Handsaw handle replacement

[Mike Wenzloff]

Hey everyone,
Ever feel your late-model Disston #4 handle sucks?

Mine is terrible after a couple minutes of use. So a bit of wood and some time changes things.

I drew out the shape of a saw I do like the feel of, a Fulton backsaw, onto a wood blank. From there, cut the shape the handle with a BS and cut the hand hole with a coping saw.

When you layout for the holes, lay the blade on the blank oriented properly, mark the holes and drill them using an 1/8" bit. Then drill from the largest to smallest diameters. Meaning, use an auger or forstner for the heads, then the appropriate size bit for the through holes for the bolts and nuts on their respective sides of the handle.

Some more marking and drilling for the back's mortise, a bit of paring out the mortise and a whole lot of rasping gets you the result below--or better!

http://wenzloffandsons.com/saws/temp/dc_0001a.jpg

Take care, Mike

[Philip Duffy]

Very nice looking and ? comfortable? Phil

[Mike Wenzloff]

Yeppers, it's comfy--kind of the point in changing it.

The old one was just hard on the hands, a little slick from the varnish and plain ugly. Best that can be said of the old one is it held the blade.

Take care, Mike

[James Ogle]

Man that is a nice handle. I need to do something similar to replace a broken handle on a #4 that I picked up a couple of weeks ago.

[Mike Wenzloff]

Hi James,

If you have a saw with a nicer handle, just trace it onto a 1" thick 8" x 8" square and have at it.

The link below is of a D-8 handle I did, which other than cutting the slot--something I do not recommend on a closed-top--is done with hand tools. I used the old handle as the basis for a pattern by ripping it in half and tracing the outline, something which would work even with the D-4 handle. Once on paper, you can soften the curves, widen the hand-hold or any other changes you wish to make.

Make sure to use a piece of bastard sawn to quartersawn wood for the blank. Flat sawn typically is less strong and the horns can be susceptable to breakage.

Take care, Mike
http://wenzloffandsons.com/temp/saws/D-8/index.html

[James Ogle]

I have the handle that came on the #4 and was going to use it for a pattern. It is a really nice pre-1917 saw with an unique blade shape and a very comfortable largish handle. The back of the handle is just broke and missing from the mortise down to the second saw nut. I just need to acquire a coping saw and some rasps and I will be all into making the new handle. I love the excuse that I have to buy a new tool to fix an old tool. ;)

[David Stonner]

Mike,

Very cool little photo story on making the handle. I notice you use a table saw to cut the blade slot on the big saw, but how did you go about cutting the slot on the small back saw? I have been wanting to make several handles for a collection of saws, and I cannot figure out how to cut such a narrow, and deep kerf for the blade. Also, what kind of circular blade did you use for the panel saw kerf?

Thanks,

Dave



Hi James,

If you have a saw with a nicer handle, just trace it onto a 1" thick 8" x 8" square and have at it.

The link below is of a D-8 handle I did, which other than cutting the slot--something I do not recommend on a closed-top--is done with hand tools. I used the old handle as the basis for a pattern by ripping it in half and tracing the outline, something which would work even with the D-4 handle. Once on paper, you can soften the curves, widen the hand-hold or any other changes you wish to make.

Make sure to use a piece of bastard sawn to quartersawn wood for the blank. Flat sawn typically is less strong and the horns can be susceptable to breakage.

Take care, Mike
http://wenzloffandsons.com/temp/saws/D-8/index.html

[Mike Wenzloff]

Hi David,

For a through cut, it's a situation where one needs a saw of the same or smaller gauge of steel and one just gauges the line and cuts to it. Easier said than done. Practice on scrap first. But in reality, it is not any different than cutting a deep tenon by hand.

I have saws which go down to .018" that I have eliminated most all the set to in order to cut the kerfs. We use steel that ranges fom .018" to .035" and basically have a saw set up to cut the kerfs for each size.

When I did this for "just because" instead of now, which is every day, I removed the set from a second saw of the same thickness, filed it rip, and cut the kerf with it.

Currently for production purposes, we cut a score line 1/2" deep using a vertical mill with a 3" jeweler's slotting blade of the appropriate thickness and use that kerf as a guide the handsaw for completing the cut into the handle. But I have done many, many saws completely by hand using a cutting gauge to establish a deep score for helping to guide the saw.

