So, here’s an update on my saw renovations, with before and after comparisons.
The first saw I did was the top of the two ripsaws pictured above, which now has a rather fat plywood handle. I might be thinning the grip part down a bit, as I’ve found the extra girth tires my hand (oo-er, missus!). I sharpened the blade, and it’s cutting a treat.
The next saw I did was the above tenon-saw. I love the more intricate shape I came up with, visible in raw wood two pics up. But sadly it broke. I bodged a fix with some much harder, darker wood, that I simply glued on, thinking the two-tone effect might be nice. But I felt it was a bit too much of a contrast, and wasn’t working, so I stained it a bit darker, to homogenise the look.
This saw has also been sharpened, twice, and does cut somewhat better. But I think it might need filing flat, and all new teeth re-cutting, as the profile is rather uneven. So not all the teeth engage, and they vary in size and shape.
My third saw is a much smaller rip-saw; the orange handled one, in the top right corner of the workshop tool wall, pictured above. This one has galvanised teeth, whereas all the others don’t. I believe this means it’ll be tough, perhaps impossible, to sharpen?
I cut a rough shape, using the original handle as a starting point – as I have with each saw – and then add ‘horns’, and a little more shaping. This one hasn’t gone so well, with the too soft pine splitting on me repeatedly. But I’m determined to keep gluing it back together!
Well, I’ve had to concede defeat on saw handle no. three. Not only does it keep splitting, no matter how often I re-glue it, but I’ve also been unable to get the holes I drilled in the wood to align properly with the holes in the blade. And that’s prevented me from assembling the saw, as well as contributing to more splitting issues.
Hey-ho! I have another handle blank. I may try working on that one.
