Coping saw advice

[Androo]

I'm fashioning a knife handle, and it's most likely to be made from either Mahogony or Yew.

Looking on eBay, I see many different kinds - Bahco, Eclipse, and really cheap (99p) ones. What kind of size, style would I be looking for when sawing the handle? Is there any kind of coping saw that I should steer away from? What are reputed to be best quality?

I know they're generally less than £10, but with money so tight, I would like to make the right choice for the knife handle and be able to use it for future projects. If anyone has a decent quality one to sell (with blades), feel free to get in touch.

Cheers

[sasquatch]

There are two ways to look at it;

Just buy one and think of the money you'll save by making your own knife. It'll soon pay for itself.

If times are that tough don't buy one. Use that rasp and file to get to where you need, it just takes a bit longer and more elbow grease. You don't need a coping saw but they do make life easier.

I bought mine from B&Q years back(Eclipse) and have since bought cheap blades for it. The cheap blades are fine...

[reedx]

You won't regret going for something like a Bahco 301. A quick look and you can get one for £9.54 delivered from here.

Colin

[Mesquite]

All coping saws rely on the frame tensioning the blade so if you find you need more tension you can widen the frame slightly so it doesn't really matter if it costs lots or is a cheaper brand as you're just paying for a name and perhaps a slightly fancier handle

So buy a handle at the price you're comfortable with paying as you won't get much extra features with a more expensive model and you'll get just as good a result

[JAG009]

Dont buy a cheap one ,,you will not get good tension on the blade and that is whats needed for good cutting


Jason

[JAG009]

All coping saws rely on the frame tensioning the blade so if you find you need more tension you can widen the frame slightly so it doesn't really matter if it costs lots or is a cheaper brand as you're just paying for a name and perhaps a slightly fancier handle

So buy a handle at the price you're comfortable with paying as you won't get much extra features with a more expensive model and you'll get just as good a result

This widening the frame will not work it will just bend back to were it was and you loose all you tension ..good coping saws have sprung steel frames and will always keep the tension


Jason

[Androo]

There are two ways to look at it;

Just buy one and think of the money you'll save by making your own knife. It'll soon pay for itself.

If times are that tough don't buy one. Use that rasp and file to get to where you need, it just takes a bit longer and more elbow grease. You don't need a coping saw but they do make life easier.

I bought mine from B&Q years back(Eclipse) and have since bought cheap blades for it. The cheap blades are fine...

Very true, it's not like I'm thinking of spending £500 on a bushy. 'It's just a coping saw'
What rasp and file? I don't own either...yet, but I do have lots of good quality sandpaper, so thought a coping saw would give me more control than a rasp & file (although they too are on my tool-list for a number of purposes.

The mahogony I have is very dry and from initial experimentations rasping it might well tear wood where I want to shape before sanding... hmmm...

I think a coping saw would be best for my purposes just now. When I have a few more quids I'll get a good rasp & file set.

[Androo]

Some good advice, thank you all.

There are a few second hand 301's on t'bay - gonna try my luck with those before I spend £10 on a new one.

[tombear]

Hit a few carboots or flea markets and pick up a old good quality one for pence or a quid or two tops. 'may need a bit of TLC but they out there, got at least three that way for myself and one for the middle sons tool kit.

(Why three?, two for blades for metal and wood and a adjustable one for using with broken blades. And because they had the potential to be shiny again!)

I can't emphasise how many quality tools are out there begging for new homes, about a hour back I picked up a Footprint 1/4 inch scotch eye auger for a quid on Accrington flea thats now sitting in some boiling water and citric acid powder (cut offs of 25mm plastic tube with a cork hammered in are great for soaking augers in) before I give it a quick wire brushing and if needed touch up the cutting edges. A half inch new ones what 25 quid? I couldnt find a 1/4 for sale and of course the company closed down a few years back so I'm also preserving a bit of history.

I'll get my coat

ATB

Tom

[Androo]

Hit a few carboots or flea markets and pick up a old good quality one for pence or a quid or two tops. 'may need a bit of TLC but they out there, got at least three that way for myself and one for the middle sons tool kit.

(Why three?, two for blades for metal and wood and a adjustable one for using with broken blades. And because they had the potential to be shiny again!)

