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Thread: Saw Handle Grain Orientation

  1. #1
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    Saw Handle Grain Orientation

    I have been working on rehabbing some handsaws recently and a question that has been on my mind has resurfaced. Why are most, if not all. saw handles made from quarter sawn boards ? While it looks very nice, the short grain in some areas seems to be a potential weakness, especially with open-handled joinery saws. Why would one not want to use flat sawn boards for saw handles as the long grain running the whole length of the handle continuously would seem to be stronger ? Kind of like those cheesy plywood handles. The back saw I built in a class with Matt Cianci a few years ago has a birdseye Maple handle which is flat sawn and shows the eyes nicely. (I shaped the handle myself in the class-great fun!) Just a thought that has me curious.

    BTW-a bit of a gloat-I finally treated myself to a Gramercy saw vise and just had to throw in the 2 curved saw handle rasps. YAY! Should be here in a few days.
    Happy and Safe Turning, Don


    Woodturners make the world go ROUND!

  2. #2
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    The Gramercy saw kit instructions have this in the part about making a saw handle:

    Orient the wood so that the grain runs through the thinner parts of the handle. The handle template has a line indicating which direction the grain of the wood should be oriented. Grain orientation is important in order to give the handle the strength it needs.
    The part where the hand wraps around will likely only break if the saw falls to the floor or is thrown across the room. (If throwing tools crosses my mind, it is time to set things down and close up the shop for the day.)

    If the short grain was running vertical through the neck between the hand and the saw plate, it would likely snap in use.

    Older saws probably used quarter sawn not only for looks but it was probably more available many years ago. Now days in the big box stores there is wood labeled quarter sawn oak that isn't what the sign says. Talking to people who have home saw mills they often give me a strange look when asking about quarter sawn wood. One lumber yard has "vertical grain" fir at a premium price.

    So far my saw handles have been made from what was available in my scrap in the shop.

    My first saw handle was for an old saw plate > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?180712 < made from a piece of apple the good fortune brought my way when a neighbor's tree came down in a storm.

    My second handle was made from a piece of rosewood from a friend's estate > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?249983 > My second handle came out much better.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  3. #3
    Saw handles are well designed. The most vulnerable sections are the neck at the top of the handle and the horns. The grain is oriented so there is not short grain in these areas.

    Wood usually splits more easily along the radial (quarter sawn) surface than the tangential surface. So having the board quarter sawn means that if it splits through the handle it has to break along a tangential plane which is stronger.

  4. #4
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    But it's easier to glue back together if it breaks along the radial.

  5. #5
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    Plus 1 to what Warren said. Also, the bulk of the forward force on the saw tote should be at the top of the tote from the web of one's hand. Force at the bottom of the tote creates a moment about the top of the tote. ( leverage ) and can snap the tote much the same as when one applies force to the top of a plane tote instead of near the bottom. So how many plane totes have we seen broken at the bottom? If you oriented the grain as in a plain slice wood, it may be stronger to some extent, but if it should warp/ cup at all it would be more likely to affect the back and plate causing a bow in the plate. A question of expansion and contraction. I suspect some of this came from the days when less kiln dried wood was available. Or at least less stable. Our ancestors were smarter than we. I can only guess since I wasn't around 200 years or so ago. The lack of strength is one of the reasons I prefer the closed handle dovetail saws and the larger saws always being closed handles. It should be noted, of course, dove tail saws are finesse saws not to be forced.

  6. #6
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    Thank you all for the considered answers. It all makes more sense now.
    Happy and Safe Turning, Don


    Woodturners make the world go ROUND!

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