Very Nice Dovetail Saw

Great looking saw. Have you sharpened it?

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

No sharpening yet. I’ve used it quite a bit, but it’s still very sharp. I talked with a couple people about sharpening the saw, and they say it could be a couple years before I need to sharpen it. I might try and do it myself when it needs it, but Lie-Nielsen will do it for $15.

-- Mike - http://inquisitivewoodworker.blogspot.com/

Now that’s a dovetail saw! It’s on my list. Along with the tenon saws and the carcass saws!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

The tenon and carcass saw are on my list too. After spending the money on the #7 Jointer, the saws will have to wait a little while.

-- Mike - http://inquisitivewoodworker.blogspot.com/

Yeah – the saws will be waiting a while for me too! I’m in a rare tool buying limbo…I think that’s a good thing. I know they don’t last forever!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

So it cuts on the push?

-- Maplewood, MN

Traditional Western saws do work on the push stroke. A lot of people start their cut with a pull saw. I did this for a long time too. After watching a Rob Cosman DVD on Dovetailing, he teaches to start on the push stroke. You have to have a light touch to do this, but now that I have the hang of it, it works much better. The key I have found to using this saw, is a very light grip and to let the weight of the saw do the work. Anytime I find my cut binding or it just isn’t cutting smoothly, I find I’m really gripping the saw too tight. This was an ah-ha moment for me.

-- Mike - http://inquisitivewoodworker.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the review Mike. I should be getting one of these next week. I have been struggling with dovetails for awhile now and tried the cheap saw route. But, being stubborn, I decided that if this venture was going to be successful I had better invest in a quality saw. So we shall see how it goes.

By the way your review helped swing me over to the Lie-Nielsen side.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I still love this saw. I will tell you, I have learned that new saws do need to be broken in. They really start to cut even better, after they have been used for a little while. I think after you start to knock off the burrs that are caused by sharpening, the saw starts to cut even smoother. So run it through it’s paces a little before tyring to cut some nice dovetails.

-- Mike - http://inquisitivewoodworker.blogspot.com/

Mike,

I have no illusions about being successful in cutting dovetails right out of the box but I would not have thought about this.

Thanks for the tip.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Mike, I don’t have the LN dovetail saw, but do have one from another maker that I love. I agree with your comments about breaking in the saw and using a light touch, it does make a huge difference. I thought the problems with my earlier attempts at dovetailing was my skill. But after buying a quality dovetail saw and some practice, found that my ah-ha moment was in the quality of the tool, it makes all the difference in the world. I now find any excuse I can to make dovetails in my projects!

Mike

I have the same saw, made by a sawmaker friend who later sold the patterns to LN. I also have the carcass saw (both serial numbers match—repeat three times: I am NOT a collector…) I also like the English pattern saws (some swear by the Japanese, but it’s an individual choice thing.) I love these saws! They seem to operate themselves. Great comments and good summary!

-- There's no tool like an old tool...

Great looking saw but sharpening is a bit of an issue.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Texasgaloot – so you have some original Independence Tool saws? That is cool, and you know Pete and Patrick ? Maybe even cooler :). I just bought the Carcass and large Tenon saw, for a class I’m taking soon. I just got them in, so I haven’t had a chanced to give them a test run, maybe this weekend. I’ll admit I haven’t tried a Japanese saw yet, but they will have to be amazing saws to out perform these saws. So, yes I think it does come down to personal choice.

Grumpy – Why do you think sharpening is an issue? I haven’t taught myself that skill yet, but Lie-Nielsen will resharpen them for $15. They don’t need to be resharpened that often, so I don’t see it as an issue.

-- Mike - http://inquisitivewoodworker.blogspot.com/