A saw for C&C.

[Ron Bontz]

Well as of late I have been making back saws and learning along the way. I wanted a larger one for, of course, larger things like 6x6s etc. Some day a Rubo will be mine. Any way I just finished one I can at least be half way satisfied with. My sharpening skills have been lacking. So thanks to a nice gentleman named Marv. out west who gave me some quick pointers I have my "Big Boy" saw. 18" x 5+" under spine x 0.032" plate. 11 ppi rip with 0.04 total kerf of cut. And it actually cuts fairly well. So C&C is welcome, so old grass hopper may yet learn more. :)

[Bob Warfield]

Ron, That is as nice a saw as I have seen. Good job!
Bob

[Mike Allen1010]

Ron, congratulations on building a beautiful saw and thanks for sharing the pictures!

I love the detailing on the brass spine and the shaping of the tote -- especially the lamb's tongue!

If you don't mind a couple question; what kind wood did you use for the tote?

How did you do the lines on the brass saw back?

You have to tell us more about the medallion with your initials -- awesome!

As you've are found, building backsaws is addictive and I look forward to seeing more photos of future saws.

All the best, Mike

[Robert G Brown]

Beautiful work. After admiring your saw for a while finally noticed it has my initials on it.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Delicious! wow

[Ryan Baker]

Very nice! And you even put my initials on it! I think you had better send it over to me right away. :)

[Ron Bontz]

Hey Ryan. I'll get right on that.:D I knew I should have put my middle initial in there.
There is actually an engraving in the spine as well but a couple of the pics would not upload for some reason.
I simply took the spine and medallion to an engraver and asked him to make them deep. Cost me a whole $10.00.
Mike; The lines in the spine were made using a slit saw and a make shift fence. The arbor was a cheap one from Grizzly that had a bit of run out. At 750 rpm it would make that scalloped look depending on feed rate. I have since decided I would put those in all my saws. A machinist milled the spines for me and did a beautiful job on them. They fit snug and required a little tapping to seat them. I added a couple of drops of thread locker for good measure. And yes they are a bit addicting. Next up is a deep cut Regan cross cut, I think. Thanks again. Any suggestions are welcome as always. Sorry Mike. I failed to mention the wood is supposed to be Bubinga. I have used Bubinga before but this wood finished out a lot darker with more red. It looked like Bubinga until the finish was applied. I thought it was the finish I tried but the finish I usually use did the same thing. So if anyone knows of a wood that looks like Bubinga let me know.

[Mike Allen1010]

Totally awesome Ron!

I can imagine the through dovetails tenons on your planned Roubo already trembling in their boots!

I also love the Regan totes, especially for larger backsaws --The thumb and forefinger grooves make the saw feels smaller in your hand than it really is. I can't wait to see more pictures, although you certainly already done more than your duty with pictures of this beauty!

All the best,Mike

[bob blakeborough]

Sweet saw!

[george wilson]

The saw looks very nice,but I don't know what C&C means. Constructive criticism????

[Ron Bontz]

Sorry George. Yes it basically means just that. critique/ critisism/ comments/ suggestions, etc. That jointer plane you made was gorgeous, BTW. I did increase the set a tad last night after about 6 or 7 deep cuts. The total set is now .005 per side. Cuts a little easier now with less heat build up. I can't say much about the guy using it. He needs more work.:D

[Curt Putnam]

In addition to learning fine woodworking the handtool way, I help run a photography critique group on Flickr and have had the question for years: What does C & C mean?

[Tony Shea]

Ron, I really like the saw. And I'm sure the wood used is Bubinga, have had some bubinga finish out that dark before. The details on the brass parts really make the saw stand out, aside from its sheer size of course. Really, the only critique I can think of is about the line details on the spine. I personally would like to see the lines coming to a stop just in front of where the handle meets the spine. Somewhere near where the chamfer on the brass stops. I mean that is the only thing I can pick up that I would change.

[Ryan Baker]

C & C = Comments and Critiques