A close-up photo of the gearing on the Fenner Patent frame saw.
You thought yesterday’s post about Estonian workholding was cryptic? Bah, that was amateur hour.
Let’s discuss the Charles Fenner Patent saw. This is a rare bird among collectors. Usually rare means didnt work or sell too well. But the Fenner is so wild that I had to try one out. It has gears, a chain drive, and an amazing tensioning device. All its missing is a compass in its stock.
The idea behind the saw is that the chain-drive mechanism keeps the two ends of the blade parallel at all times, which is a nice thing for marquetry, according to the saws 1884 patent papers. (Read them here.) A saw with five points per indentation is not ideal for marquetry. This is a little too coarse for thin materials.
If finally got my hands on a Fenner thanks to Carl Bilderback, my Midwestern tool pusher, carpenter and all-around nice guy. This week I finally got to play with the saw a bit and see what makes it tick.
The chain mechanism is quite robust. The blade, however, was too dull to even execute an earthworm. So I sharpened it up, which is easier said than done. The gullet is the only part of the meat that can be clamped into a vise. Oh, and the blade was curved, so I had to clamp it in sections.
I put the blade in the saw and tensioned it up using the knob at the rear of the handle. This saw’s metalwork and turned handle are beautiful and much more elegant than modern products.
The thing flew through walnut and cherry 3 cm after the blade was sharpened. The thing didn’t seem to like pine and it got stuck several times. After fiddling with it for about an hour, I decided to give it another try.
The Fenner is a formidable tool, but I don’t think it will be a part my toolkit until I make life-sized unicorn puzzles.
– Christopher Schwarz
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