. It doesn't matter where they are on the column I have to change direction about every 3/4" because of the high risk of tearout and chipping. Unlike carving cherry, walnut or mahogany the wood is very brittle and won't tolerate any against the grain cutting no matter how sharp the chisel is.

There are non-native woods grown here but most seem to grow like weeds so they have only a few growth rings per inch or are very expensive if they are of any sort of decent furniture quality.

The hardwoods here are good as a very figured and durable wood but I miss the finer "quality" grained woods where you can make nice refined furniture. The wood here tends to be better suited to slab furniture and woodturning.

[Pat Keefe]

Brian, look up Boutique Timbers from Rolland Plains NSW, ask Mal for some Australian Rosewood.

Stewie, very nice bit of Coolibah. I'm turning a platter at the moment. Sharp tools and a gentle touch.

[Stewie Simpson]

Brian, look up Boutique Timbers from Rolland Plains NSW, ask Mal for some Australian Rosewood.

Stewie, very nice bit of Coolibah. I'm turning a platter at the moment. Sharp tools and a gentle touch.

Thanks Pat. Good luck with the platter. Keep those hands steady.

Stewie.