how to rip a board by hand

[David Wadstrup]

Hello,

I'm starting a new project(a Roubo bench from Benchcrafted's plans) and am hoping to dimension all of my boards by hand. It's a big project, I know, but I think it can be done with a little bit of patience. I need some advice on how to rip the boards, sometimes 8'+, though. They will often be pretty narrow, 6" or less, in width. What's the best way to go about this? I'd love to hear your advice.

Thanks for your help,

David Wadstrup

[James Phillips]

Build a saw bench and get a good rip saw. If you start the cut square, it will want to stay square, but still be patient

[lowell holmes]

http://handtoolstechniques.blip.tv/rss/flash


Watch the no. 4 episode.

[John Coloccia]

Also, check out the Neanderthal section. That's SMC for "hand tool section" :)

[Sean Troy]

Flipping through channels yesterday, I saw the Woodwright shop and thats exactly what they were doing. They would sit on the board that had already been started with the cut, use a rip saw and make the cut away from you. Pull the piece towards you as needed.

[Jack Pinkham]

Can't help you, but your question reminds me of Ernie Swanson, an old Swede I worked with, who told me about building his house. Power saws were a luxury which he couldn't afford at the time. The lumber he bought from the local mill had no 2x4s, so he ripped them all from 2x12s using a hand saw.

[David Woodruff]

I admire your instincts and desire to rip boards the way our ancestors did. In the 1960s I had a similar motivation to build an enternainment cabinet and shelves with hand rip and cross cut saws, hand plane, etc etc. I bought a dozen boards of 12" x 8' & 10' VG Fir. I began working that first Monday afternoon after my day job, worked several more nights, by saturday went to Sears and bought my first big boy tool, a 10" radial arm saw. I did finish my project and I am proud of it 50 years later. Moral to this story, I hope you have more patience than I did.
Best of luck to you.

[mike v flaim]

The latest episode of the Woodwright's Shop was about sawing with Chris Schwarz as a guest host. If you have the show in your area you might want to check it out.

[Jason Chestnut]

I'm in the middle of doing exactly the same thing. Yes, it's hard work, but it's rewarding once you get it done. Don't let anyone else dissuade you from going this route if it's what you want. With good saws, the crosscuts are easy -- it's the rips (as you've identified) that are a monster. My top is going to be 8' long, and I'm putting 14 3 1/2" pieces of SYP together to make it 21" wide (or so).

I'll echo the comment above that recommends making a good saw bench (you'll probably need 2) for use with western saws, if you are using them. Taller sawhorses will kill you before you finish the first bench. Watch the videos linked and maybe take a couple practice cuts to get a feel. You might not be good at rip cuts now, but you will be by the time you've ripped about 100 lineal feet of material :) And get ready to learn to flatten/straighten an edge with planes -- I'll guarantee you won't have pretty edges, at least on the first few. I don't have pretty edges on any of the 12 I've finished.

Personally, I chose to go with a nasty japanese saw pair because I knew I could get new sharp saws that would cut well if I did that. I have a good western rip saw, but I haven't had the time to acquire the skills to get it good and sharp yet. Hence, my decision. Mine are 300mm Z-saws that you can get at Hida tools or Tools From Japan for about the same price. I got mine at Hida before Stu started selling tools, but both are good shops.

Here's a pic of the rip-saw:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_W175NvGJvho/SZD2k9TZM4I/AAAAAAAAAOg/1Woh8NCD0oA/s640/IMGP1784.JPG

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[art san jr]

+1 on the saw bench. Pretty essential. So a 6' length of 2x8 SYP from HD, with legs splayed out 12 degrees or so should do it. Height.. 18" or so. Some HF clamps and even the 23" or 26" Stanley saw at HD, 23 bucks or so, should have you going.
OK, so I'm cheap...but that got me started.

HTH.

Art.