Backsaws rehab project

[Dave Anderson NH]

Short of doing serious research on the wood and its origin just assume it is cocobolo. I agree with everyone about respiratory protection. I'd also wear long sleeves since I've had dust get on my foreams while turning it and cause an irritation. I have seen cocobolo in the orange mixed with reddish brown, the color of your piece, and lots of other variations. The tree grows in a wide variety of climates and soils all the way from Mexico to central South American and can come in a wide variety of colors often including purples and deep reds along with the browns and oranges. I've also had it run from brittle and prone to tear out to stuff that handles nicely with a plane. YMMV

[Andrew Gibson]

Definitely some very nice wood. I would say that it could easily be some very fancy cocobolo. The grain looks right to me. The color is mild for sure for fresh resawn cocobolo that I have come across.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

the resawn blank certainly didn't look like Cocobolo, which I have only seen in pictures. I flattened it out last night and surprisingly it planed quiet nicely, certainly nothing like purple heart or other fibrous tropicals. I could certainly feel the high oily nature of the wood though, very different from anything local I have worked with before. Now if only I can figure out how to draw a pattern on this thing.

I've got a well sharpened white colored pencil for marking on dark woods. Works well on rosewood. I usually keep a piece of sandpaper or a knife nearby to keep the point sharp, though. I also have a "half pencil" of the same white, for some marking jobs. (although right now, it's rounded a bit so I could trace a handle a bit better)

[Zahid Naqvi]

I was able to cut the handles this weekend, no shaping in the plans until I get the slot for the saw plates and the spine in place. So while I wait for my Japanese files to arrive from LV, I figured I'd clean up the two handles in this set which are still usable. I was watching Frank Kalus' DVD lst night about finishing and noticed he only used Tung oil on an antique dresser he was using as an example, he used about 6 coats and allowed each coat to cure for 24 hours before applying the next one. So is that acceptable for a saw handle, such as 3-4 coats of TO followed by a few coats of shellac, or is Shellac redundant if TO is used.

[Zahid Naqvi]

The Japanese files arrived last night. They certainly have an aggressive cut, but wow the wood is remarkably smooth for a tool that cuts so fast. I think this will need a little getting used to, I can already see how by modifying the downward pressure one can control the "bite". On the down side I did not read the description on the LV quiet attentively, they clearly state "they are available in double-sided flat and single-sided half-round patterns" I figured if I buy a half round I will also get a flat side, like you do on a half round rasp. These are in fact u shaped see pictures below, slightly out of focus but you will get the point. As you can see the inner/back side is smooth.

japanese mill tooth file 001.jpg japanese mill tooth file 002.jpg japanese mill tooth file 003.jpg

Also sharpened saw #3 from the original list. The handle on this saw was in pretty good shape and after sanding and applying BLO on saw #2 I noticed it didn't look much different visually from what it was before cleanup, so I left this one alone. I filed it in a rip configuration, with a 4 degree fleam angle. Took a bit of time since the saw had a slight curve down the length (middle teeth were lower than the ends). By the time I was done jointing, the teeth at the toe end were almost gone, even then I was not able to eliminate all the curve, but I think functionally it will have no impact. I did a little test. Before sharpening 15 strokes could make a 1/2" deep cut after sharpening the same number of strokes resulted in a 2" deep cut. Tracks pretty straight, but the cut surface is not very smooth, I can still feel ridges. I am going to try and reduce the set as well. Now on to shaping the handles for the others.

[Zahid Naqvi]

was able to get some free time this weekend and made some progress. Finished shaping of one handle and have cut the outline and slots on the second one. In the picture below the wood has a light coat of mineral spirits applied to show the finished look. After some deliberation I am sticking with the tried and tested witches brew. Some quarters think shellac does not provide enough protection, while lacquer is something I prefer not to apply straight (old timer got to have some oil type penetrating substance). Made a little boo boo while cutting the slot for the back the slot turned out not to be very straight. So had to re-do the thing and insert a small shim to hide the off center cut, which is still visible on close inspection. But I'm a user not a displayer so as long as the grip is comfortable and lines up correctly all cosmetic enhancements are a bonus.

Also got to play with the curved tooth mill files. From someone who has previously used commodity (non cabinet makers) rasps as well as microplanes these things are the cats meow. Klaus/Peder recommended them in an earlier post so I got a couple from LV and one from eBay. Probably the best investment in rasps I ever made.

Since I decided to use open handles on the saw that originally came with closed grip the bolt holes did not align quiet right. I could only get one (the lower one) to stay within the handle. I had to drill the second one. What an exercise. I only have a HF drill and no specific bits for working in metal. The location of the hole required dirlling through the brass back, which wasn't that much of a problem. But the saw plate was a different story. The HF drill only goes so slow so I had to spend considerable time slowly drilling through the plate. It took some time but it got done. I had to drill the hole in 4 progressive holes of increasing dia. The final cleanup was done by a dremmel to remove any burrs or unevenness in the saw plate that got hidden under the brass back.

All in all a good learning experience. The second handle is going to come out much better. Although the first one, ergonomically speaking, is also perfectly functional. FYI the pattern is from the Gramercy open grip handle.

saw handles 005.jpg

[Zahid Naqvi]

just about done. The lone three corner file has gotten dull and the new ones ordered from TFWW are not here yet, so I finished up the handles. Probably not the most esthetically pleasing, but I was more inclined toward functionality rather than cosmetics as they are for personal use (well that's my excuse and I am sticking to it until I come up with a better one). The complete saw is the Spear and Jackson from the original list, as you saw its original handle was a closed grip one with three screws. The open handle only requires two, hence the visible "hang hole". The finish is shellac followed by Deft clear wood finish (Lacquer). I gave it a good rub down with pumice (via a leather patch loaded with the pumice powder). The resulting finish is more to my liking than the straight lacquer.
IMAG0024.jpg

the second saw handle is finished but waiting on files to arrive before it goes on to it's intended recipient, the footprint from the original list.
IMAG0026.jpg

The handles on the two Diston saws were in decent shape so they stayed, just got a good cleanup and a new coat of finish.

[David Keller NC]

Very nice work, Zahid, especially for a first attempt. You're to be commended for jumping in the deep end of the pool - most of us wouldn't think of choosing such a hard, unforgiving wood to hand-shape into our first tote.

BTW - if you ordered your shellac from TFWW and mixed it up from flakes with good quality 100% denatured alcohol, the laquer coat is unnecessary, and potentially troublesome when it comes time to re-finish (as it always will - no finish is 100% durable, even conversion varnish). As an example, consider Konrad Sauer's infill planes - they are all finished with french polish (shellac). And planes generally get more get considerably more use in a cabinetmaker's shop than saws.

[Zahid Naqvi]

I actually was inclining towards shellac, but the one I had had been sitting in the can for a couple years so I wasn't sure how well it would hold up if I built up multiple coats, and I didn't have any in flakes. I just did a couple thin coats to get the lacquer to stick. TFWW was out of blonde de-waxed when I ordered, but I have a woodcraft in town so I figured one of these days I will get a coupon or something and will venture that way to get me a pound or so of flakes.
I don't know if I will do another handle in a wood like this, it just takes too much time to refine the curves into an ergonomic shape. It's not like I am selling any tools so I don't see the value in making hand tools visually appealing at the cost of time. I'd rather spend that time on something I can keep inside the house.