saw handle fix question

Re: saw handle fix question

William Duffield on the Cohansey

>It depends on how old the saw is, and whether it was a top-of-the line saw. A lot of info on both subjects can be found at The Disstonian Institute. Disston made handles from beech, but some of the best ones were made of apple, other unspecified fruitwood (Rosaceae family), which could be apple, crab, pear, peach, plum, black cherry, chokecherry, etc. Some were made from Rosewood or Mahogany.

According to the Institute, D8s were made of apple before 1950, and beech thereafter.

Matching grain, color, patina and species on a saw handle can be a daunting task, and getting an effective, invisible glue joint is also difficult. Shaping the patch by hand to match the original will also be chalenging.

Re: saw handle fix question

Bruce, a MN Galoot

>Thanks for the info, William. I'm certain this saw is at least 70 years old, possibly 80. Although I got it from my father, he got it my grandfather who acquired it shortly after World War I when he moved to the US.

The wood is relatively dark and is very fine-grained. I figured the patina would be the most difficult to match. The shaping shouldn't be too tough since, as it happens, I have an identical saw to follow. Actually, I would have left it alone, but it's broke in such a way that the broken end is very sharp and digs into my hand with every stroke.

Bruce

Re: saw handle fix question

Todd Hughes

>Handle is Apple and I would just cut the horn off another simular donor saw and use it to repair your Dads saw, same wood and shape....of course if the only reason you are repairing it is because it digs into your hand why not just smooth it off and be done with it?...Todd

Re: saw handle fix question

Bruce, a MN Galoot

>"of course if the only reason you are repairing it is because it digs into your hand why not just smooth it off and be done with it?...Todd "

Only because it's an ugly break.

Bruce

Re: saw handle fix question

paul womack

>I've repaired (patched) a coupla' plane tote tips, and have a technique that may help with your saw handle.

Assuming you intend to glue on an oversize patch piece, and then cut to shape and fit, the only hard part is making a decently flat gluing surface on the handle.

Make the matching flat on the patch is easy, since you can plane a large piece of timber flat, and then cut off the "real" patch piece.

The problem is to plane a decent flat that only 1" across.

And the answer is a shooting board.

I fix the broken tote to a "carrier", which is just a piece of board. I fix the piece down using laths and screws (the laths go across the piece, the scews go though the laths and into the carrier board.

Having done all this setup work, you just "shoot" the broken face until you have a clean, flat, square face.

The setup is a good deal more effort that the planing.

BugBear