Popular Woodworking Magazine » Saws

New Sawmaker Builds Ancient Saws

Christopher Schwarz — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:57:21 +0000

Anyone who has ever read Joseph Moxon’s “Mechanick Exercises” (1678) has puzzled over his pictures of saws. There are some frame saws, a whipsaw and a fancy handled saw without a back that Moxon, as far as I know, doesn’t discuss in his text. That fancy saw has always caught my eye. What was it … Read more »

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Another Solid $10 (and Change) Saw

Christopher Schwarz — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:39:29 +0000

It sounds like a difficult question, but it’s really not. “I really want a Wenzloff & Sons handsaw, but I am a (graduate student, hobo, philosophy major) and cannot afford it. Can you recommend a saw that works almost as well but costs only $10?” Yes, I can. For many years I have been recommending … Read more »

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Christopher Schwarz DVD Combo Pack

ShopWoodworking.com — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:59:13 +0000

Here's a great gift idea, at a 27 percent savings! Included in the DVD Combo Pack: "The Last Word On Sharpening," "Build an 18th-century Workbench," " Handplane Basics - A Better Way to Use Bench Planes" and "Build a Sawbench with Christopher Schwarz." Click here to buy this DVD collection now. Read more »

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For Accurate & Heavy Sawing, Try a ‘Shangie’

Christopher Schwarz — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:48:49 +0000

One of the great joys of reading old woodworking magazines is that they includes lots of tidbits that aren’t in old woodworking books – such as the one I found last night about the “Shangie.” What’s a Shangie? It’s a shopmade device that converts a typical 26” handsaw into a two-man saw that is designed … Read more »

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Report Card: 6 Months Without a Chop Saw

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:53:24 +0000

When I reorganized my shop last Spring, I sold a lot of stuff. I sold so much stuff that I was afraid that I was cutting into the bone. I sold my routers. My router table. My sliding compound miter saw. And lots more (a biscuit joiner, sanders and shop vacuums to name a few). … Read more »

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Get a Consistent Set on Your Saw With Paper

Christopher Schwarz — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 01:30:23 +0000

Whenever I teach a sawing class, I typically reduce the set of students’ saws using a metal file. And when I do this, I’m also amazed at how many times I’m also filing an errant tooth that is sticking out beyond its brethren. But I can say with all honesty that I have never had … Read more »

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On Storing Handsaws and Backsaws

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:28:41 +0000

Recently I’ve become somewhat obsessed by the puzzle of storing saws. During my years as a woodworker, I’ve been admonished many times for how I handle this tool. Here are a few choice ones to chew on: 1. With handsaws, you should never lay the entire tool on a flat surface. This will cause the … Read more »

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‘I Want my Micrometer…’

Christopher Schwarz — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 02:21:09 +0000

Charles Hayward, the dean of woodworking writers, once wrote a column about the continued industrialization of the woodworking craft. All hand work was being set aside and forgotten. People who were once craftsmen were become machine minders. In the end, Hayward noted, it will be only the engineers who will ever find real joy in … Read more »

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Ron Herman: ‘Sharpen Your Handsaws’

Christopher Schwarz — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:15:46 +0000

The first time I saw Ron Herman sharpen a handsaw, I learned more about sharpening the tool in 20 minutes than I had learned in all the years I’d been a woodworker. I had been sharpening my saws for years, but I was mostly trying to replicate the saw’s existing tooth geometry. I wasn’t confident … Read more »

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Video: Not Sawing, But Nibbling

Christopher Schwarz — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:17:35 +0000

Aside from Bender, Zapp Brannigan and Hypnotoad, my favorite character on the show “Futurama” is Nibbler – a cute little alien that can swallow an entire elephant in one bite and then poop starship fuel. What does this have to to with sawing? Everything. Nibbling before swallowing the whole giraffe is how I saw accurately … Read more »

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