Western saws..

[Mark Singer]

I have also received questions about western saws. It is good to try both western and Japanese. I usually decide which to use by the wood, the task , or by flipping a coin:rolleyes: You can see the difference between the size of backsaws...the smaller 3 are Dovetail...the old Taylor and Sons my favorite. Lie Neilsen with the maple handle and Sephar with Rosewood...the LN is also quite nice. The larger tenon saws are great for joinery...cutting to size with a bench hook and general bench work. Some are sharpened "rip"and some "crosscut"

[Roy Wall]

Well guys........I'm the one bugging Mark about all the saws......

He is kind enough to lend me his advice and even post photos!!!

I'll be buying a dovetail saw within 7 days - with the KC WW show this weekend. I've emailed Vlad (Sephar) and Eddie (Adria) too......so I'm getting great information.

Ready to hear what the rest of SMC has to say.......

Thanks Mark!!!

PS. I'll have to get one Japanese saw too:)

[Karl Laustrup]

Thank you Mark, for taking the time to post this thread as well as the thread on the Tashiro saws. :)

I have bookmarked both threads for future reference. I AM GOING TO HAND CUT DOVETAILS ONE DAY.:cool: :D :)

[Brian Buckley]

Who sells Sephar saws?

Brian

[Mark Singer]

Here you go....


http://www.spehar-toolworks.com/

Who sells Sephar saws?

Brian

[Roy Wall]

Who sells Sephar saws?

Brian
Vlad does!!!

http://spehar-toolworks.com/dovetailsaws.html

[Brian Buckley]

Thanks Roy, this guy does beautiful work. Do you know anything about the beader he is designing?

Brian

[Roy Wall]

Thanks Roy, this guy does beautiful work. Do you know anything about the beader he is designing?

Brian
Looks like Mark Singer and I had a near "simultaneous post"!!!

Brian, just email him from his website......he'll be glad to tell you any news. Good guy. I've conversed with him about his saws vs. LN vs. Adria and he is happy to tell you his opinion about them.

[Gregory Benulis]

Vlad makes very fine tools. I have #9 of his dovetail saws and love it. I have also got a 2.25" a2 plane blade made by him at .125 thickness for my bedrock 605 1/2, he charged me standard price. I use his chip breakers on four of my planes. Besides looking a lot nicer than the Hock they work very well. You couldn't deal with a nicer person.

[Tom Scott]

Roy,
Here is a sampling of the saws I regularly use for joinery.

The 2 in the upper left are dovetail saws. Top left is L-N and middle left is an old Disston. Both are filed rip, used almost exclusively for dovetails, and work equally well.

The 2 in the upper right are carcass saws, filed cross-cut. Upper right is L-N and is my go-to for finer work. The middle right is another old Disston (rather pitted) and stays on the bench (in slots behind the tool well) for general cross-cutting.

The 2 bottom saws are both filed rip and are used for larger tenons and other ripping operations. Again, bottom left is Disston. Bottom right is a new hand-made saw that I got off of E-bay. I don't have any info on the maker as the seller didn't know who made it or where. It cuts really nice and has the ability for a deep cut, but is very heavy.

In general, I will reach for any of these depending on my mood at the time. I find the handles on the L-N's and old Disstons very comfortable, and properly sharpened they all perform about the same.

Tom

[James Mittlefehldt]

I have a large 14 or 16 inch tenon saw with a heavy rolled brass back, and I managed to figure out it was made between 1880 and 1900, as that was when the company named on it was active. When it is sharpened, (it needs some work just now,) it will cut wood so smooth you would think it had been cut by one of those Japenese saws, which I really like to. I currently use a Pax dovetail saw with rip set teeth.

Now for a bit of a gloat, I bought the saw in a box lot of saws for $2. at an auction sale, the same sale where I bought my Stanley no 98 for $15.

I also have a question I saw, a saw at an antique store on Sunday, and it had an unusual handle, as there were two holes rather than one, the upper one accepting one finger, and behind the upper hole was a slot for the thumb. WhenIheld it in my hand the ergonomic fit was fantastic and I could see where you would have a lot of control with it. Does anyone know what that saw was I think it was a rip saw though I am not sure now, it was $8 and the blade was straight.

[Mike Holbrook]

If you are interested in Japanese, you might also look at Silky. I love my Silky Dozuky dovetail. I have no idea hoe they compare to the Japanese saws Mark is using. I guess I will have to order one of those to try.

I knew Silky from pruning saws. I am a fruit tree nut too. Silky came out recently with a Woodboy series that is geared to woodworkers. They also have many other saws that may be used for wood working. The Woodboys blades are widest at the teeth and narrower towards the rear of the blade. I do not know if this is a unique design feature but I know they cut very well, with very small kerfs and large tpi numbers. I do know I have found it much easier to saw precise lines with these saws. I also like the very comfortable rubberized handles, the folding blades and the fact that blades can be changed rapidly at will.

http://www.silkystore.com/

[Roy Wall]

Tom Scott,

Thanks for the photos and descriptions. I think the LN Dovetail is in my near future...........

I need to learn to sharpen!! I could probably turn some old, bargain saws into awesome cutters!----and save myself $50-80 in the process (per saw)!!

[Mark Stutz]

James,
It sounds like you are describing a Disston D-8 rip saw. You can check the Disstonian Institute--they have lots of pictures and descriptions. I don't have the link handy now. Will find it later unless some one else posts it first.

Mark

[Robert Weber]

I also have a question I saw, a saw at an antique store on Sunday, and it had an unusual handle, as there were two holes rather than one, the upper one accepting one finger, and behind the upper hole was a slot for the thumb. WhenIheld it in my hand the ergonomic fit was fantastic and I could see where you would have a lot of control with it. Does anyone know what that saw was I think it was a rip saw though I am not sure now, it was $8 and the blade was straight.
That is an overhand rip saw. It is designed to be used two-handed. I believe it can be used in the normal position, or with the saw reversed (upside down), and held vertically. I know that there are rip saws with larger secondary handles for this, I don't know for sure if the thunbhole rips worked this way.

If the blade is in good condition (straight, no pitting) then $8 is a truly gloatable price. So, clamp your stock to the edge of your bench and rip away!

[James Mittlefehldt]

Rob I went to the Disstonia site and that is the saw in the store. When I held it in my hand the way it felt was great, very comfortable and I would think it would allow a great deal of control for sawing.

I will return and check it out as soon as I can get there, there was enough dust on it to indicate it had been there a while. Thanks for the information guys this is indeed a great site.

I actually made a sawyer's bench to do rip cuts according to a book called Old Ways Of Working Wood, which told me a lot about dimensioning and cutting wood that I never understood before. However when we moved my wife thought the bench made a good garden ornament and it is sitting in the snow outside right now.