04-08-2013, 02:40 PM
I have a few saw plates that need handles, and I decided to get started on one on Friday. This is only the third saw handle that I’ve made, so I’m not exactly experienced at it. I do know that work holding is one of the most critical aspects, so this time I tried to plan the process so as to leave as much wood as possible on the handle blank until it absolutely had to come off. A little planning went a long way to making the process go more smoothly.
If any of you have different methods that you would like to share, then please feel free to chime in. If you think I did something dumb, or that my saw handle is ugly, you can tell me that as well. I have thick skin. Seriously, though, I'm posting this with the hope of fostering discussion and not because I want a pat on the back.
The saw in question started out life as a Disston No. 7 (1896-1917) 8 PPI crosscut that I found in my shop about a year after moving in. It was a well-loved saw and had been filed to a knife point. The handle was completely busted and only a few tattered remnants were left. I decided to turn it into a panel saw with rip filing. I started by cleaning up and straightening the plate, and I cut 4” off the end to get the toe to a reasonable width. I wanted to put a London Pattern handle on it. No good reason, I just like the way they look.
I started off with a rough billet of split beech. It has been drying for about 2 years. Maybe not dry enough for a plane, but plenty dry for a saw handle.
I sawed it to length, then hewed one side flat so I could process it safely on the bandsaw-
I took off a quartersawn slice about the thickness that I wanted-
And then planed it to thickness. I’m not sure what the thickness is, I just set my calipers to the thickness of my most comfortable saw handle and used that dimension as my target.
I couldn’t find any scaled London-pattern panel saw handles on the interwebs, so I just printed out one of Dominic’s patterns for a D7 panel saw and modified it to suit my needs.
For me, the trickiest part of making a saw handle has been getting the curves inside the handle to look and feel right, so that’s where I started. I bored the holes on a drill press, and cut out the rest with a coping saw. Leaving the extra length on either end for this part really helped with the work holding – I was able to clamp the blank any way I needed to into all the tricky angles. I used a variety of files and rasps, but one nice discovery was finding out that my chip-carving knife absolutely excelled at reaching some spots that no rasp could touch.
Once I was satisfied with the inside shape, I went ahead and bored all of the outside holes. You can see where I’ve changed a few details from the original pattern. I drew a straight line at the bottom of the handle to make it a London-pattern. I also changed the front of the handle where it meets the saw plate to have a less dramatic sweep.
Then I cut the rear shape of handle on the bandsaw. Once again, leaving the extra length at the front of the blank really helped me shape the back side. The front is a very quick and simple job compared to shaping the part where your hand actually grasps the saw, so I saved that for last.
And when I was satisfied with the shaping of the back of the handle, I cut the profile on the front.
Then it was time to cut the slot for the blade. When I was trying to determine how deep the cut should be, I realized that the heel of the saw plate would be at the wrong angle for this handle. So I scribed a more appropriate angle onto the plate and cut it off with a cheapo tile saw (a tile saw makes quick work of spring steel).
Then filed off the bur-
I marked out the cut with a marking gauge, and cut it with a tenon saw (The tenon saw in the picture is the recipient of my first attempt at handle-making, from about 3 years ago. I’m not happy with the result, but it’s not bad enough to replace…)
The saw plate fits just right.
And now it’s ready for saw nuts. I may round off the heel a bit, and I will probably take another inch off the toe (the toe still looks too narrow to me), and file in a nib. But those will have to wait until I’m finished with the handle.
If any of you have different methods that you would like to share, then please feel free to chime in. If you think I did something dumb, or that my saw handle is ugly, you can tell me that as well. I have thick skin. Seriously, though, I'm posting this with the hope of fostering discussion and not because I want a pat on the back.
The saw in question started out life as a Disston No. 7 (1896-1917) 8 PPI crosscut that I found in my shop about a year after moving in. It was a well-loved saw and had been filed to a knife point. The handle was completely busted and only a few tattered remnants were left. I decided to turn it into a panel saw with rip filing. I started by cleaning up and straightening the plate, and I cut 4” off the end to get the toe to a reasonable width. I wanted to put a London Pattern handle on it. No good reason, I just like the way they look.
I started off with a rough billet of split beech. It has been drying for about 2 years. Maybe not dry enough for a plane, but plenty dry for a saw handle.
I sawed it to length, then hewed one side flat so I could process it safely on the bandsaw-
I took off a quartersawn slice about the thickness that I wanted-
And then planed it to thickness. I’m not sure what the thickness is, I just set my calipers to the thickness of my most comfortable saw handle and used that dimension as my target.
I couldn’t find any scaled London-pattern panel saw handles on the interwebs, so I just printed out one of Dominic’s patterns for a D7 panel saw and modified it to suit my needs.
For me, the trickiest part of making a saw handle has been getting the curves inside the handle to look and feel right, so that’s where I started. I bored the holes on a drill press, and cut out the rest with a coping saw. Leaving the extra length on either end for this part really helped with the work holding – I was able to clamp the blank any way I needed to into all the tricky angles. I used a variety of files and rasps, but one nice discovery was finding out that my chip-carving knife absolutely excelled at reaching some spots that no rasp could touch.
Once I was satisfied with the inside shape, I went ahead and bored all of the outside holes. You can see where I’ve changed a few details from the original pattern. I drew a straight line at the bottom of the handle to make it a London-pattern. I also changed the front of the handle where it meets the saw plate to have a less dramatic sweep.
Then I cut the rear shape of handle on the bandsaw. Once again, leaving the extra length at the front of the blank really helped me shape the back side. The front is a very quick and simple job compared to shaping the part where your hand actually grasps the saw, so I saved that for last.
And when I was satisfied with the shaping of the back of the handle, I cut the profile on the front.
Then it was time to cut the slot for the blade. When I was trying to determine how deep the cut should be, I realized that the heel of the saw plate would be at the wrong angle for this handle. So I scribed a more appropriate angle onto the plate and cut it off with a cheapo tile saw (a tile saw makes quick work of spring steel).
Then filed off the bur-
I marked out the cut with a marking gauge, and cut it with a tenon saw (The tenon saw in the picture is the recipient of my first attempt at handle-making, from about 3 years ago. I’m not happy with the result, but it’s not bad enough to replace…)
The saw plate fits just right.
And now it’s ready for saw nuts. I may round off the heel a bit, and I will probably take another inch off the toe (the toe still looks too narrow to me), and file in a nib. But those will have to wait until I’m finished with the handle.
"If I had eight hours to cut down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my axe."
My Woodworking Blog: A Riving Home
My Woodworking Blog: A Riving Home
