Tenon Saws

Here are pictures from my latest tenon saws.  For one I was working with a really old pattern, not only the rounded cheeks that I like so much, but with a style of fasteners predating the brass split nuts.

Left side

Right side -  castellated style of nuts

I replicated the castellated style of nuts used on a few of the early to mid 1700 saws that exist in several museum's collections.  I couldn't bring myself to peen the rivet end into place, so I did an experiment with fine threads.  Looking through my books I am aware of three saws that have this style.  The White saw in the collections of the Stanley-Whitman House; a William Smith pictured in Tools for Working Wood In Eighteenth Century America, by Jay Gaynor; and this one pictured in Classic Hand Tools, by Garrett Hack.

White Tenon Saw

William Smith (1718-1750) replacement handle

Hack

The rivets on the saw from Hack's book are hard to see, but they are definitely square.   They may or may not have the decorative filings that appear on the Smith saw (I also have it on very good authority that the White saw has the same style). 

Smith saw rivets close-up

One of these days I'll make a saw and rivet it in place, but in the meantime, I'll stick to the split nuts.

Dad's Christmas present -18in tenon saw

Gaynor, James M., and Nancy L. Hagedorn. Tools: Working Wood in Eighteenth-Century America. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1993.
Hack, Garrett.  Classic Hand Tools.  Newtown, Conn.: Taunton Press, 1999.

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.