Some new saws

[Isaac Smith]

These are three of my latest saws. This first one is the largest I have yet made - fourteen inches long with a 3 3/8" depth of cut. The handle is from one of the most beautiful pieces of wood I have had the fortune of working with. It is walnut crotch, and has some beautiful colors and patterns.

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This is the little brother of the one above. Ten inch dovetail saw with a walnut crotch handle. The handle is patterned after a 19th century Taylor Brothers saw.

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Finally, this is a new wood for me. Ten inch dovetail saw with a padauk handle. This was the first time working with paduak, but hopefully not the last. It was a pleasure to work, although the dust does tend to color everything it touches. Thanks to some friendly advice from Pedder, the screw arrangement on these dovetail saws is more to my liking than on my first attempt.

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Thanks again for looking.

[Jim Koepke]

Beautiful work.

Thanks for posting.

jtk

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Beautiful work, and really like the choice of woods.

I like working padauk, it's much more agreeable to edge tools than you'd expect. I still think the pieces I've worked smell like play-doh when sanded or scraped.

The lambs tongue detail looks incredibly well executed, and all the details are very crisply done. From the little bit of work I've done repairing saws, I know that kind of crispness can be tough to pull off; good work!

The crispness of the little v's at the top of the grip, where the two curves meet, jumped out at me at first, and I have to wonder, is there a name for that little detail?

[Adam Petersen]

Wow. They are like jewelry. Absolutely beautiful.

[george wilson]

Those are truly nice saws. Very carefully and accurately sculpted. My only caution might be to be careful to not get the lamb's tongue too slender and delicate. From the looks of the walnut crotch,where it necks down at the narrowest part above the handle,the grain there looks strong and properly oriented to avoid flexing. That should help keep the lamb's tongue from cracking. I'd go back and sand down the flat surface on the operator's right side of the walnut saw to make the same crispness where the flat meets the rounded surfaces the same,for that "calligraphiced" look you have on the other side. .Great work!!!!

The little "turn back" just past the back of each saw,is very artistically executed. the horns are just the right length. I like the open handled ones the best-They are brought to just exactly the correct amount of point.

The amount of finish and the level of gloss is just right. Some put on too much finish,and leave the pores shining forth too much.

A nice detail at the front end of the back. Who is Blackburn?

[Chris Griggs]

Those are very very VERY nice. I really like how you do your lambs tongues. It's no easy task to get them to come out that nice. Lovely, inspirational work. Thanks for sharing.

[Scott M Perry]

Yowza. Art.

[Isaac Smith]

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments and feedback.

Joshua, I was pleasantly surprised with how nicely the padauk worked. To me it has a bit of a spicy scent that is not altogether unpleasant. The only difficulty I had in working it was a bit of a tendency to develop scallops when sanding the end grain, due to differing hardnesses in the growth rings. It was also a little prone to chipping, but that was fairly easy to avoid once I was aware of it.

I don't know if there is an accepted term for those V's at the junction of the two curves, but I think that Phil Baker calls them nibs. That's as good a name as any, I guess.


George, This wood came from a small slab of wood, so I was able to orient the grain as I usually do (insofar as crotchwood has a grain).

Blackburn is an old family name. My last name is Smith, but when you deal with tools, people tend to think of metalworking when they see that name. So to avoid confusion, I went with a different name.

[Jason Coen]

AMAZING. I have appendages I would gladly exchange for the "little brother" saw. :eek:



I like working padauk, it's much more agreeable to edge tools than you'd expect. I still think the pieces I've worked smell like play-doh when sanded or scraped.

Yep, I had the same thought - made me think of kindergarten. The back chop of my Moxon vise is rift sawn padauk. The outline of the front chop is turning a nice honey-chocolate brown while the part under the front chop is still babboon butt red/orange.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Yeah, paduak changes color significantly as it ages, and the finish used can change things to - some film finishes keep it that bright color longer, some actually prematurely darken it, but you still get to keep more of the reds and less of the browns. The guitar in my avatar is actually a padauk top (with a slight sprayed on "burst" finish) - the epoxy grainfill turned it that darker red.

The weird thing is how some padauk develops this sort of white dusty surface if you leave the unfinished wood exposed long enough. No idea what that is!

[Patrick McCarthy]

Isaac, very nice indeed! Thank you for posting.

[Peter Pedisich]

What a treat to look at such nice work, thanks for sharing... especially the great photos.

[Mike Allen1010]

Isaac,

Fantastic job with your saws! I love everything -- the proportions, the wood you selected for the tote and especially the execution of the details -- incredibly well done!

You are very talented and I'm sure it will give you a good feeling every time you use one of your saws, knowing that you build a fantastically functional tool that will be treasured by woodworkers for generations.

Thanks a lot for sharing I look forward to seeing more of your posts.

BTW - I also like the way you've stamped your name into the brass saw back -- can you tell me where I could get one of those stamps?

Thanks, Mike

[Shawn Pixley]

Beautiful work!

[Isaac Smith]

Isaac,

BTW - I also like the way you've stamped your name into the brass saw back -- can you tell me where I could get one of those stamps?

Thanks, Mike

Mike, I bought the stamp from http://www.infinitystamps.com/. I think the cost was about $200 fro mine. They were great to work with, and the quality of the stamp is excellent. No affiliation, but I would highly recommend them.