Help! Backsaw restoration
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Tools and Tool Maintenance/Restoration / Help! Backsaw restoration
- This topic has 6 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by victort.t.t.z..
-
AuthorPosts
-
27 February 2015 at 4:00 am #125123
My vintage disston saw plate had a tiny kink in it that was hanging up in the cut so I got a replacement plate from tgiag.com … Plate was in good condition upon arrival. I installed it and sharpened it but it felt like the plate was not quite vertical or something. I can’t tell it I over tightened the handle nuts and stressed the plate, because now it seems to be in line with the handle. Maybe what’s throwing me is that the plate seems to be in the spine crooked. Is this normal or a problem? If it is a problem did I do something wrong on the installation? How can I fix it?
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.27 February 2015 at 7:24 am #125132I think the plate isn’t completely seated in the spine. The plate should be pushed further in the spine so that there is no gap between plate and spine on the right in your image.
Paul showed a method in a video about saw straightening. He beats the saw back flat on his benchtop. That should seat the plate perfectly I think.The other thing to consider is that your spine could be crooked.
I hope I could help you.
Best regards from Germany
Dominik
27 February 2015 at 6:01 pm #125140Troy – Did you read the tutorial on tgiag’s site about how to install the blade in the back? As I recall, Dominic stated that the plate should only go ~ 1/4″ into the back, not all the way. Try adjusting that and see if it helps, if not then I would call Dominic and ask for his thoughts.
Cheers
28 February 2015 at 3:14 am #125150I have been talking to dominic and he suggested trying to not seat the plate as deep. I tried that but it didn’t correct the problem. I am beginning to wonder if it is a problem with my handle or saw back. The plate from him was fine in quality. Not sure where to turn. I may throw in the towel and try a dovetail saw build with one of his backs and dovetail plates that I got and see if I have better luck. That might confirm if there is a problem with the back. I was hoping someone could look at one of their backsaws to see if it looked like the plate was laying on one side of the spine like in my picture, or if it was centered in the spine, even though it was only in the spine a 1/4″.
8 March 2015 at 1:57 am #125341I tried only putting the plate into the back 1/4″ but it’s still skewed to the back. Anybody have any other ideas?
10 March 2015 at 5:32 am #125420Give it a couple whacks on the bench spine down. This will drive it home.
-Timothy10 March 2015 at 11:03 am #125422Hi Troy , in the photo i see what appears to be the tote side of the brass back (milling marks). This should also mean the blade is not going to be flush with the back here , but passes it by the amount it will need to go in the handle and screws be fitted accordingly . Also it could be just the photo , but the blade looks a bit thick compared to the back .
On my saws i don’t “drive” the blade all the way , quite the opposite actually as i find it sufficient just being pinched by the back at it’s point of contact or just passed that.
Its very possible the back is “out of whack” .
It could be twisted , bowed or any matter of state depending on it’s passed life so far.
In your case twisted or even compressed at one end is most likely , but there is no way i can be sure. The internal faces of the back (the ones pinching the blade and in this case the lower one ) may be forcing the blade sideways. To be honest , it doesn’t seem like yours needs a lot done with it but a slight twist at the end shown could be your problem , some bending may be needed , but in a completely controlled manner that you would have to research and practice .I’m no expert on these things , just have done a few saws myself. For this reason i cant tell you to go ahead and do what i suggest.
I would check it from all angles and see if there is anything obvious of the above and if so take your time to correct it (don’t dive straight in to fix something that ain’t broke , as they say ).
Search online for anything relative to backsaws and for what you would consider a methodical procedure of putting the thing back together . There are a number of things you can get wrong without having researched all possible sources.
It takes time to confidently dismantle an old backsaw and be familiar with it’s misbehavior and how to deal with it . Having done several already , i still consider myself a complete rooky.
Don’t give up , if it’s driving you mad put it aside for later . Do the “homework” and pick it up when you feel more up to the task . One thing i hope you can tell from what i have written is not to stress or hurry these things.Best of luck from me 😉
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.