Dennis Wayne Woodshop

02/10/2024

Tomorrow at 3 PM I’ll be joining A Plane Life to talk about saws!

https://www.facebook.com/share/yLbSnSdDxSM8pbhT/?mibextid=I6gGtw

aPlaneLife
presents

Hand Planes & Coffee

Saturday, February 10, 2024, 3:00pm Eastern

This week on Hand Planes & Coffee – Dennis Wayne, Saw Maker

You may have seen his work on Can I Have It, or you have seen our own Tom Dickey proudly displaying the work of a ‘local’ saw maker. But, once you have seen a saw made by Dennis Wayne, you will not forget it.

I first noticed Dennis’s work when his amazing wheat carved handle panel saw showed up on Facebook. A throwback to the height of saw making in the US.

Join us this Saturday as we learn the story of another fabulous artisan working to preserve the meaning of the term ‘hand-crafted’, see his work, and learn about the joys and challenges of making back saws and panel saws that are functional art.

See everyone Saturday,

Greg Ricketts, aPlaneLife.us

You can follow the conversation live via Facebook LiveStream at:

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02/02/2024

Spent the past few days shaping this handle. The wood is Yarran with a Janka hardness rating of 4,470 which is how many pounds of force it takes to push a steel ball into the wood at half its diameter. Lignum Vitae is 4390 and white oak is a modest 1350. So it took a little extra effort but the result is worth it.

The wood is able to hold very crisp, sharp lines that can hold up getting knocked around. The grain and color are both incredible, the pictures don’t do it justice.

01/29/2024

Here’s a 20” tenon saw with the iconic John Kenyon-inspired handle. I was sitting around thinking about saws one day (which is usually the case) and decided to ask Ian Murdock what he thought about getting some 1” brass bars in to slot. Turns out he was already on it and I was able to slap one on this big SOB.

The brass is tapered from 7/8” at the toe to 1” at the heel.

I’ve admired how Shane Skelton’s top saws have the small detail where the heel of the brass curves into the handle. I wanted to try my own feature with this. To keep it simple, I started with a triangle shape on the brass to make it easier on myself shaping the wood to fit. As I was making the stopped chamfers on the brass, I noticed the resulting shape began to resemble a spade. As I refine this more, I’ll look to add some curvature so it looks like a deck of cards spade ♠️.

I toothed and sharpened this saw while hanging with Jamie Harpster and Eric Whetstone over in PA and it saw a lot of action very quickly. Turns out ripping with a giant back saw is incredibly fun!

There’s a 11” saw in the last picture for size comparison.

The mahogany handle is finished with Danish oil and Matt Cottrill’s furniture wax.

This is was my first shot at a Kenyon handle. I was beginning to feel somewhat inadequate not having done one yet. The London flat is a love it or hate it feature but I think it looks incredibly sharp and always draws my attention in a pile of old saws. This was an amazingly satisfying project.

01/29/2024

Working outside the shop today on building my sawmaking business, which includes a page! I'll provide updates and photos here as I move along. Thank you for checking in!