Playground Equipment

A Sea of Saws… see saws below.

Many of the saws we also handed down and used by my Dad for MANY years. Some are ebay finds (one all the way from Japan) and some are VERY recent arrivals.

Starting with the big saws these are both new production saws that just arrived in the last week. Both are 36” however you’ll notice that they have two different patterns. The first saw is a lace pattern and was designed specifically for green soft woods… Seems to make sense given the 4 cutting teeth to each raker.



Next up is a 36” tuttle pattern which is designed for hard and seasoned woods. This saw only has two cutters for each raker so it’s less aggressive than the first. Both saws have a helper handle on the end for well… A helper :) The handle is easy to remove and so far its far more comfortable to cut (one man) with the handle off, At some point, I’d like to replace both of these with wooden handles vs these plastic one. Plastic on a tool like this just does not belong.



Another noteworthy item was the edge, or lack of edge on the saws when they arrived. Here is a closeup of the lace and tuttle with the lace pattern being “as is” and the tuttle with a more complete edge that I put on by hand with a sharpening file (more on that during the sharpening post). There was an improvement in its performance with a better edge and took about 45 minutes to complete. Had I seen these saws in person first vs purchasing them on-line, I may have hesitated a bit based on the cost and the out of the box condition. I’m not totally disappointed it just means that some extra effort is going to be required on the edges as well as the rather blocky feel of the wood handles (and the previously mentioned plastic helper handles. All of which can be customized to my personal preference, just a little more customization that I’d like to see in a saw in this price range.


Lace pattern (not sharp)



Tuttle pattern (hand sharpened)




Various saws: Few of these are ebay finds but most were handed down. The only “metal” cutting saw in the bunch is this hack saw purchased on ebay for .99 cents. A new production tajima pull saw with multiple blades, coping saw (which BTW is probably the very first saw I EVER used, 33+ years ago)…This one really has special meaning. Next up is a 1940’s era Japanese pull saw that is marked with presumably the owners name. It was purchased/shipped from Japan via ebay for I believe $30.00ish…. Still a razor after 50 years. Two very fine tool saws and a tiny saw for very precise dovetail type work.



A collection of Hand saws which I am looking forward to bringing back to original condition.



Lastly the least expensive saw in the bunch that everyone who spends time in the woods should have. Inexpensive, functions well and you can purchase multiple spare blades at minimal cost.

Whatcha Doin' Harry

Funny, nobody commented and asked "why do you call your husband, whose name is clearly Dave, Harry..." I don't actually have an answer. Its just one of those things... I just thought I would mention it.

Today's Installment of “Woodworking with Harry” ;-) involves hand planes and draw knives. Below are several prized hand planes, all of which have been handed down.



From left to right… No 6, K5, Unmarked, No 78, No 65. Small Draw Knife. I do have a much larger draw knife as well as another block plane similar to the 65 but they are in the shop being refurbished at the moment. What is not pictured is an assortment of Hock blades. Have to say that although not cheap, the Hock blades are some of the best I have EVER seen… they are thick and will hold and edge like a scalpel. As part of the next few projects it’s likely that I will rely heavily on the No 6 for the mass of the plane in order to finish off some rough lumber that will be ripped by hand. Speaking of Ripping and Crosscutting…..Next episode will cover several styles of saws. Bonus segment on what I would consider the best all around chain saw.

I Axed Dave to Post! :)

I have been bugging Dave (the husband, aka Harry) to help come up with some ideas for this blog. Finally he has provided me a MARVELOUS piece! He has also promised me that he will be contributing to the blog in the future!!! So look for his posts!! Thanks!

It’s not very often that I post, however once in a while I get the bug :) when something grabs my attention or if its possibly something that others may be interested in. Several weeks ago my Wife got two amazing documentaries… One I recall seeing MANY years ago but the overall concept had not stuck… this time however it was as if I were in a trance… I'm referring to the “One Man’s Wilderness” story about Richard Proenneke. What an Amazing story and equally amazing accomplishments with such a tiny compliment of basic hand tools. I was fascinated and look forward to watching it again. Highly recommend it, just wish there was more. Seeing this documentary sparked the creative juices again as well as the interest in hand tools… As you can see from some of the other posts I grew up with woodworking and tools and have many prized tools from my Dads collection which I still use today. The collection of power tools is HUGE and fills a two bay garage at home and I’ve used them over the years to complete cabinets, furniture, vanity’s etc… that could be a post all its own, however what we are focusing on here is the human powered.

Last year though I started to gain a much greater appreciation and fondness for the hand tools that my Dad passed down to me as well as the ones that I’ve been collecting since that time. Starting with the more basic (Similar to what Mr Proenneke had in his video) I’ll try to give some detail on each and then move on to some of the more task specific tools as we go. If you want any specifics, just drop a comment and I’ll get back to you.

Lets kick off the “Woodworking with Harry” Miniseries with an assortment which includes (Axe, Broad Axe, Double bit, Hatchets. Adz)


Some of these were handed down by my Dad, More recently, I purchased the double bit axe from ebay in Oregon for about 12 bucks and slapped a new handle on it. Didn’t take very long to put a nice razor edge on it. The Broad axe is probably to pitted to work with or restore but I’ll give it a shot and keep an eye out for a broad-axe that is in good shape. Other notables here are the $9.00 bowl adz that just arrived…. Ebay has proven to be quite a good resource for vintage tools. Some of these were previously painted and are in various stages of being brought back to original condition.

Stay tuned for the next installment which covers assorted Planes