Sawing by Hand?

[R.J.Bruce]

I noticed this topic arise in several other threads

How many here can saw a straight line, without any guide tool, with a hand saw? Crosscut, rip, back, etc.?

Before I was allowed to touch a power tool, my father first made me master the hand tool. I started with hand tools at about age 4-5, I can't really remember exactly when. We had hand crank drills with the same kind of chuck on it as an electric drill has, as well as a brace & bit. Stanley jack plane. Chisels & gouges. Claw hammers, framing hammers, ball peen hammers, straight peen & cross peen 2-pound sledgehammers, body mechanics hammer, wooden mallets, rawhide mallets, plastic mallets, rubber hammers, 10-pound sledgehammer. 150 year old Disston crosscut saw (uncle had the matching rip saw), back saw, jig saw, bow saw, English rip saw that I bought from Woodcraft. Every imaginable type of steel wrench in fractional sizes. Pipe wrenches from 4" to 18".

I just took tools for granted, growing up with both hand tools & power tools.

My father felt tools were an investment, so SEARS Craftsman was the least quality he would spend on a tool. Screwdrivers WERE NOT pry bars!!!!

My mother got her own set of tools that could be used/abused in any way she saw fit, as long as she understood that the rest of the tools down in the basement were OFF LIMITS!!!!!

[heinz]

I can. But I may need to sharpen and set the saw.   I hand saw all of my blanks after I have somebody else inlet them and drill the ramrod hole [I do not think those two tasks are fun] I tell my grandsons, it is separating rifle from not-rifle

[paulitus]

I have always used stop cuts and a chisel for major wood removal. This is what we were taught when I attended gunsmith school 45 years ago. I have tried ripping the sides of the forestock, as shown in the pictures. Too perilous for me.

[heinz]

I have no problem with power tools and those who can use them.  I do not have room in my garage for much and I enjoy using hand tools. Fortunately, labor cost is not an issue.  I also think the handwork gives a slightly different look and feel to the finished product, subtle in rifles a bit more pronounced in knives.

Paulitus, stop cuts and chisels is a fine technique. I just like to rip those long cuts and save the wood for other projects.

[Dave Patterson]

Mr B, I was raised the same way you were; taught my kids the same way.  I'm happy to report, they're now teaching theirs in the same manner:  get proficient with the sweat-powered tools, THEN move on to motor-powered tools.

Pop and his two brothers built several houses in my home town during the post-War building boom; they couldn't afford power tools, so everything was cut to fit, by hand, with no "trusses" or galvanized framing hangers, and every hole, nail and screw was hand-powered, as well.  All those houses have withstood many a trial over the past 60-70 years; earthquakes, fires and floods, they're still standing, and still don't creak or pop in the wind.

That learning process has paid off many times over, for me, and for my sons; yet to be determined for the grandkids, but I'm sure we'll find out over time. 

[R.J.Bruce]

A really sharp saw is a joy to use. Unfortunately, I never learned how to set the teeth, and sharpen a saw, although I did have the tool to set the teeth. It came in a box of "JUNK", as the auctioneer termed it, that I purchased for $0.25 when I was about 10 years old. Got a couple of old carbon steel butcher knives in that box, as I recall.

A rip saw is more finicky as to sharpness than a crosscut saw is, at least it is in my experience. All I ever had to use was the English saw I bought from Woodcraft for about $100.00. My uncle was jealous of my great-grandfather's wood working tools, and I was never allowed the chance to compare that 150 year old steel in the Disston saw to the English saw. If if cut anywhere as well as the crosscut Disston saw did, then it would have been a real pleasure to use.

[Ken G]

My hats off to you guys if you make that long of a straight cut with a handsaw.  Impressive. 

Ken

[heinz]

R.J. Bruce. That is a Disston Rip saw in the picture slabbing off the fore are.  Ripsaws are the easiest to sharpen, although the most finicky as you noted. 

this is a really interesting website on Disston Saws http://disstonianinstitute.com

There are a number of websites and you-tubes on saw sharpening.

[45-110]

Was always taught that a saw had to have the teeth joined first before the sharpening and setting steps. A blade clamp is also part of the "kit"
Tedious work for sure but a real joy to use when the blade has been done that way.
kw

[rich pierce]

I recently sharpened the blade on my frame saw using magnification to do it and was very pleasantly surprised how it cuts now. I have been hand sawing my blanks when I couldn’t get to a bandsaw.

[RossN]

I bought a Japanese pull saw - what a revelation! Long straight cuts are no problem, and the kerf is much smaller.

Most of my hand saws have been retired as a result. Induction hardened teeth mean no resharpening though.