I can't emphasise how many quality tools are out there begging for new homes, about a hour back I picked up a Footprint 1/4 inch scotch eye auger for a quid on Accrington flea thats now sitting in some boiling water and citric acid powder (cut offs of 25mm plastic tube with a cork hammered in are great for soaking augers in) before I give it a quick wire brushing and if needed touch up the cutting edges. A half inch new ones what 25 quid? I couldnt find a 1/4 for sale and of course the company closed down a few years back so I'm also preserving a bit of history.

I'll get my coat

ATB

Tom

A quid???

Now that's what I'm talking about! There are a few charity/bric-a-brac shops in town and a car-boot this weekend which I will definitely check out. I'm with you on the old tool front, I'd rather a well engineered tool that needs a brush up than a mass-produced overpriced tool that will most likely break with too greasy an elbow.

[tombear]

yup here it was before



And after 20minutes work not including the soaking time.




It was perfectly usable before but i hate rust and it did benefit from cleaning and then rubbing with a oily bit of smooth wet and dry before touching up the two cutting edges with a small diamond file and fetling the screw thread on the end with a good needle file.



I'll cut a piece of wood for the handle when I see a suitable bit although I improvise when i take augers out as a rule.

To realy make you sick i could take a pic of the 1.5 inch huge auger I got from the same market, unused, by another defunct Sheffield company and the 1 inch Footprint ex army job that they were selling off on ebay a few years back, still in the cosmoline! I think I paid 3 for the 1.5 inch dia.

The week before last i got 14 imperial sized UK made fostner bits for a brace that just needed polishing (OK didnt need but looked prettier) for the princely sum of £3.50 and the guy actually apologised for the state of the old cigar box they were stuffed in!

incidentally for the perposes of touching up paint jobs on tools does anyone know a equivilent to Footprint pale blue? I got it from a collector down in Oz that Record blue is the same as Humbrol enamel Insignia Blue. I know its not the baked on stuff the factory used but if I'm doing something up before I use it i like to do as good a job as I can. It also inhibits rust a bit if I want some justification.

ATB

Tom

[Androo]

Splendid!

The town I live close to is too small to earth up great deals like that, but I live in hope!

[tombear]

Best of luck! Another good source is elderly relations and their friends. That way I picked up some pretty much unused Stubbs files last month, just needed derusting and new handles!

Atb

Tom

[Biker]

Top tip abut looking at bootfairs.

Eclipse is my preferred weapon of choice when it comes to coping saws, just check that the thread on the handle is sound if you buy at a bootfair and that the little slot the coping saw notch fits into is also unbroken.

The two I have are hand-me-downs from my grandfather which are still going strong, the tension in them is fine too. I buy Eclipse blades because I trust the name and you can get a pack of 10 for under a fiver-ish.

Avoid anything made by Silverline, it may look good and their prices are brillaint, but you get shyte quality and will kick yourself for ever wasting your money.

Be on the lok out for rasps and files at the bootfair too. Rasps are for roughing out and removing a lot of stock or waste, then the files come into play which are finer rasps effectively, then you go to finer toothed files and then on to sandpaper.

Simples!

Edit: Just seen the posting above about Record Blue paint. I used Finnegans smoothrite blue (the same manufacturer who makes Hammerirte) The colour is slightly lighter but not too bad if you're not too fussy. Siffice to say it does the job on inhibiting rust.

[Androo]

Cheers Biker,

I agree on the silverline crap. I bought a ton of blades to go with my 80's 'industrial' Bosch jig-saw (which is a beaut!) and the blades kept snapping and warping on very soft woods.

I suppose for the £10 I'd spend on a good, new coping saw, I could land a good quality second hand coping saw and a few rasps... you know, I might brave the rain for the carboot this weekend - the rain will put many off and leave more bargains for me - muahahahahhaaa!

Cheers for the tips!

[swright81076]

Definitely, avoid silverline like the plague.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[demographic]

A quid???

Now that's what I'm talking about! There are a few charity/bric-a-brac shops in town and a car-boot this weekend which I will definitely check out. I'm with you on the old tool front, I'd rather a well engineered tool that needs a brush up than a mass-produced overpriced tool that will most likely break with too greasy an elbow.

