John,

Patience, I'm not so sure. They didn't take all that long to make.
That is my first set of hands, up to that point I had made portions of 
hands to replace bits that had been broken off and lost.
The hands in the photo are fairly simple as they are little more than a 
2-D flat pattern. I used a standard piercing (jewelers) saw to cut them 
out.

<https://www.
flickr.com/photos/91137513@N.../15492475078/>

or

<https://www.flickr.com/photos/91137513@N.../15493067090/in/photostream
/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/91137513@N.../15493067090/in/photostream/>

While making the hands I did formulate my "you can't have too many small 
files" rule.

I got the idea for the D rings from an article in the Horological Times 
about  Kees Englebarts a maker of superb watch dials. It used to be 
available on the web but seems to have vanished. In the article was a 
photo of a similar tool, I was about to start making those hands and 
thought such a thing would be useful.  As far as I know, they are not 
commercially available.
It is used more like a file than a saw and is especially useful when 
shaping a curved contour or sharp corner that would likely break off the 
tip of one of your favorite 100 year old files. Don't ask.

My second set of hands took a little more time as they were more three 
dimensional and I gave them a black polish. A silly extreme but I felt 
like pushing the edge of the envelope.
A photo of them while still in the white.

<https://www.flickr.com/photos/91137513@N.../15654151516/in/photostream
/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/91137513@N.../15654151516/in/photostream/>

The D ring was invaluable on this project. Varying the blade tension 
helps to match the contour and the tool is a great way to recycle those 
broken blades.

The one with the strip of diamond coated shim stock was my idea and has 
so far proven quite useless.

In this case the wooden bench block (bench pin) was the point of the 
photo. When sawing or shaping small parts holding the work piece with 
your fingers on the bench block is easier than using a vise and will 
result in far fewer broken blades.  With a piercing saw, bench block, 
and a few small files making a hook like the one in Mal's photo would be 
a simple project.

Troy

On 10/31/2014 11:52 AM, John Ruth wrote:
> Troy:
>
> That photo could be entitled "Patience".  Tiny files, teeny-weeny saws 
> made in half-circles, a set of complex pierced hands, etc. Hours of 
> effort which can be spoiled at any point by a mistake.
> Are the half circle saws shop-made? If not, who makes them? Why is the 
> half-circle a good shape? Does it facilitate angled cuts?
> John Ruth