New saw handle.

[Nigel Burden]

I bought this old Spear and Jackson saw at Bridport market for £2. As you can see it needed the blade sorting out, and whilst at it I decided to give it a new handle, partly because it was too large for my hands, and partly because I wanted to.

And the handle.

Firstly I planed up a piece of Walnut and marked out the shape of the handle. Next I marked up the saw screw positions, drilled them out and then marked the positions for boring out the hand hole and various other curved areas. Then I marked up and cut out the slot for the blade. As the blade had a curved top to the heel and I only had hand saws I had to form the curve using the tip of the toe of my tenon saw and nibble the shape out, checking the fit.

I then bored out the marked curved areas.

Next I cut out the shape using a coping saw.

Then I used a rasp, sandpaper, and chisel to refine the shape.

You will notice that the lambs tongue has met with an accident and has been removed. The recess for the medallion was cut using a gouge and a chisel, hence not being completely even.

I then oiled the handle with BLO.

The next step was to sharpen and fit the blade.

This is now my go to rip saw. It has 10 tpi as opposed to my other rip saw which has 7 tpi. I find that it's more accurate and obviously doesn't rip the back of the cut.

Nigel

 

[Orraloon]

10tpi is very fine for a full size rip saw but that said it will also do a fair job at crosscutting too. My main rip is 4.5. I recently converted a 7tpi crosscut to rip as a finer cut option. Your's should also be useful for really big tenons where the tennon saw blade is not deep enough. More I think about it the handier it sounds.
Regards
John

 

[bobblezard]

That's a really nice new handle, bravo for bringing another old saw back from the brink

 

[Nigel Burden]

Thanks for the replies. When I get round to it I'll sort out some more photos of saw handles that I've made, including a dovetail saw that I made by cutting down an old1960s/70s S&J tenon saw and a small saw without a back made out of a blunt hard tip.

All of my saws with the exception of a cut down ( broken blade ) S&J crosscut, Marples tenon saw and a Tyjack tenon saw have new handles as most handles are too large for my hands.

10tpi is very fine for a full size rip saw but that said it will also do a fair job at crosscutting too. My main rip is 4.5. I recently converted a 7tpi crosscut to rip as a finer cut option. Your's should also be useful for really big tenons where the tennon saw blade is not deep enough. More I think about it the handier it sounds.
Regards
John

The saw was already filed rip cut when I bought it. I have never used anything as aggressive as 4.5. and I just find this saw more controllable than my 7tpi. May be I should persevere with the 7tpi.
The small saw that I made out of a blunt hard tip gets used for deeper work but, the blade is a bit too thick. It was basically an experiment to see if I could make a saw.

That's a really nice new handle, bravo for bringing another old saw back from the brink.

I actually enjoy restoring tools. The problem is, that I will start to accumulate too many tools, and I don't get around to selling them.

Nigel.

 

[MikeG.]

Yep, that's an unusual tooth arrangement......a rip with 10 TPI. It might be useful for thin panel work, maybe, but for proper ripping of inch boards, or thicker, then 4 to 7 TPI would be much more common.

 

[Nigel Burden]

The saw is good on thinner panels where the 7tpi rips the back of the cut to pieces. As expected, the saw is slower on thicker wood, but I just find it more controllable. The 7tpi has a tendency to wander a little, especially if you rush the cut. I have checked the set and everything seems ok and the teeth seem even. Perhaps it's just that I have a particular liking for this saw.

Nigel.

 

[Orraloon]

Nigel,
A saw that you like using is as good as it gets. The previous owner would have had a reason to make it a rip. Likely needed a clean cut. Most of the time however ripping is just stock prep and big teeth cut faster.
Your 7tpi sounds like too much set so next time it's sharpened leave out the setting and see how it goes. You can add some later if its binding.
Regards
John

 

[Nigel Burden]

Nigel,
A saw that you like using is as good as it gets. The previous owner would have had a reason to make it a rip. Likely needed a clean cut. Most of the time however ripping is just stock prep and big teeth cut faster.
Your 7tpi sounds like too much set so next time it's sharpened leave out the setting and see how it goes. You can add some later if its binding.
Regards
John

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

Nigel.