The local secondhand tool barn bloke sells stuff like coping saws at about a quid as well. I have a few kicking about. Bit of rust but easy to clean up and perfectly serviceable.
There's often scotch eye augers and a good selection of rasps and files (the rasps and files go for two quid) and old handplanes, whatever. Great place and I'm in quite often.

[Biker]

The local secondhand tool barn bloke sells stuff like coping saws at about a quid as well. I have a few kicking about. Bit of rust but easy to clean up and perfectly serviceable.
There's often scotch eye augers and a good selection of rasps and files (the rasps and files go for two quid) and old handplanes, whatever. Great place and I'm in quite often.

Group buy?

[Hugo]

Nice auger tombear, bit too long for me, I have the footprint 5/8 one a foot long comes in handy when out and about, sold about 20 of them on here to other members.
Boot fairs, can't beat them for old tools.

[tombear]

Yup I'm bound to snap it! What motivated me to get it was a episode of Timeteam I saw them using a long drill, far longer than owt I have, to take the pith out of the centre of a twig to make a whistle or some such and I quite fancy having a go at that!

Atb

Tom

[Colin.W]

or you could make a mini bucksaw with a coping saw blade

[Androo]

or you could make a mini bucksaw with a coping saw blade

Hmmm, tempting, but I already have too many projects on the go!
Gonna give the bootfair a quick hello tomorrow morning and see what I can manifest first.

My wants for tomorrow include coping saw, rasps and some unused epoxy. I only have a tenner to spend...fingers crossed it's still on as we've had enough rain to warrant the booty being cancelled.

[Androo]

Well, the boot fair was cancelled/rained off so I squelched over to t'bay and found a coping saw listed by a gentleman that had reached a point in his life where he couldn't use hand tools any more (how sad is that ) It's an Eclipse 7CP about 20 years old, the patina on the handle is gorgeous and he threw in a few spare blades too. It went for just 99p, but the best thing is that I landed a bargain priced good quality tool, that has been well looked after and probably has many more decades use left in it.

Thanks for the advice all

[Biker]

Great news that!

Remember: Let the saw do the work, you're there to guide it and provide the back and forth action, NOT to lean hard down on it and go through the blades like there's no tomorrow. There are some schools of thought that suggest the blade could be fitted backwards with the cutting action working on the pull stroke, personally I get along better using a coping saw the conventional way. So long as the frame is tight, it makes no real difference

Looking forward to seeing the result of this addition to your arsenal.

Yeah, tis sad to hear of a tradesman unable to use his hands any longer, gotta be galling that. Least he didn't just bin 'em that would be the crying shame.

[Dave Budd]

I rarely ever use a coping saw for cutting handles out. If I'm not in the workshop where I have a bandsaw and belt grinder, then I use GOOD rasps and often a drawknife. Ask any of the dozens of people that I've taught to make knives with my primitive forges, none of them has ever been given a coping saw and they've all succeeded in shaping some weird and wonderful handles

Shinto saw rasps are the mutts nuts when it comes to flat and convex curves (infact with parctice you can rough out concave shapes too),have a coarse and smooth side (smooth goes straihgt to 120 grit paper) cost about £12 and last for a very very long time.

You have to go over to rasps after a saw and since coping saws require consumable blades that snap for a past time, I just don't bother pratting about with them.

[plastic-ninja]

I have to agree with Dave about those Shinto rasp thingies!
I used one on one of his axe courses and was very impressed with it.
I must get one...must resist....must get one....must resist......
Simon

[demographic]

personally I get along better using a coping saw the conventional way. So long as the frame is tight, it makes no real difference

Yeah, me too. The breakout goes to the side away from the pencil mark and its better to see the pencil mark as well.
Seem to remember that some come with the teeth facing the rear (the wrong way in my opinion) when you buy them and I guess some people just keep on thinking that's how it should be.

[Colin.W]

total agree on the teeth facing the wrong way. teeth facing toward the handle is for fret saw work a completely different bag of jelly beans. deeper frame. thinner blade. working from the underside in a downward pull motion. coping saws are used as normal saws