Santa's Little Sawmaker

In my annual defiance of America's traditional Yuletide exercise in mass-consumerism, I made all my Christmas gifts.  For grandma -scissors, for mom -small hand shears, for sister -cutting board, for wife -Kindle (we can't all be perfect), for dad -18" tenon saw, for grandpa -8" dovetail saw, for wife's uncle -5" dovetail saw. 

First I'll show you the little dovetail saw, which I started calling the "Stub-Nose .030".  It started from a scrap of .030 plate left over from another saw.  The scrap was nearly the perfect size for a small dovetail saw and with a little shearing it was perfect.  The handle was from some of the flat-sawn maple from the cutting board project.  16 TPI, rip. 

My grandpa does custom cabinetry and carpentry.  Last winter he built me a beautiful toolchest, so I owe him big.  This little dovetail saw has an 8" blade, 16tpi, rip.  Same handle design except done in quartersawn hard maple. 

For my dad I worked up a 18" tenon saw.  The upper one here is my copy of the famous White saw which I still haven't finished -I have to make the special nuts and bolts which will probably be a later post.  The lower saw was my dad's present.  The handle pattern is similar to the design on the White saw except that this design was probably later. In the picture here you can see my dad's saw is not finished either.  When I took this I had just finished letting the blade into the handle.  After this I added the chamfer to the cheeks, installed the split nuts and applied the finish.  I'll try to get some pictures of the completed saw up though it won't look brand new.  Dad has already used it and the handle has picked up some dirt but that's fine by me, I'd rather my saws be used than sit idle.