Shrine to backsaws

[Phil Mueller]

Ok, a bit over the top. But it gave me a way to use up some cut offs, and get more familiar with dovetails, my router plane, handsaws, fret saw, spokeshave, and various other planes and hand tools, and thin panel glue up.

The side profile is my take on the LN handle.

Dovetails were a bit gappy. First real project with multiple dovetail joinery. FYI, I tried something new to fill the gaps. I was planning to use Watco anyway, so made a paste of Watco and saw dust and used that as a filler. Let it dry for a week and continued with the finish on the rest of the piece. Not perfect, but better than gaps, and certainly better than glue and sawdust.

(Sorry, Brian, I went with the angled back piece, and sorry Stanley and George as well...hanging them may be better for the saw, but I was too far into this when I read that thread...next time).


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[Mel Fulks]

I like the design and the colors. Think you were wise to not demand perfection on utilitarian item. Practical is good and I'm pretty sure no one in your neighborhood has a better saw rack,or one dovetailed.

[James Pallas]

Nice work Phil. The dovetails look good from here. The small details make your till look great.
Jim

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice work! You are a brave soul dovetailing purple heart, how was it to work?

[Nick Stokes]

Looks great. However, it's not big enough.

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks all. Brian, any dovetail is still a challenge for me, not to mention my limited understanding of wood characteristics. I wasn't even aware of what I might run into. As I'm sure you know, it doesn't give much. If I tried in the least to force a tight fit, I'd get the "creaking" warning that something was about to split or crack. It's what likely lead to the gaps combined with still trying to determine what/where the tight spots are.

Anyway, more lessons learned, and an enjoyable project. Next up, a saw bench. Then enough of the shop furniture for awhile.

[Brian Holcombe]

Probably combined with the fact that the dovetails are along the grain rather than at the end of the grain, that would have made me a bit nervous. FWIW and I'm not the authority on these matters but it's worth considering for future endeavors; the dovetails on a piece like this would probably be setup so that you see the tail from the front of the case, single tail, and set up high enough from the bottom that the short grain would be about 1"~ or more. Sort of like a dovetailed lap joint.

Everything obviously worked out nicely, but there was a high risk of the tails breaking out since they're connected by 1/2"~ of short grain.

[Phil Mueller]

Good to know Brian, thanks. Didn't even think about grain orientation...something to consider in the future for sure.

Nick, I hope you're wrong, but fear you're right At least I've left a few open slots