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Making a flush cutting saw? *LINK*

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Making a flush cutting saw? *LINK*

#1

Making a flush cutting saw? *LINK*

Skip in Falls Church

>After seeing the gorgeous saws that Sandor made then finding that raw material was as close as a hardware store, I of course went out and bought a couple of sheetrock knives. I couldn't help myself. I already have one of them cut to size.

However, I'm rebuilding a 29 inch long wooden jointer - and I do mean rebuilding. Both the cheeks at the top were very thin originally and someone in the past had not been good to it and both the cheeks blew out. So, I cut in pieces to replace the cheek areas about a third of the way down the body.

I was at Woodcraft the other day (A trip authorized by my wife - really!) and I wandered by the saws. A small Japanese keyhole or trim saw caught my eye. It seemed to me that one of this type of saws was mentioned (somewhere) as a handy tool to have when building planes. I almost picked one up - but then I had a thought - spurred on by Sandor's inspiration of making your own, how about a set of right and left handed flush cutting saws? I need to recut the slots for the blade on one side and it just *seemed* to me that a flush cutting saw, one for each side, would be ideal for the job.

So, is there anything more to making flush cutting saws than just not setting them on one side? (And in this case setting them to cut on the pull stroke.) Do you sharpen the teeth any differently to compensate? Should they be sharpened before or after setting?

Skip


http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=855

Re: Making a flush cutting saw? *LINK*

#2

Re: Making a flush cutting saw? *LINK*

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>The blade abutments I do in Japanese planes are cut with a saw similar to the Hida osahiki, but somewhat stiffer (the flushcut saws are too flexible for this job). I bought one at Woodcraft, but they discontinued it; and Hiraide sells one that's hand made, but you have to call Harrelson, I don't see it on their web site. I then adjust the abutments with a 1.5-3.00 mm chisel. Those compass saws have kerfs that are too wide for this job, they really are best for cutting plaster board and/or curves.

For western blades, I'd say the demands on the kerf/chisel width are even more severe. You may want to look at floats, whether you make your own or not. I'm assuming that you've glued long grain to long grain, so you'll need a cross-cut saw. The small azebiki Japanese saws could do the job since the width of the saw blade helps stiffen them. And you'd have a cool mid-panel cutter to boot.

Pam


Hida's Osahiki

Re: Making a flush cutting saw? *LINK*

#3

Re: Making a flush cutting saw?

Skip in Falls Church

>Hi Pam,

For some reason (or perhaps unreason) I seem to be gripped by a saw-making fervor. I'm not sure where it comes from - but I have to be very careful around eBay's saw section. :) It seems that now it's even extending to sheetrock knives.

I actually do have a couple of floats - but they're not really plane floats, I've mostly seen them in connection with car body work. They work pretty well - but if there were a reason to make a saw..... I think I might make a pair just to make them. I'll certainly have the raw material when I get done making a couple of backsaws. :)

The poor jointer I'm working on probably isn't worth fixing - but at least it's worth a little practice for the day I get some decent quartersawn beech to make my own.

Skip

Re: Making a flush cutting saw? *LINK*

#4

Re: Making a flush cutting saw?

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Oops, I misunderstood your goals. Saw away. :)

Pam

Re: Making a flush cutting saw? *LINK*

#5

Re: Making a flush cutting saw?

Skip in Falls Church

>Hi Pam,

Thanks any way! BTW, for anyone thnking about making their own saws I reviewed Lief Hanson's site (www.norsewoodsmith.com) today and I highly recommend it. And if Lief is out there reading; Thanks Lief! Your site has been a real help.

Skip

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