Dovetail saws seem to be topical - I see Rob has started a new batch, too.
For the first time in a long time, I've been making a few saws for myself, and it may sound silly, but it's part of a move to do some culling and get my users down to a sensible number (preferably, what will fit in my saw till :roll:).
About 5 years ago, I made one of my first very thin saws, a 9 incher, with very thin (15 thou) plate. I wanted this saw to be light, & put a 3/16" x 3/4" spine on it and canted the blade. The handle wood is "Rock-oak", a species of Allocasaurina that is a bit less dense than other members of the genus: Rock oak 225mm 16tpi.jpg
I immediately 'took' to this saw, and it became my go-to dovetailing saw overnight, displacing a saw I'd happily used for the previous 20 years or more. At 16tpi, it has a nice action, cuts quickly & easily, handles thin stock well, and is so intuitive to use I can follow a line almost without watching. At 314g, it feels a bit like using a scalpel.
Just occasionally, I feel the need for something a bit bigger and toothier, when slicing wider stock, so I made myself a 10" tenon saw, using 20 thou plate and giving it 12 tpi. It's a nice saw, and I'm very happy with it, but it is a bit more of a jump from the little D/T than I was looking for.
I've long wanted to experiment with minor tweaks on my original D/T, in any case, so I decided this was the time to try & sort hem out to my satisfaction. First, I made a slightly larger saw, of the same design as #1, with 20 thou plate and toothed at 15tpi. The blade is about 5mm deeper, the handle is a tiny bit heavier thanks to the denser wood (She-oak), but I still used 3/16" for the spine: D-T Sheoak 235mm 15tpi.jpg It turned out nicely, and has bit more heft than its sibling, but not that much more (381g). It will make a very fine saw for cabinet-scale work, but really, there wasn't as much difference from #1 as I wanted.
So I tried again today, with a slightly larger saw (250mm long, a bit wider, and toothed to 14tpi). The handle is Buloke, yet another Allocasaurina, and the densest & hardest of the clan. This time, I used 1/4" for the spine, and now we're getting somewhere, it came in at 473g, so you certainly notice the difference: D-T Buloke 250mm 14tpi.jpg
Now I just have to decide which is the keeper. After a couple of quick test-cuts with the new saws, I'm pretty sure the larger one is what I was after, but I need to give them both a decent workout before making a final decision. I certainly won't be parting with the original thin-plate saw, so it's between the two new saws to convince me who goes & who stays. Lined up beside each other, they look more similar than they feel in the hand, but do I really need either of the larger ones? :D_T saws2.jpg
I really want to cut back on my saws, so gotta make some tough decisions..... :U
Cheers,
For the first time in a long time, I've been making a few saws for myself, and it may sound silly, but it's part of a move to do some culling and get my users down to a sensible number (preferably, what will fit in my saw till :roll:).
About 5 years ago, I made one of my first very thin saws, a 9 incher, with very thin (15 thou) plate. I wanted this saw to be light, & put a 3/16" x 3/4" spine on it and canted the blade. The handle wood is "Rock-oak", a species of Allocasaurina that is a bit less dense than other members of the genus: Rock oak 225mm 16tpi.jpg
I immediately 'took' to this saw, and it became my go-to dovetailing saw overnight, displacing a saw I'd happily used for the previous 20 years or more. At 16tpi, it has a nice action, cuts quickly & easily, handles thin stock well, and is so intuitive to use I can follow a line almost without watching. At 314g, it feels a bit like using a scalpel.
Just occasionally, I feel the need for something a bit bigger and toothier, when slicing wider stock, so I made myself a 10" tenon saw, using 20 thou plate and giving it 12 tpi. It's a nice saw, and I'm very happy with it, but it is a bit more of a jump from the little D/T than I was looking for.
I've long wanted to experiment with minor tweaks on my original D/T, in any case, so I decided this was the time to try & sort hem out to my satisfaction. First, I made a slightly larger saw, of the same design as #1, with 20 thou plate and toothed at 15tpi. The blade is about 5mm deeper, the handle is a tiny bit heavier thanks to the denser wood (She-oak), but I still used 3/16" for the spine: D-T Sheoak 235mm 15tpi.jpg It turned out nicely, and has bit more heft than its sibling, but not that much more (381g). It will make a very fine saw for cabinet-scale work, but really, there wasn't as much difference from #1 as I wanted.
So I tried again today, with a slightly larger saw (250mm long, a bit wider, and toothed to 14tpi). The handle is Buloke, yet another Allocasaurina, and the densest & hardest of the clan. This time, I used 1/4" for the spine, and now we're getting somewhere, it came in at 473g, so you certainly notice the difference: D-T Buloke 250mm 14tpi.jpg
Now I just have to decide which is the keeper. After a couple of quick test-cuts with the new saws, I'm pretty sure the larger one is what I was after, but I need to give them both a decent workout before making a final decision. I certainly won't be parting with the original thin-plate saw, so it's between the two new saws to convince me who goes & who stays. Lined up beside each other, they look more similar than they feel in the hand, but do I really need either of the larger ones? :D_T saws2.jpg
I really want to cut back on my saws, so gotta make some tough decisions..... :U
Cheers,
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