14 April 2010

Saw point

Ever since the Rycotewood show in early March, I've been intrigued by the little Zona saws that Robert Ingham uses to such good effect in his work, plus of course the Transfer Jig that he made...and which I've yet to make!

However, more by luck that judgement... as I was wandering round Yandles last Saturday, I spotted a stall selling, amongst other stuff, a range of these saws, which are fantastic value considering they're made in the good 'ol US of A and have to be imported into the UK. I ended up with a pair of 32tpi saws and the same again in the 24tpi variant. What's interesting is that these saws cut on the pull stroke and leave a very fine kerf in the timber...even better, they're so cheap that when they become blunt they can be consigned to the skip.

My reasoning behind the purchase of these saws is that the LN dovetail saw, at 15tpi is really too big for smaller work...fine for carcase dovetails, but too clumsy for drawer work. For really accurate and precise work I think that these smaller saws will prove ideal, where at least five or six teeth need to be in contact with the timber at any one time.

The 32tpi saw ought to be used on timber 6-8mm, the 24tpi on slightly thicker stuff...say 9-11mm and the 15tpi LN on timber 12mm thick and upwards.

The only thing I need to get hold of now is some 6mm thick aluminium angle to make the jig, but I have a local source for that...

1 comment:

Mitchell said...

I have to agree with you that standard dovetail saws are far too big for smaller cuts. While I didn't go as far as your Zona saws to overcome this issue, I did pick up a pair of vintage Disston No. 68's that I had modified to suit the need. The finer blade and additional teeth do make life easier when working on thinner stock.

Cheers