A couple of new backsaws

[Isaac Smith]

These are a couple of saws I finished up a couple of days ago. The first is a 10" dovetail saw with a 2" depth of cut. The handle is apple, and is extra large. The blade is 0.015" thick spring steel.

244016 244017



The second is a 12" carcase saw with a 3" depth of cut. The handle is quartersawn walnut. The blade on this one is 0.025" thick spring steel. Oh, it's also left-handed.

244018 244019


Any questions, comments or critiques are welcome.

[Gary Herrmann]

Very well done. That apple handle is beautiful, and I just happen to have extra large hands...

[Brian Kent]

They look beautiful. Congratulations on a job well done. You have a feature that I see often. There is a nice clean edge between the rounded parts of the handle and the flat parts. The alternative is a curve that is blended into the flat. Is that strictly a style choice or is there some kind of difference in feel that helps maintain a consistent grip?

[Isaac Smith]

There is a nice clean edge between the rounded parts of the handle and the flat parts. The alternative is a curve that is blended into the flat. Is that strictly a style choice or is there some kind of difference in feel that helps maintain a consistent grip?

For me it is an aesthetic choice. I like the contrast or shadow lines that the transition provides. While you can feel a very slight difference in the hand, it is not enough to persuade me that it matters for comfort or performance.

[Brian Kent]

Thanks Isaac. That is beautiful work on the lambs tongue too. I assume they work too?

[Cody Cantrell]

Isaac those look fantastic. Were fid the materials come from? I have been wanting to make a sash saw but making the back
seems to be an issue.
Cody

[Chris Griggs]

Those look great Issac. I too like the very crisp shaping. That lambs tongue on the carcass saw is something else - its not easy to get them that deep and that delicate looking. Very very nice!

[george wilson]

VERY NICE work,Issac. You feel the same as I do,about leaving a clean line where the cross sectional curves meet the flat spots. Makes a nice "calligraphic" line,doesn't it? Extremely well sculpted handles. Careful timing of the screw slots. Is this the first work you've posted? I'd have carefully stained the white part of the apple handle,but in later years,it might have looked different,then. Excellent choice of handle models,too. Fantastically delicate lambs tongue ,ala Two Lawyers!!! I like the idea of decorating the end of the back,too.

I urge you to make your next dovetail .010" thick. They really saw a thin line,then. Did you make your own backs? Where are you located?

[Isaac Smith]

Thanks Isaac. That is beautiful work on the lambs tongue too. I assume they work too?
Yes, these are intended to be used.




Isaac those look fantastic. Were fid the materials come from? I have been wanting to make a sash saw but making the back
seems to be an issue.
Cody
The blade material is 1095 spring steel from Enco. I buy the brass from onlinemetals.com, and I have a machinist friend that slotted them and made the screws for me. I bought a South Bend lathe a month or two ago, so I will start making my own screws now. And as soon as I can make a milling attachment for it, I will start slitting my own spines.





VERY NICE work,Issac. You feel the same as I do,about leaving a clean line where the cross sectional curves meet the flat spots. Makes a nice "calligraphic" line,doesn't it? Extremely well sculpted handles. Careful timing of the screw slots. Is this the first work you've posted? I'd have carefully stained the white part of the apple handle,but in later years,it might have looked different,then. Excellent choice of handle models,too. Fantastically delicate lambs tongue ,ala Two Lawyers!!! I like the idea of decorating the end of the back,too.

I urge you to make your next dovetail .010" thick. They really saw a thin line,then. Did you make your own backs? Where are you located?
Calligraphy is a good term for that. This is the first work I have posted here. The closed handle is patterned after an 1840's Disston handle that I modified to create a London pattern handle. The open handled dovetail is based on a mid to late 19th century Taylor Brothers dovetail saw.

0.010" plate in a saw this size would scare me. I'm a little bit of a botcher, and I could see myself kinking it in short order. I will probably make a smaller 8 or 9 inch dovetail saw with less depth in the future. That may be a candidate for a thinner plate.

I thought I had put my location in my profile when I signed up, but apparently I did not. I did add it this morning. I am about 25 miles east of Lancaster, PA.


Isaac

[george wilson]

Don't be afraid of .010" steel. With the skill you obviously have,you are not a butcher!! Just let the saw do the cutting and don't jam it and stall it out like on a well known TV program ,where you would see repeatedly saws being jammed in the wood,bonked down against the floor,etc.. Filming is a little tricky,I know,but we built a harpsichord and a violin on film with never a stalled out saw OR plane stopping in the middle of a cut. No retakes,either,unless there was a "hair in the gate" of the camera.

[Bill White]

I've gotta ask.....Left handed? I didn't know that saws were "handed".
Bill

[Mike Allen1010]

Issac, those are fantastic saws! I love both the design and your excellent execution -- very nicely done! I'm sure you will enjoy using those and the satisfaction that comes every time you are able to do nice work with tools you made yourself.

Thanks for posting the photos. I would love to see more of your work.

All the best,Mike

[Isaac Smith]

I've gotta ask.....Left handed? I didn't know that saws were "handed".
Bill
Not really, but if you're left handed you get tired of looking at the back side of the saw every time you pick it up.

Other than the nuts being on "backwards" and the stamp being on the back side of the spine, there is no difference between this and a right handed saw.

If it were a Regan style handle, or one with a thumbole, then saws are definitely handed.

[Chris Griggs]

Any questions, comments or critiques are welcome.

Even though these are some of the nicest saws I've seen and far far better than what I've made I do have one small critique that is based on personal taste (since you asked)

That lambs tongue soooooo well done, but personally, I think it would look even better if it were a little farther forward. By that I mean I like it to meet/connect the cheeks a little farther forward and I love it when the tip just meets the back of the plate and even overlaps into the plate a little.

Again, that's a really small detail that comes down to personal taste. I only mention it because I know that when I post my work I love it when people point out those tiny details. Regardless of whether I agree with or take the feedback it gives me things to think about for future build.

Again, beautiful saws - you've given a couple more great examples to aspire too. Please continue to post your work.

[Archie England]

congrats on two beautiful saws! Very nice!!