Big Ripsaw and Crosscut saw project

[Tony Z]

Come on Dom! Quit the *****-footing around and get this project done! Some of us live vicariously through other's projects and it is not fair to keep us waiting!

(Nice job by the way)

[Bibliophile 13]

So does this mean you're going to start offering full-sized handsaw kits? Because, I mean, I think you've got a little bit of market potential here with those few of us who are (a) cheapskates and (b) control freaks, and so tend to buy kits instead of ready-made new tools.

Just sayin'.

[Blacky's Boy]

Bibliophile 13 said:

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So does this mean you're going to start offering full-sized handsaw kits?

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You mean brass hardware, sawplate and unfinished handle?







'Cause that's a distinct possibility

[Blacky's Boy]

Some more shaping was accomplished last night. Yeah,....I'm slow. But it's also too cold to stay out in the shop for too long. Even with a propane heater on full blast.

First off, working with Rosewood is AWESOME! This stuff is beautiful. It takes a detail well and when it's scraped/sanded the color and figure are amazing. I need to get more.

In an effort to get as smooth a surface as possible I've been experimenting with going right to my scrapers after using a rasp.

While sanding works, I found that I was spending a long time trying to eliminate the tiny "scratches" left by a rasp. Last night I tried going right from the rasp to a freshly sharpened medium thickness credit card scraper. I got some favorable results and was able to get the bulk of the scratches removed.



For the tight areas I used one of those small super flexible card scraper. Having a vise that could hold the saw handle in any position I wanted also helped. I was able to get 99% of the problem areas. The remaining 1% may take some thought and innovation.



My goal is to get the surface to the point where I can just touch it up with fine sandpaper or move right to finishing.

One other area that was giving me fits was where two curves intersect (see the photo below). The small area where they meet (like the bottom of vee) always seems to need a lot of attention and is time consuming to clean.

Anyway, after talking with a Isaac (thanks again Issac!) I think I've found one method to getting an ultra smooth surface in this problem area. It's to try and avoid needing to sand at all!

I use a very sharp chisel and carefully par the scratches away. This "technique" (not sure if I can even call it that) is akin to the same you would use in wood turning when you are forming small details like beads and coves on a spindle. You don't want to have to go back and sand them. There is a chance that they could loose their shape. So you initially use a sharp skew (and a careful hand) and aim for getting the smoothest surface from your tool.



(BTW, this photo above is before I cleaned them up)

So I'll continue to work on this until I've got it to a point where I'm satisfied. Then I'll start on the other handles.

[Joel Runyan]

Blacky's Boy said:

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You mean brass hardware, sawplate and unfinished handle?







'Cause that's a distinct possibility

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Yes please... even just hardware and sawplate, or unshaped handle with the boring and such done.

[Blacky's Boy]

Joel Runyan said:

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Yes please... even just hardware and sawplate, or unshaped handle with the boring and such done.

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That's exactly what I meant.

[captjack]

once again you impress me with your talent and skill Dom.

[MarvW]

Dom,

Quote:

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One other area that was giving me fits was where two curves intersect (see the photo below).

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For those areas, I use a flat person file. It creates a sharp corner and makes it smooth. Has to be a sharp file though and kept clean.

[Window Guy]

Looking real good Dom, I think you may have a market , especially with a handle that is slitted etc.

Steve

[KlausK.]

Hi Dom,

it was a good advise from Isaac. Those "reversed edges" will clean up pretty well this way. To be honest, I don't know another suitable way that will clean up these areas by keeping a good definition.

One annotation while clamping a handle into the vise. I had the bad experience that an Ebony handle broke while I clamped it into the vise with the cheeks. The little width of the blade slot was enough for the brittle wood to crack. After that exprience, I'm used to fill the blade slot with a scrap of inserted sheet metal before clamping the handle blank.

Klaus