# Frankenstein's halfback



## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Here are some pics of a little saw build that I finished today. End result is an 18" halfback saw that is filed 12ppi crosscut. 























I cut the plate out of an old 24" D23 that I had laying around, and patterned it after the Wenzloff style halfback with the ogee toe. Some of the etch is still there, even after cleaning & polishing it. 









Ordered the folded brass back from Two Guys In A Garage. 

Only thing I'm not crazy about is the weird hang angle compared to all my other saws








Thinking I may have to make a new tote with a deeper, more reasonable hang angle.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

It is still a good looking saw, even if it does hang a little different.


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## Dam8 (Jan 22, 2015)

i like the double radius nose nicely done


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Here's a bit of an update. I ended up making a new handle for it with a more comfortable hang angle. Handle is maple burl. Here are a cpl pics






















Note the huge difference in hang angle from the previous pic. I can't wait to get it drilled & attached so I can test cut it!

Here's a wet pic of the final coat of finish. Finish is Waterlox XL 88. Easily the best varnish I have ever used!!


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## Dam8 (Jan 22, 2015)

Nice saw collection, kinda petty, but it does look better with the others hanging the same!
it out shines the others with the awesome handle! Great work


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Dam8 said:


> Nice saw collection, kinda petty, but it does look better with the others hanging the same!
> it out shines the others with the awesome handle! Great work



More important than the way it looks hanging there is the way it performs. The Disston handle I put on it originally had a very shallow hang angle in relation to the toothline, because of the shape of the plate. It was awkward to cut with. 

I'm hoping that the new handle's deeper angle will feel more like an Atkins "perfection" pattern; they have a much more aggressive feel & action to them.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

That is some beautiful wood, you did a great job on the handle, it does look a lot better the way it hangs also.


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Finished product, finally!






























Hard to tell from the pic, but the best part is that cut! Smooth as a baby's behind ;-) lol


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

Simply amazing work. :yes:

Am I guessing correctly that you took an old blade and then redid / remanufactured it completely with the tooth pattern, length and shape that you wanted?

You Sir, NEVER cease to amaze me with your skill level and the things that you do. The handle alone was awesome by itself - But if you just did what I think you did - THAT was over the top... :yes:

I am guessing you just *did* what I see whenever I watch the Paul Sellers saw sharpening videos / lectures / tutorials. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTqZTGPPRj0



Following this thread now and hope you get time to share some more of your time and thoughts. Very much appreciate the schooling here BZ. :thumbsup:


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Thanks Oneal. Fortunately, I didn't have to completely recut the teeth. The D 23 donor plate was already of a 12 ppi pitch, but everything else was a wreck. I jointed it down damn near to the bottom of the gullets to straighten the zigzag toothline out and fix some tooth sizing issues. It's a lot of work and time consuming but the upside is you can configure the tooth geometry exactly how you want it. 

Next time I do a saw restoration I'll start a thread


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

That is beautiful, it flat out turned out great, not many folks have a saw that nice.


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