It's a tried and true method.

For the D-8 handle, it is called a closed-top because the kerf in the handle receiving the saw blade does not extend through the top. In the following picture, one can see the main arc is laid out based upon the old blade, which is 7" in diameter:
http://wenzloffandsons.com/temp/saws/D-8/slides/d-8_0013.html

The saw blade I used was a specially gound blade. It is such a deep plunge, I cannot recommend anyone doing it. The back portion of the blade of a D-8 is between .035" and .040", though I have seen some that are .045". Pretty thin to be trusting at 3500 rpm. The saw I cut them on I have installed a speed control, much like a router speed control. There is only one of a dozen pictures for that step on the D-8 in that album. I pulled the rest as the process is not recommended.

There are alternative methods for a closed-top saw. One is to resaw a thick blank, layout and cut in the shape on both halves using a similar method I used, but with a thicker blade only cutting part of its width into each blank half. Then aligning those halves and gluing the blank back together.

Another is to reshape the blade to allow a straight cut in the handle and still have the steel abut the back of the kerf, which is also straight as laid out fom the reshaped blade.

Take care, Mike

[David Stonner]

Mike,

Thanks. I figured there may be some slot milling tool you used. You hit the nail on the head for me. I think I may try your trick of taking out the set in another saw of the same thickness and hand ripping the kerf. Thanks very much for the quick reply.

Dave

ps--I have a few pieces of thicker walnut that I was considering using. Do you think there would be any problems with walnut saw and plane handles? Thanks.



Hi David,

For a through cut, it's a situation where one needs a saw of the same or smaller gauge of steel and one just gauges the line and cuts to it. Easier said than done. Practice on scrap first. But in reality, it is not any different than cutting a deep tenon by hand.

I have saws which go down to .018" that I have eliminated most all the set to in order to cut the kerfs. We use steel that ranges fom .018" to .035" and basically have a saw set up to cut the kerfs for each size.

When I did this for "just because" instead of now, which is every day, I removed the set from a second saw of the same thickness, filed it rip, and cut the kerf with it.

Currently for production purposes, we cut a score line 1/2" deep using a vertical mill with a 3" jeweler's slotting blade of the appropriate thickness and use that kerf as a guide the handsaw for completing the cut into the handle. But I have done many, many saws completely by hand using a cutting gauge to establish a deep score for helping to guide the saw.

It's a tried and true method.

For the D-8 handle, it is called a closed-top because the kerf in the handle receiving the saw blade does not extend through the top. In the following picture, one can see the main arc is laid out based upon the old blade, which is 7" in diameter:
http://wenzloffandsons.com/temp/saws/D-8/slides/d-8_0013.html

The saw blade I used was a specially gound blade. It is such a deep plunge, I cannot recommend anyone doing it. The back portion of the blade of a D-8 is between .035" and .040", though I have seen some that are .045". Pretty thin to be trusting at 3500 rpm. The saw I cut them on I have installed a speed control, much like a router speed control. There is only one of a dozen pictures for that step on the D-8 in that album. I pulled the rest as the process is not recommended.

There are alternative methods for a closed-top saw. One is to resaw a thick blank, layout and cut in the shape on both halves using a similar method I used, but with a thicker blade only cutting part of its width into each blank half. Then aligning those halves and gluing the blank back together.

Another is to reshape the blade to allow a straight cut in the handle and still have the steel abut the back of the kerf, which is also straight as laid out fom the reshaped blade.

Take care, Mike

[Mike Wenzloff]

Walnut is a great saw handle wood. Imbuia, which is a SA Walnut substitute, is great for handles too. I would assume it is fine for plane handles as well.

Imbuia is most similar to Italian Walnut. Once South America was discovered, it has been shipped to Europe for use in even the restoration of pieces made in centuries past. Below is a pick of Imbuia we have been using:

http://wenzloffandsons.com/saws/woods/imbuia_0001.jpg

And while darker, some Oregon Black Walnut:

http://wenzloffandsons.com/saws/woods/fig_walnut_0002.jpg

Take care, Mike

[John Scull]

Great saws, fine handles. I have a bunch that need the same care as the ones show in this strand.
John