Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
23 February 2020 at 12:58 am #650203
Hello Hiru,
There are a lot of factors that can cause saw chatter. The type of wood, your sawing technique, and the condition of the teeth are chief among them, in my opinion. Is your saw new or old? You said you filed the teeth to a rip pattern, are you cutting with or across the grain?
If you have a new saw, sometimes the saw arrives over-set (too much lateral offset between the teeth). The Spear & Jackson saws Paul recommends are notorious for being over-set at the factory. Paul has videos on relaxing the set of the teeth. If your saw is old, it’s also possible that some of the teeth are taller than others, which could cause chatter. A couple passes with a file on the top of the teeth will solve that problem. If you are forcing or “muscling” the saw through the cut, that can cause chatter as well.
Attack the problem systematically. Make one adjustment and test it out before you make another. Eventually you’ll figure it out. Good luck!
23 February 2020 at 12:24 am #650202Congrats on your birthday, great friends, and the new lathe. A great choice.
I know this is after the fact but if you have anything left over, I would echo the suggestion for a good plow (plough) plane. I have a Record 044 with a full retinue of cutters and it’s a marvelous tool. I’ll also put in a plug for a Stanley 78 filletster/rabbet (rebate) plane. They’re cheap and plentiful on eBay. For such a mundane tool I find it to be perhaps the most gratifying to use of all my planes.
22 February 2020 at 11:52 pm #650193So, I took a crack at refining the handle of the 22″ panel saw. The results are far from perfect but appearance aside, the handle feels much better in my hand. I did not take the handle off the blade when I worked it, though I agree with the commenters above who noted that removing the handle would make the job easier. I opted not to do this because, well, one thing at a time. Perhaps in the future I will replace the rivets with proper saw nuts.
I patterned the refinement on a Disston saw that I own which feels terrific in my hand. See the photos for the pattern Disston, refined S&J, and a stock S&J side-by-side for comparison’s sake. I wasn’t able to replicate the pattern as well as I wanted to, but I’m reasonably happy for a first attempt. I freehanded guide lines with a pencil and then shaped using a rasp, saw, chisel, and sandpaper at various stages of the process.
A few things I learned:
-Simply easing the hard edges with a rasp followed by sandpaper makes a huge difference in the way the saw feels in the hand. If anyone is looking for a quick and effective improvement, that’s a good place to start.
-The other big ‘feel’ improvement was modifying where the hump on the back of the handle hits the palm. I’ve had trouble with my hand hurting with this saw when I do a lot of sawing in one work session, and what I discovered was that altering the hump so it hits lower in the palm makes a big difference. You can feel the difference just holding it.
-If you go whole hog and make aesthetic improvements to the shape, one commenter above suggested engineer’s tape would be helpful, and I would agree. A coping saw would be nice if you add a notch inside the handle as I’ve done. I have neither, so I used a chisel, rasp, knife, and sandpaper, which worked but added difficulty.If anyone follows Paul’s blog you’ll note that he recently posted write-ups on refinement and replacing saw nuts on the stock S&J handles. He made different adjustments to the handle and they look excellent. I refined my handles before Paul posted his, and in a way I’m glad I did because the design is my own, the results are my own, and the saw is custom fit for my hand. Paul’s workmanship is better than mine (no surprise there), and his write-ups are invaluable guidance. But there is something to be said for adapting his concepts for personal satisfaction.
[attachment file=”650194″]
[attachment file=”650195″]
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.30 January 2020 at 4:12 pm #647015Hi Paul,
I believe you said you found the plane laying around unused so I don’t know if you have other planes or plans to buy any. But one thing to maybe keep in mind is that if you are unable to tune your 4 1/2 to your satisfaction as a smoother, it would be very well suited to life as a scrub plane. The scrub plane has many valuable uses, which Paul goes into at various places in his videos. He also has a vid on YouTube for sure, maybe here as well, about setting up a plane as a scrub plane.
It’s just a thought, but you’re fighting the good fight if you keep trying to tune your plane for its intended purpose.
Best of luck,
Joe30 January 2020 at 2:04 pm #647001Dionysios,
Thanks so much for the photo! Your refined handle looks great and this will help me a lot as a point of comparison. That’s a darn good looking handle given what there is to work with when the saw arrives. Thanks for the tip on methylated spirits as well.
30 January 2020 at 1:59 pm #647000YrHenSaer,
I’m going to keep your advice about progressive adjustments in mind. My personal tendency is to try to fix things immediately to a final state, when in this case the better approach is to go at it incrementally and get a truly custom fit.
When you’re referring to abrasive tape, do you mean a product like this:
https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/supplies/sanding/accessories/20181-abrasive-cords-and-tapesSomeday I’m going to take a crack at making my own handles. Like you I think I’d prefer a fruitwood handle and I think I have a plan for that. I’ve got a large, out of control Bradford Pear tree on my property that I’m going to try to harvest. I’m hoping to get some decent handle-worthy blanks as well as maybe some wood for furniture and maybe mallets.
Thanks for your advice…greatly appreciated.
30 January 2020 at 1:43 pm #646999Ecky,
The handles are definitely my main complaint, even though the solid beech is a positive aspect. I have large hands and while I can comfortably hold the saw correctly during use, I’ve used Disston saws in the past and the feel in the hand is night and day. I agree that ultimately a new handle is the way to go.
Vielen Dank!
27 January 2020 at 5:24 pm #646677This is marvelous. Great equipment, layout, and attention to detail. I’m particularly envious of your lighting. 🙂
-
AuthorPosts