Saturday, September 28, 2013

learn


a lesson in poor saw handle design


I created this saw handle thinking how cool the lines were

how it hunched up over the blade
kinda Klingon
and it never worked right
I relaxed the teeth along the first quarter
but it always jammed hard two thirds into a cut

then three nearly simultaneous occurrences took place

an article in PopW about hang angle
the arrival of one very special new member of my team
and a nice piece of wood


the article spoke of the, now that I think about it, simple geometry that makes a saw work well
from what I could surmise of the article, your index finger points directly to the sweet spot
the center of force
I had never considered that the angle of the dangle could be off
and off it was


I took a chance on the Eb
and won the nicest piece of history I can imagine
an Andrew Lunn panel saw, totally eccentrically left handed
I set it down to test its side to side balance
when it eased forward on its own
all 22.5 inches of its length
and bit a kerf across my bench


the nice piece of wood was just that
an off cut from a previous project, very little future otherwise
a quick cursory glace placed the shape in perfect unison with the twisting grain
I'm sorry for the lack of photos, this was a quick day and a half of shaping


the angle is just right
I tested it, I know
and it makes all the difference

3 comments:

  1. So you took the handle off of the Andrew Lunn saw and made your own? That's ballsy.

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    Replies
    1. I realize the order of the images may be a little out of line, and my writing a bit too sporadic.
      The Andrew Lunn saw is the new addition that cemented the idea of hang angle in my mind.
      the saw I replaced the handle on, started as a kit from Grammercy with a handle of my own making, which turned out to be horrible.
      The Lunn saw is intact, and working hard on my latest project, and I hope someone would shoot me before I'd be so presumptuous to feel the need to change one of Andrew's saws!

      Delete
  2. That makes so much more sense. Andrew is a cool dude, and I know he wouldn't mind if someone altered one of his saws, but still...

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