Maker’s Journal

Latest posts:

Events

Kaz standing behind the shared Phoebe Everill School for Wood stall at Timbecon, with backsaws on display stands and the Australian Quality Tools banner behind her

A day at Timbecon’s Tools, Timber & Techniques

A shared stall with the Phoebe Everill Furniture Making School at Timbecon’s Tools, Timber & Techniques in Epping, with Terry Gordon next door and plenty of good conversations about saws.

11 Oct 26

Announcements

Red and white Metex MP25L benchtop milling machine on a timber-topped stand with two drawers, against a timber wall

The milling machine has arrived

I picked up my milling machine on the 28th of September and it’s now set up in my new barn workshop at Porcupine Ridge. Here I share what it is, and what I’ll be making with it.

29 Sep 26

Handle Fit

Two backsaws with figured timber handles lying on a stack of oak boards

Hang angle: why my dovetail and carcass saws sit differently

My dovetail saws hang at 41 degrees and my carcass saws at 23. What hang angle is, how to see it, what it does to your stroke and how to tell if a saw suits the way you work.

27 Sep 26

Sharpening

Needle files laid beside a timber file handle with a brass ferrule

Needle files for sharpening a backsaw

The small triangular file I sharpen fine backsaws with. Which shape, size and cut to buy, the brand I use, where to get them in Australia and how to look after them.

24 Sep 26

Sharpening

A student checking the teeth of a backsaw with a marker pen and a magnifier before filing

Sharpening a backsaw, step by step

Sharpening a fine backsaw is a job of patience more than skill: one simple stroke, repeated, holding two angles. What you need, the six steps, and the mistakes I see most.

21 Sep 26

Sharpening

A student filing the teeth of a saw held in a saw vice while Kaz works at the next bench

How to tell when a saw is blunt

A saw doesn't go blunt all at once. It fades, and most people are sawing with a dull saw long before they admit it. The signs, two quick tests, and when to get the file out.

18 Sep 26

Saw Basics

Magnified backsaw teeth, filed straight across

Rake, fleam and slope: the three angles on a saw tooth

Every saw tooth carries three angles that decide how it starts, how fast it cuts and how clean it leaves the wood. What rake, fleam and slope are, and the numbers I use.

15 Sep 26

Saw Basics

Teeth of a backsaw held in an old Disston No. 2 saw vice on the workshop bench

TPI, PPI and pitch: counting saw teeth

Points per inch and teeth per inch aren't the same number, and pitch is a third way of saying it. How to count the teeth on your own saw and what the number tells you.

12 Sep 26