[smart dog]

Hi,
I can and have been able to since I was 12.  I've sawn stocks out with bow saws and Japanese saws to precise lines.  I don't do it now because I can do the same on my bandsaw without any guide.  It is so much easier.  My Dad started me out at 9 or so helping him make arrows and leather stuff.  When he got me started on wood working, he had be file an irregular chunk of wood into a rectangle, then had me turn that into a square, and then into a sphere.  It is great practice. 

dave

[R.J.Bruce]

My hats off to you guys if you make that long of a straight cut with a handsaw.  Impressive. 

Ken

By the time I was 10-12 years old, I was expected to be able to saw the length of an 8' sheet of 1/4" thick plywood as accurately as if I had clamped a straight edge to the plywood, and sawed it with a circular saw. The key, as Mr. Coates stated in another thread, is to let the weight of the sharp saw do 99% of the work, while keeping the hand/forearm/elbow/shoulder of the sawing arm DIRECTLY BEHIND THE CENTERLINE of the saw. Just like with holding a pool cue, and properly using one, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE STROKE.

And, grasping/squeezing the handle of the saw as lightly as if it were a fragile egg.

[Craig Wilcox]

I had gotten my wife some decent around-the-house type tools, and asked her to please not use mine.  Still, she never figured out that straight-slot screwdrivers went in a different place than Phillips, so she never knew how I knew she'd been in my tool box!

[flinchrocket]

Just put the screwdrivers that you want her to use out where they are easy to find.

[Daniel Coats]

Here's a picture from my last build, cut with a handsaw.




I can take more pictures from strips I cut 52 inches long

[heinz]

Nice sawyering Daniel!  I go to a plane when I am that close.

[Fly Navy]

You guys are really good. Looks like I need to practice a lot more.

[bluenoser]

Was always taught that a saw had to have the teeth joined first before the sharpening and setting steps.
kw

This thread has been a most interesting read.
It is called jointing and usually needs to be done periodically when a saw is sharpened by hand.  The teeth can become wavy or uneven in height due to successive hand sharpenings.  I have purchased good older handsaws with the teeth bellied out a good 1/8"in the center section.  I don't think machine sharpening has the same effect.  The saw is jointed by passing a fine file lengthwise along the teeth until each tooth has been hit, thus ensuring they are all the same height.  Each tooth is then sharpened just to the point that the flat disappears.  The teeth can also be completely removed and new teeth cut at a different pitch, or converted from crosscut to rip or rip to crosscut.

I have a sharpening vise and a saw set, but have never been much good at sharpening.  Luckily, there is  a gent in our community who still sharpens saws - albeit by machine.

[RAT]

I bought a Japanese pull saw years ago and have never looked back. The mechanics of pulling instead of pushing are all in your favor. It yields straighter cuts and less fatigue.

[Daniel Coats]

I broke down and bought a brand new rip saw several months ago. I take extra good care of it and put it back in it's factory packaging and hang it up so that it the teeth don't come in contact with anything while it's not being used.

Anyone touches that saw around here risks being yelled at!

[Curtis]

I don't own a band saw so I saw all my blanks by hand.  I can find crosscut and ripsaws for cheep at swap meets etc, many in good shape.   After sharpening and a little cleanup they work great!

Curtis

[Clark Badgett]

I have a Japanese pull saw, and really don't like it for long cuts. I get my straightest cuts using the regular type saws.

[RAT]

It might have something to do with technique. I use a band saw now to saw the waste material from the sides of the forestock. But when I was using a pull saw, and any time I use a pull saw for long cuts like this...

1. I always square the wood in a vise. So, for a forestock, I would clamp the stock in a vise with the butt sitting on the floor. Using a carpenters square with bubble level, I place the long edge against the side of the stock so the bubble part is at top. Move it around a little to get the bubble centered, then clamp tight.

2. After starting the cut on my marked line, I stand directly facing the stock. I take up a stance kind of like how the Army taught you to shoot a pistol. Square (not angled) to your target. Feet about shoulder width apart, knees loose, not locked.

3. I then grasp the long handle of the saw with both hands, one hand behind the other (that's what the long handle is for). My palms are pointed in towards the handle and my knuckles are up. I then rapidly pull the saw towards me, then let it move forward... back and forth... back and forth... placing more speed and force on the pull stroke.

Once the saw starts going straight, it stays going straight, and I can cut much faster with less fatigue.

It's a different technique than using a western hand saw.

[R.J.Bruce]

I always wanted to try the Japanese saws, but I never got around to it. I did purchase Japanese water stones up to 8000 grit, and those were a revelation.