Crosscut Saw Thread

Here's what became of that weird old chunk of saw...

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Whatever kind of steel it was, it was good. I had to have a machinist guy I know drill the handle holes, using an industrial mill and he still had some trouble getting through it.
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Carved the handle for this one out of a Black Olive branch. Made the sheath from a scrap of Latigo

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Used a scrap of hickory from a broken axe haft for the handle on the rigging knife

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Knotted and whipped
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Done for now. I'll finish the others and make a sheath for the rigging knife another time.
 
Splendid creativity and nice job with the retrofits; turning spring steel saw blades into functional knives. I sawed freshly fallen trees with my dad in the late 1950s and early 60s using a two handled saw and I distinctly remember the 'learning curve', and patience of effort involved, and not to mimic whatever motion my dad was doing at the same time. I cannot say I'm nostalgic about any of this (saw was as tall as I was; 4 feet?) and likely that Disston (I do remember that particular name being on the blade) saw went right out the front door on garbage day the moment a sympathetic neighbour offered to lend us his then-primitive McCullough chainsaw.
I would not have liked to be a saw maker or axe manufacturer, when gas-powered saws came into common use, in trying to second guess what direction to take, or retain markets, with an established and prosperous company with an eye to the future.
I guess we see examples to this day; Kodak clung to the belief that digital was merely a fad.
I lived in Nova Scotia for a year 3 decades ago and noticed that blacksmith types of the early 1900s in around there used broken leaf springs and worn out hand files to make knife blades. Also a convenient source of high carbon steel.
 
Very nice. Saw steel is famously difficult to drill. I usually end up chucking a chainsaw stone in my Dremel tool and grinding out a depression that I will then hammer a hardened nail through to open up a hole big enough to get a small chainsaw file into and take it from there.
 
Dang, dude! You been busy. Nice work on those knives.

I've had success drilling saw blades at slow speed with cobalt bits. Start small and step up to larger bits. Use cutting fluid. Keep the drill under 1000 rpms - around 600 rpms it good.
 
Square_peg said:
Dang, dude! You been busy. Nice work on those knives.
I've had success drilling saw blades at slow speed with cobalt bits. Start small and step up to larger bits. Use cutting fluid. Keep the drill under 1000 rpms - around 600 rpms it good.
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That is good information. I have a few old carbon steel kitchen knives that could use new scales and modern knife rivets are much larger diameter than the old ones. Besides premium drill bits has anyone tried a Dremel tool carbide cutter?
 
300Six said:
Besides premium drill bits has anyone tried a Dremel tool carbide cutter?
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Slow and steady definitely wins the race on this track. :)

I've got a bench-top drill press and I'm either going to mod the pulleys for lower speed or find a variac with a power rating high enough. Could also use a pulse-width modulation motor controller. One thing to remember when slowing down electric motors for low speed work: make sure it's in the lowest "gear" already. They get sizzling hot if you try to pull too much current at low RPM. :eek:

Great looking blades, Warner!
 
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-Thanks 300. Great story and information. :thumbup:

-Thanks trailtime. Yeah, i'll say. Thanks for the info, i'll have to give that a try next time.

-Thanks Peg! Yeah, he used cobalt and carbide end mills to finally get through it. Thanks for the info, i'll remember that for next time.

-Thanks Skiv! Good info on the drill press mod.
 
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Sawing some fence posts, fresh oak 100 mm x 100 mm.

As long as the wood is wet, the cuts come out fine,
tracking down the line nicely.
A good clean start at the line is difficult though.

Before the point where the teeth are completely in the wood, also difficult to maintain a steady cut.

After that point, no problem and the end grain surface left is not to bad.

But as the saw exits out the bottom, plenty of tear-out there. All in all not bad for a big saw.

E.DB.
 
From my small collection of crosscut saws. Both of these saws are precision crescent ground blades. They are considered by many to be the Holy Grail of two man saws for the collector and user alike.

Simonds Royal Chinock No. 503, 78" Lance tooth design

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Correct Simonds No. 503 western handle

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Atkins No. 51, 85" Lance tooth design

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Correct Atkins No. 51 western handle

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The plastic strips below the saws are fencing edging (from Lowes). I use them as saw guards. They come in 8' lengths, just cut them to size. I use Velcro straps to hold them on.

Tom
 
The plastic strips below the saws are fencing edging (from Lowes). I use them as saw guards. They come in 8' lengths, just cut them to size. I use Velcro straps to hold them on.

Tom
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Thanks , that is a good idea
 
Got a look at several at a nearby antique store. The ones on this photo range from 45-80$ in asking. I've been wanting one for a while but for basic bucking at home, would the one second from right be any good or would I be better off with a 48 inch or so 1-2 man?

 
Irongun324 said:
Got a look at several at a nearby antique store. The ones on this photo range from 45-80$ in asking. I've been wanting one for a while but for basic bucking at home, would the one second from right be any good or would I be better off with a 48 inch or so 1-2 man?

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Hi Irongun, The saw your looking at is a felling saw. A felling saw has a narrower blade than a bucking saw. The saw on the far left is a bucking saw. I would suggest that you look for a 4'+ one man bucking for the use you describe. If you find one with a helper or assist handle it will really work nicely for you. You can also move the helper handle to the end of the saw to use it as a two man saw.

The saw you mentioned is a Lance tooth pattern. It was designed to cut soft woods. The long teeth on a Lance tooth saw really doesn't cut hardwoods very well, lots of chatter. If I was to own only one crosscut saw it would be one that had a Champion or sometimes called a Tuttle tooth design. The Champion/Tuttle tooth design was designed for hardwoods...But it will also work fairly well on softwoods.

See the post I made and take a look at the book, on line, "Saws That Sing" it will give you lots of help in deciding what saw you want.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ormation-that-all-owners-and-admirers-can-use

Good luck with your quest, Tom
 
Double Ott said:
I would suggest that you look for a 4'+ one man bucking for the use you describe. If you find one with a helper or assist handle it will really work nicely for you. You can also move the helper handle to the end of the saw to use it as a two man saw.
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+1 on this suggestion. 48"-54" is the sweet spot for me with one-man saws. A 48" is long enough that the weight of the blade does the work - you just move it back and forth. By contrast a 36" requires you to bear down on the auxiliary handle to get it to cut efficiently. Look for a taper-ground saw. The steel should be thinner along the spine of the saw and thicker down at the teeth.
 
I'm a big fan of the Anderson raker gauge, it's the only one I ever use. Not as Grail-like as a Martin Winters gauge, but a close second for a mass-produced tool.
 
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