a preview of things to come. :)

[Ron Bontz]

My name is Form. I walk in the foot steps of Function because F.L.W. said I should. http://woodworkerszone.com/igits/images/smilies/mad.gif Shhh, don't tell. But when Function is not looking.... I dance in those foot steps. http://woodworkerszone.com/igits/images/smilies/icon_yes.gifhttp://woodworkerszone.com/igits/images/smilies/icon_yes.gif
http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x395/ronb19571/IMG_1281_zps5699a8e6.jpg
20" tooth line x 5" under spine x 0.032". 9ppi x 8*Rake x 3* fleam. As soon as I get it sharpened. http://woodworkerszone.com/igits/images/smilies/smile.gif
Opps.http://woodworkerszone.com/igits/images/smilies/yellowuhoh.gif he looked. So back to work. http://woodworkerszone.com/igits/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Randy Karst]

Ron,
Quite a show piece! FWIW; regarding your opening line, I think F. L. W. clarified his thinking in stating "Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union." Not one at the expense of the other. I like that you are pushing the boundaries of art and function-I want your saw over my fire place!!!

[Jim Koepke]

It is a pleasing looking saw.

I would be afraid to use it for fear of leaving a blemish.

jtk

[Ron Bontz]

"I want your saw over my fire place!!!" Blasphemy. They are made to cut. :) Besides, It may crawl down the wall and cut your mantle in half while you sleep. Out of shear boredom. :)

[Brian Holcombe]

Gorgeous work Ron!

[Jim Matthews]

What, no pinstripes?

[Frederick Skelly]

Wow! Thats a beautiful tool. After you sharpen it up and try it out, PLEASE drop us a post on how well she cuts. Man is that pretty.
Fred

[Ron Bontz]

What, no pinstripes?

No pinstripes. But I am going to put a bead around the edge of one.:p This one was supposed to have the bead. But the cart got in front of the horse.
Hopefully, the saw will cut as well as any other of my 20" saws. Here is an identical saw with straight back showing. Thanks for the compliments, guys.
283134

[Randy Karst]

Ron,

I didn't want to state the obvious but I think Jim K. sums up my thoughts, the saw is just so pretty!

[Don Orr]

Oh My!!! Tres elegante!

[Chuck Nickerson]

I loved my Bontz 20" backsaws until I saw this.

Beautiful work.

[Roger Rettenmeier]

Pretty saw,
I am also interested in the 9x8x3 filing and the wood you will use it in.

[Ron Bontz]

I just filed an identical saw the same. I tested it on a 4x4 yellow pine, end grain as in tenons. Ripped right through it. I put about 0.006 of set per side, as I knew I was going to be ripping the pine. It's meant to be aggressive for those big cuts. A 10ppi does well also.

[george wilson]

A very nice,accurately made handle,Ron. But,I am not aesthetically in favor of filing up the back like that.The saw is becoming a "kitchen sink" design,where everything possible is gussied up too much. Sorry,but if you want the truth.... I do not like at all where the back is filed down just where it enters he handle. The back needs to be lower at the handle,and stay straight. I hope you accept my critique properly. It is constructive.

The workmanship is great. I criticize the design.

[Frederick Skelly]

Hopefully, the saw will cut as well as any other of my 20" saws.
283134

Well, I stepped in one there, didnt I? Didnt realize who I was talking to - thought you were a hobbyist, not a pro.
Sorry.

[John Vernier]

Hmmm, here I thought the Nib controversy was well and truly dead, and you go and do this...

[Jim Matthews]

My only worry about making flashy saws is that people will hesitate using them.

Ron's saws cut straight, and fast.
Two things I like, in a saw.

[Pat Barry]

Ron,
Quite a show piece! FWIW; regarding your opening line, I think F. L. W. clarified his thinking in stating "Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union." Not one at the expense of the other. I like that you are pushing the boundaries of art and function-I want your saw over my fire place!!!
Who is F.L.W.?

Ron - Obviously very very nice work! Its a real show piece. What are the plans for this saw?

[Ron Bontz]

Well, I stepped in one there, didnt I? Didnt realize who I was talking to - thought you were a hobbyist, not a pro.
Sorry.

I am not so sure about the pro vs hobbyist thing. I sell saws to buy more parts and tooling, to make more saws to sell, to buy more parts........

Collectors will always be collectors and users will always be users. All functional tools become users sooner or later. It is, just an option for something different. Best wishes.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Who is F.L.W.?

Ron - Obviously very very nice work! Its a real show piece. What are the plans for this saw?

