I went down to the garage last night try out the new dovetail saw, but got distracted and worked on the bow saw frame instead.

I’m starting with some random Oak I picked up from I have no idea where, but it’s stout and available, so it will do.  I’m not following any set plans for this, just kind of winging it which is probably a bad idea.  I’m using the blade I bough from Traditional Woodworker that is 24″ blade with a 9 TPI filed for cross cutting.  I have a 5 TPI rip blade as well, that I am thinking of making into a frame saw later.

I laid out the blade, and used my little one for the rough proportions to use.  I cut a couple of 4″ sections to use as the handles, and set to work on those.  The metal shank is 1/4″ bolt which am embedding in the handle.  I started with a #4 auger bit (1/4″) in my new/old brace I got a coupe weeks ago, and then drilled a #8 (1/2″) hold for the head.  I should have done it in reverse I think, since the bigger hole was slightly offset, which might have worked in my favor.

Small admission, I didn’t exclusively use hand tools for the drilling, I did start the hole with the drill press, but it wasn’t long enough.  The brace and auger set up does work well, better than I expected, but it still had some issues.  I’m still debating how far down the path I want to go and how fast.

Once I had the holes drilled, which was a small challenge using these in my non wood working vise (all I have for now) and at that height of my bench currently.  As I said the holes were not perfectly in line, which meant I could wedge the bolt down in the hole, and it was stuck fast.  the shank is not straight out of the handle though, so it might be a problem later.  We shall see.

Once I had enough shaft poking out of the end, I chucked it up in my lathe (60 year old Shopsmith 10-ER) drill head, and turned the handle round.  I didn’t try for anything fancy, this is one is going to be pretty rough I think since I’m not putting much thought into appearance.  I might make another frame later, depending on how this one goes.

Then I put the oak into my bench vise, and started hacking at it with the drawknife.  I use the word “hacking” deliberately, because again I wasn’t putting a lot of thought into this part.  Mostly I just wanted to see what it could do, and then just kept going.  Needs some sharpening but it did a fine job of removing stock as it was.  I have a decent handle going already, and I’ll layout a more coherant plan on my next visit to the shop.  I wish I had a spokeshave, or more to the point I wish the crappy Harbor Frieght spokeshave wasn’t so crappy.  I know, I know, you get what you pay for, and boy howdy I didn’t pay much for this one.  I didn’t have high expectations for these, and even then it didn’t work.  I might try sharpening again, or maybe just toss them.

More to come, this is stage one and I’ll try and be a little less cavalier with this project later.  Last night I think I just wanted to push wood around and sort of “meditate by moving” if that makes any sense, working with my hands is relaxing for me.  I am excited to see how this goes together, I did some practice cuts with just the blade it works well.  In a frame this could be a work horse.  I’ve had bad luck with saws and find them very frustrating usually, so I hope this works for me…

badger

During the holiday break my wife and I were able to get out a bit and do some antiquing, something I never thought would be fun but we quite enjoy. A large part of it for me however is shopping for tools to use in the shop. My recent flirtation with hand tool woodworking has blossomed into a pretty heavy romance, and I can safely say that we’re seeing a lot of each other now. One of the major struggles with this type of woodwork is that the tools are generally expensive, shoddily made, or no longer made at all. The best answer to all three is to find old tools that still have some life left in them, revive them and use them. The old tools are often very well made and can be found cheaply at times. The trick is finding them, and thus we hit the antique stores.

I have a number of other hand tools and what not I’ll post about later, but the recent scores from the holiday shopping are a nice block plane, a frame/bow saw, brace, and really fun folding ruler.

Stanley #60 1/2 Block plane
Found this in an antique store in Portland with very little wear in fantastic condition. Looks hardly used, and a quick sharpening and it was put to immediate use in the shop.

Stanley Boxwood Folding Rule
Bought at the same time as the block plane, this folding rule is a marvel of boxwood and brass hinges. It’s 2 foot rule that folds to 6 inches. The outside is pretty grubby but the inside is still relatively clean. One hinge is a bit dodgy and I need to see if I can fix it up a bit because it’s a pretty useful tool.

Brace
A while back I scored a full roll of auger bits of all sizes, and have been looking for a good usable brace to go along with them. I have this funky cheap knock off brace that had such amazingly warping that was not only useless but dangerous as well. Most braces I find are rusted, or broken but this one had some scrapes on the bit holder, but other wise solid.

Frame/Bow Saw with Turning Blade
Cruising through Second Use is always fun, but this time I found a tool as well as wood. It’s nearly brand new condition, no wear with a sharp blade. Marked with “Clay Sheffield England” on it, it’s a bit of a mystery. The string is all wrong, and already breaking but that can be replaced. The blade is sharp and usable. That and a plank of bamboo plywood and that was a good day of shopping.

More to come as I document my toolbox of hand tools.

— Badger