Hand saws that I build

Printable View

Jan 4, 2015, 05:31 AM
rob streeper

2 Attachment(s)

Hand saws that I build

Hi all, my name is Rob and I build saws, among other things of course. Here's some pictures.

Attachment 2681

Attachment 2682
Jan 4, 2015, 04:52 PM
Altair

Hi Rob! Welcome to the forums!

Those saws look awesome. What material did you use for the first saw's back?

Al
Jan 4, 2015, 04:56 PM
rob streeper

Thanks Al, The top saw has a stainless steel back. The half back is 1/8" brass. Both are folded - not slotted as many custom makers do these days.
Jan 4, 2015, 05:06 PM
Altair

Thanks Rob! I love your traditional approach.

Al
Jan 4, 2015, 07:06 PM
rob streeper

Thanks Al, nice to meet you.
Jan 4, 2015, 08:35 PM
DIYer

Those are nice saws, rob. Welcome to the forum.
Jan 4, 2015, 08:50 PM
rob streeper

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIYer

Those are nice saws, rob. Welcome to the forum.

Thanks, nice to meet you too. Here's another one I'm finishing up now.

Attachment 2683
Jan 5, 2015, 03:35 AM
Doc

Loving that saw just posted Rob :thumbsup:

Welcome to the forum.

Regards

Doc :hattip:
Jan 5, 2015, 05:07 AM
rob streeper

3 Attachment(s)

Thanks Doc, nice to meet you. Here's some more pictures. I slow with processing the images to be small enough to post here, not my strong suit. These are the balance of a batch of four that I'm finishing right now.

Attachment 2685

Attachment 2686

Attachment 2687
Jan 5, 2015, 05:12 AM
Doc

I like the look of those handles. Made for comfort I'd say :clapping:

Regards

Doc :hattip:
Jan 5, 2015, 05:17 AM
Christophe Mineau

Hi Rob, welcome, and happy new year,
your saws are wonderful !
How do you obtain the blades ?
Are you a professional maker ?
Cheers,
Christophe
Jan 5, 2015, 05:19 AM
rob streeper

Each is different and each works differently. Saw handle shape is very much a personal thing. A shape that works really well for one person will be very uncomfortable for someone else. Thus I'm trying a range of parameters.
Jan 5, 2015, 05:30 AM
rob streeper

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christophe Mineau

Hi Rob, welcome, and happy new year,
your saws are wonderful !
How do you obtain the blades ?
Are you a professional maker ?
Cheers,
Christophe

Hi Christophe,

Thanks for your kind words.
I purchase the steel for the blades in rolls from an outfit called Zoro tools (1095 Steel Coils 0.02"- 0.03" Thick by LYON - Shim Stock at Zoro), or I find it on eBay. 1095 steel can be hard to find in small quantities but Zoro started selling it in smaller lots a few months ago, hopefully they will continue.
The backs I make myself from sheet stock obtained from Online Metals (Online Metal Store | Small Quantity Metal Orders | Metal Cutting, Sales & Shipping | Buy Steel, Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Stainless | Metal Product Guides at OnlineMetals.com).
I make saws as a hobby and sell them for beer and tool money,though at this point I have yet to break even on the beer budget to say nothing of the tool account. At the moment my other work is slow so I have been able to put more time into saws.

Cheers,
Rob
Jan 5, 2015, 01:09 PM
kbalch

Thanks rob streeper! I've added your Back Saw to our Metalworking category, as well as to your builder page: rob streeper's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="/back-saw"><img src="/uploads/106334/back-saw.jpeg" alt="Back Saw" /></a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="/back-saw">Back Saw</a> <span> by <a href="/builder/rob+streeper">rob streeper</a></span> </div> <div class="tags"> tags: <a href="/tag/saw">saw</a>, <a href="/tag/handle">handle</a>, <a href="/tag/hand-tools">hand tools</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
Jan 9, 2015, 08:15 AM
kbalch

1 Attachment(s)

Hi Rob,

Those are some very attractive and useful homemade tools! Your Back Saw is the 'Tool of the Week'!

You'll be receiving one of our official HomemadeTools.net T-shirts:

Attachment 2726

Let me know (via PM) your size, color choice, and mailing address. We'll get the shirt in the mail to you directly.

Congrats!

Ken
Jan 9, 2015, 08:49 AM
rob streeper

Thanks a lot Ken. PM sent and more saws on the way!
Jan 9, 2015, 09:09 AM
rob streeper

1 Attachment(s)

This is a miter saw I did for a local contractor with reversed teeth so that it cuts on the pull stroke.