F.L.W., aka: Frank Lloyd Wright. I'm sure Ron's saws will last longer than FLW's completed structures. While Wright was a genius of design (and showmanship....), the integrity of his buildings were not as solid as his aesthetic.
All bashing aside, he was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century, having emerged from the confluence of the Arts & Crafts and Beaux Arts movements. He cut his teeth at Louis Sullivan's firm, and clearly chose his own path.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Wow! :eek: You are the master. I absolutely appreciate the thought and design that goes into your saws.

[Ron Bontz]

Hi George. No offense taken at all. A critique from a master craftsman such as yourself is always taken well. It's simply an option. Folded backs do not offer such options as readily as slotted. I do have a "classic" series of saws with the squared off toe and straight backs. Haven't had a chance to make a full set of them. :( Too many irons in the fire.
Hey Maurice,
There is still a F.L.W. house standing in Edwardsville, IL. There is also a Buckminster Fuller dome in the area as well as a house down from me built on the same geodesic design. Some day I am going to ask if I can look inside to see how they worked around all the constraints.

[Andy Cree]

Great... Now I see those incredible saws on two different forums... How in the WORLD can I resist buying one now. Man, the MRs. is going to kill me.... That saw IS STUNNING!

Andy

[george wilson]

Strange ideas about Frank L. Wright. Actually,he saw a building fall down when he was young,killing a bunch of people, and vowed that his buildings would never do so. He overbuilt his buildings with that in mind.

He did have his foibles. He was not very tall,and designed his rooms to fit him,rather that people taller than he was,in some instances. He purposely designed the Guggenheim Museum to make it difficult to observe the paintings there.(This was the opinion of an eminent sculptor who I was fortunate to receive training from).(He and some other major artists felt that the building would over power the are inside.)

But,I cannot see his structures as weak. Nor can I see any of my creations outlasting his buildings,unless they are put into collections and never used up.

[Mel Fulks]

I think the main reason Wright is admired by modern architects is he always built what HE wanted and didn't let the guy paying for it stand in his way. Falling in the Water was built weak,the contractor building it knew it had serious flaws and told the client. Wright's response was anger. His houses have often not found buyers who wanted to LIVE in them so some organization would buy them to preserve his genius.

[george wilson]

He did have his foibles all right.

[David Weaver]

A couple of his buildings are local to here (falling water and kentuck knob). Some of the spaces that you have to move through or stand under in kentuck knob are pretty obnoxious, or in his terms "people scale" or something similar to that.

The guide at kentuck knob told us that he'd have flowers sent to a client, and then subsequently send them a bill for the flowers. The houses are made heavily, and they look like they have the chance to become great ruins. Parts of them would become dilapidated if someone had to actually live in them and justify maintaining them, but the core structures of the buildings would stand for centuries.

For as small as kentuck knob is, the amount of stone work and site work that would have been done was ridiculous. Seriously lacking in practicality from a cost to build vs. sq. footage. I came away from both places thinking they were interesting, but there's nothing about either of them that was relatable to the average person. There were a lot of aspects to them that were downright uncomfortable. Many of the buildings here in the city that were made (and not many are left) in the 1800s and early 1900s for much less in $'s, and much more in size are a lot more interesting and relatable. This area has had a habit of razing entire neighborhoods and removing mansions, and high class houses as a matter of practice long before urban renewal did it everywhere, though. There's not a lot left.

[Harold Burrell]

A very nice,accurately made handle,Ron. But,I am not aesthetically in favor of filing up the back like that.The saw is becoming a "kitchen sink" design,where everything possible is gussied up too much. Sorry,but if you want the truth.... I do not like at all where the back is filed down just where it enters he handle. The back needs to be lower at the handle,and stay straight. I hope you accept my critique properly. It is constructive.

The workmanship is great. I criticize the design.


Hi George. No offense taken at all. A critique from a master craftsman such as yourself is always taken well. It's simply an option. Folded backs do not offer such options as readily as slotted. I do have a "classic" series of saws with the squared off toe and straight backs. Haven't had a chance to make a full set of them. :( Too many irons in the fire.


Wow...this forum never ceases to amaze me.

First of all, I want to say what a BEAUTIFUL saw this is. Great job, Ron! The talent that I find here at the Creek amazes me.

Secondly...the discussions here simply boggle my mind. Most of the time, when I read posts like the above, I feel like I did when I was a kid...listening to adults talk about "technical work stuff" in the living room...while I sat there just nodding my head (not having a CLUE what they were talking about)...and hoping beyond hope that they wouldn't ask for my thoughts. :eek: However, it made me feel like a big boy just being in the same room.

Thirdly...as always...I appreciate the tone of this forum. Always respectful and friendly. What a great community...