Building first handsaw; question about tote wood grain orientation

[David Kuzdrall]

I will be making my first backsaw soon, a 12" open handle dovetail saw and am currently in the wood selection process.

I understand how to orient the tote pattern on the blank but my question is more of a lumber sawing question. How critical is it to select quartersawn lumber for an open tote? All of my finer saws and planes seem to have quarter or rift sawn lumber used for the handle but then there is my lie nielson scrub plane with a flat sawn tote...

a dovetail saw tote will be very small and seasonal movement small as well but I don't know if there will be any real difference over the years between a tote made from flat sawn vs quarter lumber.

thoughts?

[David Weaver]

If a flat sawn tote would twist, the cheeks would twist the plate. It twists the plate just like tinwork a foot from your hand would move if you press in on ducting.

It also looks bad.

However, a dovetail saw usually has small cheeks and the effect wouldn't be too much but the cosmetics would be pretty nasty. At the very least, I'd use 4/4 quartersawn beech, which you can get on ebay. You can get enough to screw up a few saw handles, and beech has the desirable quality in working saw handles that fruitwoods generally do, and that is if you rasp or chisel against the grain either intentionally or unintentionally, a long sliver won't break off like it might do with some rosewoods, maple, etc.

And quartersawn beech looks right on a saw for sure, it's been used on millions of them.

[David Kuzdrall]

I got lucky and found this lurking being a pile of lumber I had forgotten about...quartersawn walnut should be perfect.

[Chris Griggs]

That will make a lovely very stable handle. FWIW I made a dovetail saw handle out of flat sawn walnut last fall and have had no issues with movement,so QS is sure to be solid.

[Mike Allen1010]

That will make a lovely very stable handle. FWIW I made a dovetail saw handle out of flat sawn walnut last fall and have had no issues with movement,so QS is sure to be solid.

+1 on Chris' comments.

David, remember to orient the long grain so that it aligns with the narrowest part of the tote. Please don't ask me why I'm making this friendly reminder.

Good luck David, personally I think using backsaws you've built yourself is one of the most satisfying parts of hand tool woodworking. Good luck with the build -- I look forward to seeing some pictures!

All the best, Mike

[David Kuzdrall]

+1 on Chris' comments.

David, remember to orient the long grain so that it aligns with the narrowest part of the tote. Please don't ask me why I'm making this friendly reminder.

Good luck David, personally I think using backsaws you've built yourself is one of the most satisfying parts of hand tool woodworking. Good luck with the build -- I look forward to seeing some pictures!

All the best, Mike

Thanks for the tips; I am excited to get started.