Attachment 2727
Jan 11, 2015, 04:34 PM
Altair

Great looking miter saw. Great job as always, Rob.

Al
Jan 11, 2015, 04:45 PM
rob streeper

Thanks Al, I'd post more pics but the file size restriction necessitates a lot of manipulation to make them small enough to upload. I'll post more as time goes on.
Cheers,
Rob
Jan 11, 2015, 05:17 PM
Altair

Cool! Looking forward to those pics!

AL
Jan 17, 2015, 10:31 AM
rob streeper

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbalch

Hi Rob,

Those are some very attractive and useful homemade tools! Your Back Saw is the 'Tool of the Week'!

You'll be receiving one of our official HomemadeTools.net T-shirts:

Attachment 2726

Let me know (via PM) your size, color choice, and mailing address. We'll get the shirt in the mail to you directly.

Congrats!

Ken

Hi Ken,

I got my t shirt, thanks very much!

Rob
Jan 17, 2015, 08:47 PM
Captainleeward

Real nice workmanship Rob . attention to detail is over the top....:O)
Jan 19, 2015, 01:01 PM
kbalch

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob streeper

Hi Ken,

I got my t shirt, thanks very much!

Rob

Hey Rob,

Great! Let's see it… :)

Ken
Mar 13, 2015, 12:17 PM
kbalch

This thread has been moved to the Must Read subforum. Congrats (and thanks) to rob streeper for making such a valuable contribution!
May 16, 2015, 04:22 PM
rob streeper

2 Attachment(s)

Hi All,

Been busy with lot's of other things but recently had some time to knock out a few saws. Here's some pic's.

Attachment 3509

Attachment 3510
Jul 13, 2015, 12:17 AM
Brendon

2 Attachment(s)

Hi Rob,
Your saws look awesome.
Would it be possible to make a dovetail saw with a pistol grip handle
utilizing a fine-toothed japanese blade stiffened by folded brass.

I find most of the dovetail saws on the market struggle with
exotic hardwoods and my japanese saw, while very sharp
and well able for the H/W , is a bit long and awkward.

What do you think?

Here's a couple of marking/cutting gauges I made recently for marking dovetail baselines.

Attachment 3937 Attachment 3938 Attachment 3937 Attachment 3938
Cheers,
Brendan
Jul 13, 2015, 03:26 AM
rob streeper

Hi Brendan,

Great looking marking gauges.
I don't have access to the particular type of steel that is typically used for Japanese style blades. The steel in those blades is often quite hard with HRC greater than the 50ish that is typical of Western style saws, some go to the range of HRC 60 approximating the hardness of our saw files. I can build a saw however by cutting down a Japanese blade and mounting it in a back. I can file a peg-toothed blade, looks like a Japanese filing but it's not a true Japanese tooth style.
I've found Western style toothing for cutting the very hard woods works well if the rake angle is relaxed beyond the typical 4 degrees for rip sawing and 8 degrees for crosscutting. Depending on the handle style and placement I've drawn back the rake angle to as much as 22 degrees or so. Such saws work fine in harder species, cut rapidly and stay sharp. I've had several requests for blades mounted with the teeth cutting toward the handle and the users have been pleased.

Cheers,
Rob
Jul 2, 2019, 08:24 PM
greyhoundollie

Hi Rob. Nice saws. Could you tell us a little bit about the differences in your 4 saw set? Why the particular shape of the blades etc. Anything you feel like sharing with us. Thanks in advance Rob. Nice to have you here.

Richard
Jul 2, 2019, 08:32 PM
greyhoundollie

Really fine work Brendan
Jul 3, 2019, 07:18 PM
ncollar

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brendon

Hi Rob,
Your saws look awesome.
Would it be possible to make a dovetail saw with a pistol grip handle
utilizing a fine-toothed japanese blade stiffened by folded brass.

I find most of the dovetail saws on the market struggle with
exotic hardwoods and my japanese saw, while very sharp
and well able for the H/W , is a bit long and awkward.

What do you think?

Here's a couple of marking/cutting gauges I made recently for marking dovetail baselines.

Attachment 3937 Attachment 3938 Attachment 3937 Attachment 3938
Cheers,
Brendan

Brendan
The only thing I would change is the blade sticking out on the top side. I think I would like to have a guard over the blade to prevent the chance of a bad accident. Those blades cut and can be deadly. Be careful. Beautiful work would like to see more.
Nelson