Set of Shopmade Dovetail Saws with etches

XC etch Detail

Sandor in Bear, DE

>Now for the fun Trivia part:

First, what language is the etch in? (Hint: my name)

Second, what does it say?

and Third, what is the reference (pun intent)?

Rip Etch Detail

Sandor in Bear, DE

>This one is not as much fun as the XC, but what does it say?

I'll guess....

Steve Kubien

>The language is Norwegian and it translates to "He's who dies with the most tools, wins!" on the first 2 lines and "Hey, that's my rust pile!" below.

Very nice work!!!!!

Steve Kubien

Re: Rip Etch Detail

Patrick Gibbons, Houston, Tx

>My Latin is very rusty now but it says something about my wife's sister in law. How did you know about that? On a lighter note, that's just fine work. Very fine. What was your total cost in time and expense, if you don't mind sharing? And most importantly, how do they run? Tell us please.

Shopmade saws

Bob Hackett(Mainely,Bob)

>Now THAT`S takin` it to the next level!

I`ll bet they cost a whole lot less and fit alot better than anything that even comes close in looks or performance.

Since you have the capacity to make these and post pics maybe we could get an article about the process,especially the etching?

Mainely,Bob

Re: Set of Shopmade Dovetail Saws with etches

Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO

>I have no idea about the meaning of the etches, but those look like outstanding saws. Well done!

Ted

Latin, No pain, no gain?

Dave Thompson - Champaign IL

>The gods have contrived that excellence is to be had through sweat.

It's so you'll be reminded you have someone else to blame for you troubles? ;-) Beautiful saw! I'm sure you'll enjoy using it.

Hungarian

Dave Thompson - Champaign IL

>and it says:

Nice dovetails come to he who reads Hungarian and Latin ;-)

Re: Rip Etch Detail

ydb1md

>something about . . .

sweat and hard labor produce excellence

Re: XC etch Detail

Alice Frampton, UK

>I think "One saw to rule them all, One saw to find them. One saw to bring them all and in the sawdust bind them" or something like it. In which case the reference is to Lord of the Saws... ;~) If I'm even close, kudos to Dave for identifying it as Hungarian - and the power of the internet translators!

Beautiful saws, Sandor. Certainly turns my idea of shopmade tools on its head.

Cheers, Alf

Ha! I like it! ;-)

Dave Thompson - Champaign IL

>

ALF gets the prize!

Sandor in Bear, DE

>Yes, you are correct. The translation into Hungarian isn't exact, but poetry rarely flows once translated across languages. I enlisted the help of my father to do the translating as my Hungarian is not so good.

Fun pun on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Sandor

Etching

Sandor in Bear, DE

>Thanks all for the compliments.

I put a mosaic of images together (I can't post multiples in one post b/c I don't have hosting) to show the process. Info in the technique is readily available in the 'net. The biggest problem for the home shop is sourcing small quantities of material. I was lucky to be working for a company that did a lot of BioMedical research and had access to the chemicals needed.

The image shows most of the steps:

1) Create artwork. This is where a computer and a photocopier come in handy. I got the letter E from LV's "A Book Of Alphabets" and enlarged it to clean it up with a black pen. The text was created using MS Word. Once cleaned up, I copied them at a reduced scale onto transparency paper.

2) Photoresist (Aquamer MP)http://www.macdermid.com/electronics/imaging_dry.html was applied to the sawblade (layed on like saran wrap and heated). Then the artwork mask was set in place. The part is then exposed to strong UV light. Whatever is blocked by the artwork stays gummy, everything else cures like epoxy.

3) The gummy photoresist (same image as artwork) is developed away in a warm Sodium Carbonate bath(2% by weight).

4) The metal is exposed where the image was and protected elsewhere by the acid resistant cured film. Dilute Nitric acid is then swabbed over the image. The Nitric acid creates the etch.

5) Once you have etched to the depth you want (time), you rinse and then strip the photoresist off using a warm Potassium Hydroxide solution (3% bw)

6) Rinse in baking soda water to neutralize any remaining acid and voila : you have a nice etch.

Re: Latin, No pain, no gain?

Frank Mutchler in Colorado Springs

>Dave has it right.

Pun is obvious, no? : )

Sandor in Bear, DE

>Since it is powered by "sweat", I thought this was a neat inscription. No power finger-eating routers for dovetails in my shop. Excellence is to be had through handcut dovetails.

I don't know any latin, but found about a thousand phrases on-line.

The runner up was "Let not the untrained hand touch me" which I saw engraved on a beautiful handmade full size harp.

Gotta love the internet and Google.

Sandor

Runner up phrases

Sandor in Bear, DE

>Indocta manus noli me tangere.

Let the untaught hand not touch me.

Ars non habet inimicum nisi igornatem.

Art has no enemy except the ignorant.

Vita brevis ars longa.

Life is short; art is long.

errare humanum est

to err is human

si post fata venit gloria non propero

if glory comes after death, I'm not in a hurry

Re: Runner up phrases

Dave Thompson - Champaign IL

>I don't speak Latin, but my Latin phrase book says "No pain, no gain" is:

nil sine magno vita labore debit mortalibus

or literally life has given nothing to mankind without great labor

Re: Latin Scholars??

Frank Mutchler in Colorado Springs

>Dave, it seems to me that 'vita' and 'labore' may be transposed in your phrase?? I read it as 'work has given mankind nothing but a great life'. My Latin is only about 45 years removed......so take my comment for what it's worth....nada ;>) Is it becoming obvious I'm bored??

building on "errare humanum est"

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>I'll have to ask my ex-boss how to say in Latin, "to err is human; to turn it into a design feature is divine."

Re: Latin Scholars?? *LINK*

Dave Thompson - Champaign IL

>Hi Frank, I take no credit or knowledge...just copied it out of a book.


Veni, Vidi, Vici

Re: Set of Shopmade Dovetail Saws with etches

Gary B

>Sandor,

I'm very curious about using a sheetrock blade. maybe I can save one of my old distons afterall, (blade is useless, completely annealed) did you have to do anything special to the sheetrock blade? (harden it?) how well does it cut and hold it's sharpening? thanks alot for any info, there's not much of it anywhere I can find. and AMAZING work.

Gary

Re: Set of Shopmade Dovetail Saws with etches

Jay Hanks, Columbus, Oh

>Excellant work Sandor, how good are the saws? Is the metal from the depot pretty good?

Wow! Very Nice!

Frank D. in Montreal

>

Re: A Latinist weighs in

ThomD

>Wow Spectacular job on the saws!

I'm in the odd position of having two world renowned Latinists in the family. My dad is as good a candidate for world's best Latinist as anyone else. Now 80 he is the translator of Erasmus' letters while having spent most of his life as a classicist. I can barely spell in one language.

"Literally: `The gods have asserted that virtue is to be acquired by sweat.'

`virtus' is difficult to translate. It originally meant the qualities distinctive of a man, such as physical strength and the will to use it, ` machismo'; then manly virtues, such as courage, fortitude. Then moral virtues in general, of both men and women, as we use `virtue' today.

So something like,`The gods have decreed that strength of character is acquired through physical labour (the sweat of the brow).' "