What is the hand tool equivalent to a bandsaw?

[Joe Kasier]

Not for re-sawing, but cutting out rough patterns and the like. I have been using a coping saw, but that falls apart when you have 1" thick hardwood. Is there a handsaw better suited for quick removal of stock while doing moderate curves?

[Peter Gavin]

A Turning or Bow saw is what you are looking for I believe.

http://www.flinn-garlick-saws.co.uk/acatalog/Wooden_Frame_Turning_Saw.html

Peter

[Barney Markunas]

You might want to investigate a bow saw with a turning blade. They are available in several sizes from a number of different vendors. I suspect a little sleuthing would also turn up some how-to discussions on making your own. Plenty of curved cuts were made before the advent of electricity. As with many hand tools, it won't take you long to become functional, but proficiency will take some practice.

Terminology can be troublesome. You want something along the lines of what is made by Ulmia, Woodjoy and others. If you go to a big box and ask for a bowsaw you will likely get something by Sandvik (if you are lucky) that is designed for doing some pruning or cutting a little bit of firewood on a campout. Unfortunately two completely different beasts with the same name. You might also run into something called a frame saw which may or may not be what you want, depending on who is doing the describing.

[Jim Koepke]

There are also saws sometimes referred to as 'walking beam saws.'

These are like a large bow saw set up to work on foot power. Kind of like a cross between a pole lathe and a scroll saw.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Check this link.

https://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/GT-BOWS.XX/Gramercy_Tools_Bow_Saw_Kits_and_Parts

I made one and it works great.

[Bill Jobe]

A very sharp hatchet.

[Joe Kasier]

Check this link.

https://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/GT-BOWS.XX/Gramercy_Tools_Bow_Saw_Kits_and_Parts

I made one and it works great.

I thought their bow saw was more of a coping saw. Am I wrong?

[Joe Kasier]

Terminology can be troublesome. You want something along the lines of what is made by Ulmia, Woodjoy and others. If you go to a big box and ask for a bowsaw you will likely get something by Sandvik (if you are lucky) that is designed for doing some pruning or cutting a little bit of firewood on a campout. Unfortunately two completely different beasts with the same name. You might also run into something called a frame saw which may or may not be what you want, depending on who is doing the describing.

I think this is the problem. I can either find a bow saw that looks like it is too delicate (Gramercy tools) or a frame saw that is too beefy.

[Barney Markunas]

If I were to do it all over again I would look seriously at the 400mm Woodjoy with the skinny (3/8") Turbo Cut blade. I have a smaller Marples and a larger Putsch and they are OK but nothing to rave about. The Woodjoy looks to be several steps up from what I own. I did put a (wider, probably 11/2") Turbo Cut blade on my Putsch and it made a huge difference in how it performs for straight cross cuts. Based on that I would guess the skinny Turbo Cut blade is good too but I cannot say because I haven't used one. In general, if I am cutting curves I am doing it on my Inca bandsaw.

[John Vernier]

A few years ago I made a chair saw, which seems to be a forgotten tool. It is a larger version of the bow saw with a narrow blade and a relatively deep throat, and an extra handle to make it easier to manipulate, used by chair makers to cut the "sweeps" or curves of chair backs and legs. I haven't found much written about chair saws, but I based mine on one illustrated in Wells and Hooper, Modern Cabinet Work, 1908 (reprinted by Cambium Press 2006), p314. They say little about it, but it is clearly a tool still in use at that period, when there were many small-time furniture makers in Britain who didn't have the capital for a bandsaw or other machinery.
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It works pretty well. I used a German turning saw blade, 600mm long and about 10mm wide, with about 9ppi (sorry for the mixed measuring systems). I would prefer a coarser tooth pattern if I were actually going to cut out chair parts with this, but I admit to owning a bandsaw, so the chair saw was mostly an experiment, although I think it was a worthy one.
Here is a picture of a 19th-century chair saw which Josh Clark at Hyperkitten Tools sold a few years back. It has fewer curves than the Wells and Hooper version, and so would be easier to make for someone who doesn't already have a turing saw on hand.
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[John C Cox]

Seems to me that the functional hand tool equivalent of the powered bandsaw is an axe ;). It feels like thats the precision I get out of a bandsaw. ;).

[Jim Koepke]

Seems to me that the functional hand tool equivalent of the powered bandsaw is an axe ;). It feels like thats the precision I get out of a bandsaw. ;).

Sounds like your bandsaw needs a tune up or you are very skilled with an axe.

One of my major bandsaw problems was solved by watching a video a couple of years ago. It explained about adjusting the blade tracking so the teeth of the blade are riding the high point of the wheels. This removed a lot of the erratic cutting.

jtk

[John Kananis]

Jim, may I saw...was that ever an ah ha moment for me also (giant improvement). Those videos started a spending spree, lol. Urethane for the wheels, motor upgrade, new bearings, etc, etc.

EDIT: To OP, bow saws are fun to build an allow for some personal expression. Blades are easy enough to come by (many use bandsaw blades cut to fit, oftentimes removing some set).

[Brian Williamson]

EDIT: To OP, bow saws are fun to build an allow for some personal expression. Blades are easy enough to come by (many use bandsaw blades cut to fit, oftentimes removing some set).[/QUOTE]

+1 on the build-your-own bandwagon. :)

[lowell holmes]

Well, make one like I did. When it breaks, you can make another part like I did and not over tighten it again.

Don't use curly maple, use oak when you make it. I am happy with it.

Look on this link for a kit. I used the kit. It is a good saw.

https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/GT-VSAW.XX?ID=SRCH&Search=bow+saw+plans

[lowell holmes]

I thought their bow saw was more of a coping saw. Am I wrong?

They have 10, 16, and 24 tpi blades. I use the one I made as a coping or turning saw, what ever I need.

If you make one do not use figured wood. I had one of my posts made of curly maple break. It is now oak.