Wednesday, 10 October 2012

A Simple Saw Rack


For the last couple of years I've been keeping my handsaws in a saw till, the sort that balances them on their handles with blades pointing skywards. It wasn't a sophisticated production, just an experiment to see if I liked the arrangement, and the upshot was that I didn't. A saw was balanced while standing upright in the till but as soon as it was lifted free its centre of gravity was all wrong. The blade wanted to swing downwards, unless I reached high and lifted the blade - but then, what's the handle for? To hang from the hand, yes, but also to hang from a peg on the wall - just look at workshops throughout history. Not many saw tills in evidence and lots of handsaws hanging from pegs. So when I moved the workshop from one corner of the house to another recently I made this very simple saw rack with a piece of elm and three pegs. It's accommodating two ripsaws, three cross-cuts, a coping saw and a turning saw, with space for more, and is an absolute delight to use. Why complicate matters?
Just for practice I made the rack by eye, without recourse to try-square or rule, only using a bevel gauge to eyeball the angle for the pegs. When mounting it on the wall I didn't bother with a spirit level - my wife told me when it was straight! An article about it features in the current (October/November 2012) issue of British Woodworking.

2 comments:

  1. Doing things by eye is often the best way, you rely upon your own senses-it's very freeing. Great work, Rob!

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    Replies
    1. I agree Wilson. 'If it looks right, it is right,' as the boatbuilders say. Thanks.

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