I have a strong preference to remove the small area of saw plate that extends beyond the back of the spine mortise. If left as is , it can lead to a deflection along the saw plate. The thinner the saw plate gauge, the greater the potential.
Shaping of the handle has now been completed. Further coats of garnet shellac will fill any remaining open grain, and darken the timber to more of a chocolate brown.
It also represents the ideal time to focus on the next stage of shaping the brass back, followed by filing the saw teeth.
The non traditional approach to profiling each side of the spine mortise should look fine after additional coats of shellac have been applied.
We too in the UK are experiencing an unusually warm period, with expectations for it to remain so until after Christmas. The warmest Winter in 70 years I believe. A great excuse for Westminster to hike taxes to address global warming...............yeah right!
I have finished applying the last coat of garnet shellac to the handle. The handle will be put aside for 5 days to allow the shellac to further harden and tighten up before final buffing. I have made a start on shaping the brass back.
To bond the brass back to the top edge of the saw plate I am using a medium strength Thread Lock. A thin bead of TL is applied to each side of the brass back slot, and the excess wiped off with a clean rag. The process is then repeated to insure a full depth of slot has been filled with TL. Allowing 5 min. for the TL to harden up, the saw plate assembly is then wiped down clean with a clean rag and Mineral Turpentine. Do not use denatured alcohol). Job done.
Next to do is file the saw teeth.
Note: The shaping; setting; and final sharpening of the saw teeth will not be covered in detail.
With family staying for the xmas-new year period its been difficult getting some time in the workshop to finish off this backsaw. All that's remaining is to file and set the teeth 10 tpi / 10 degree rake angle.
In an effort to move away from a reliance on disposable paper templates to notch the tpi spacing I spent an hour filing this reusable solid template at 10 tpi. Down the track I will do the same for 12 & 14 tpi settings. 10;12; & 14 are the more frequently used tpi I use with my backsaws builds.