sutton046

Sometimes, an old saw is just not worth salvaging. Sure, if good enough, the handle and bolts/nuts can be all be saved to use again when repairing or re-building another saw. There are times when it is the saw plate that will be utilized instead. Amongst my huge pile of old saws awaiting rebirth, there was a very tired post WWII  Disston panel saw which had a ruined handle. The saw plate had a bit of surface rust, but nothing too drastic. I had a need to make some more curved scrapers for spoon carving, so set about cutting up the saw. This was initially done with a guillotine. Saw meets guillotine ...  Dividers were used to draw curves on the ends of the pieces of saw plate, and the guillotine and  heavy tin snips were used to remove much of the waste. The rest was done with a bench grinder, to create the final shapes of the scrapers. The first few scrapers taking shape. Once the required shapes are made good with a bench grinder, the scrapers's edges need...

In line with my New Year's Resolution - for 2013 to be the year I become proficient in saw sharpening - I have been at it again. Filing and setting lots of saws, that is. Using a saw set takes some concentration! You've gotta be careful to set every second tooth. Putting set on the teeth means bending each alternate tooth outwards. When this is done from each side of the saw, each tooth points the opposite direction to it's neighbours. A Saw Set is a special tool like a form of pliers designed for applying set to the teeth, pictured above. Squeezing the handle pushes a pin which bends the tooth against an anvil. The angle of the bend is determined by the adjustable anvil. You dial in the tooth spacing (in Points Per Inch) on the anvil's dial and set every second tooth. You then turn the saw around and come down the other side to set the remaining alternate teeth. The reason for giving the teeth set is to increase the size of the kerf - the width of the wood material rem...

Today I was doing woodwork with around 110 kids at Roseworth Primary School, spread across 4 classes - mostly pre-primary and Year 3 kids. It was a great day. Nice plane! We were doing what I call "free creative play". I had 16 of my small two-vice benches there, each one with hammers, nails, pencils and pincers. I had 6 tenon saws (technically carcass saws) at the sawing station, freshly sharpened. There were two big bins of wood pieces for the kids to dig into, and they supplied the creative enthusiasm. After I did a spiel and demo about safe and effective tool use, it was over to them. One flying pelican... There was a steady stream of creations through the day, including aeroplanes, boats, bird houses, dolls furniture, birds and more. Another nice plane. For many of the kids, it was their first time handling tools. In these gigs, it's not unusual to find a few kids who spend almost their whole time at the sawing station. They didn't make anything, except a pile of...

Decision made .  This year I am going to seriously improve my saw sharpening skills. I have a lot of saws. Many dozens in fact ... most awaiting cleaning up and sharpening. Sure, I do sharpen the occasional saw - but mostly I pay someone else to sharpen them for me. Saw sharpening is not what I would call one of my strengths. However that is all going to change. I have commenced my upskilling process. Q: Why bother mastering saw sharpening? A: It's the smart thing to do! It's about sustainability, self-reliance, flexibility and independence. It's also about respect. Respect for a quality saw and respect for the people who have used, owned, and valued the saw before me. Q: Why fix up old saws when it is cheaper and easier to buy new hardpoint saws for under $10? A: It's about being a responsible global citizen. Hardpoint saws are "disposable" saws of low grade steel with hardened teeth and nasty plastic handles. They cannot be sharpe...