David

Don't you think that Mike's wife deserves something for

Valentines day?

Gary

PS... that is one beautiful piece of work.

Thanks for posting the picture, I read that you requested the saw to cut very finely. I have the Lie Nielsen dovetail saw and find this a bit too course, do you agree?

Gary,

for sure!

Mark,

I think tooth pitch, (PPI or TPI) is related to the thickness of timber you wish work.

In his excellent book "Cutting Edge Cabinetmaking", Pub GMC, Robert Ingham explains that he uses Zona model making saws for the tiny drawers and trays in his extraordinary jewellery boxes.

There are now several excellent makers of hand filed saws, please let me know if there are more about?

Adria, L-N, Wenzloff and Grammercy, the latter available from the maker, Joel at Tools for Working Wood

The most important thing about saws is that they are sharp and evenly set.

The second most important thing is the technique of the user, no death grip, and supporting 80% of the weight of the saw. Rob Cosman describes this as kissing the baby! I find I can get equally good kerfs, straight and clean, from all the above mentioned saws. The saws with less TPI require more care and sensetivity on starting and I have noticed that beginners often find the saws with more TPI easier to start.

So after all that waffle, no, I do not think L-N and Adria are too coarse and I would find them ideal for larger carcase dovetails or drawer dovetailing in the USA tradition, i.e. half inch softwood drawer sides. However for UK tradition, 5/16" quartered oak, I might prefer the Grammercy or Wenzloff.

best wishes,
David

Hi David,

That is a fine looking saw. I am sure it is as good as you say. So much so, I just emailed Wenzloff's to set the wheels in motion.
I don't expect an exotic wood for the handle, unless they will let me send them a nice piece of figured English walnut!

Thank you David, for helping me make up my mind on this one.

Regards
John

hi there,
do you know if this is a good saw to cut metal?

No, absolutely not!

This is a dovetail saw for wood.

For cutting metal one needs a Hacksaw with much harder teeth.

David

I recently acquired one of the Wenzloff dovetail saws and must say I am absolutely blown away by its quality even if the handle is not African Blackwood. I find that it is much easier to start than one by another maker that I acquired earlier, even though the Wenzloff is a coarser tpi.

I have since acquired several other Wenzloff saws and must say that, even though I am certainly not an expert sawyer, I do far, far better with his saws than I have ever before been able to do.

Like David Charlesworth's books, these Wenzloff saws are amongst the best of their kind: they inspire one to do one's best work and they make woodworking easier and more fun. Quite a bargain, I'd say.

Following David's recommendation I also ordered a Wenzloff saw, specifying that I wanted to be able to cut half-blind dovetail sockets in thin timber. Mike's solution is 16 tpi, 0.016" thick blade with minimal set on the teeth so it tracks beautifully. The handle - I chose figured Bubinga - is every bit as comfortable and functional as David says.
Thanks for the recommendation.
Best regards
Michael

Hi David
Having just looked at the Wenzloff dovetail saw online, I see that it has one less TPI than the L-N and that both saws have the same blade thickness and set and therefore create the same kerf. Why then do you prefer the Wenzloff for the smaller UK style dovetails? Is it because your saw is in some way different to the standard one advertized online? If so then I would be most interested in the specifications. I like my L-N dovetail saw but I have used the Rob Cosman trick and run the teeth once or twice over a fine diamond plate to slightly reduce the set.
Regards
Kevin.

Kevin,

My saw has more TPI than the L-N so yes I think it was a special.

David