Saw for ripping at the bench

[Tony Wilkins]

As far as handsaws go, right now I have a pair of sharp Disston D8 26” saws. They work great with a low bench, but increasingly I saw even larger boards at the bench. It’s friendlier to my back and broken body. That has me wondering if a shorter saw might be a little better for this. Would it?

Bad Axe now has a D8 recreation that comes in 24”. Would those two inches make much of a difference? If not, Lie Nielsen has there 20” panel saws.

what would recommendations be given these parameters? Or is my trusty D8 still a good/great choice.

*im thinking that gravity helps a larger saw at the low bench more than the workbench but I could be wrong in that assumption.

[Jim Koepke]

A few questions come to mind:

Are there many sources of used saws in your area?

Can you sharpen your own saws?

A yes to either of those would mean you have an opportunity to find out what best suits your own needs.

Old bargain saws are an opportunity to experiment until you create something that is just right. Then if you want to go the premium route you have the information to specify parameters you know will work for you.

Otherwise you might try wrapping tape around your current saw at different lengths and see what you find.

jtk

[Richard Line]

I'm with you on having a shorter saw for ripping at the bench. I also think that gravity helps on the saw bench, but also the angle of attack helps with engaging the saw in the cut.

Right now I have 4 short saws, 3 of them in the 17" to 20" range, all 10 ppi cross cut. One of those is going to become a rip saw, just not sure which one. I also have a new DeWalt 16" saw that has harden teeth that are suppose to be good for cross cutting and ripping. I've used it at the bench for ripping, but its kerf is fairly wide and ragged.

My other rip saws (24" & 26", 8 & 6.5 ppi) tend to be too long for me to use at the work bench. Can't get a full stroke as my work bench is against the wall.

I also notice that when ripping at the work bench, it goes better/faster if I use my off hand to weight the saw into the cut (not much pressure required).

[steven c newman]

379773
Have this one you could try out....5-1/2ppi....17-1/2" at the toothline.
There is one thing using a shorter saw for rips....more strokes of the saw. whereas a longer saw takes a few less, but longer strokes..
379777
Maybe where the part to be ripped is at, on the bench..
379778
Test run...teeth needed stoned a hair...teeth were sharp, though
379779
Either that, or my "sawstop" needs adjusting...saw got down there, before I could move the finger...

[Tony Wilkins]

Unfortunately there aren’t many used tools in my area. I have the equipment to sharpen my own saws but not much practice with them. I’m open to old saws but finding them is the difficulty.

[lowell holmes]

I did something like that. I had a junker saw that had a broken handle and a short saw plate. I put a new handle on it, filed the tooth line smooth, taped a paper tooth spacing template to the saw, re-toothed with a saw file.
I set the teeth with a screwdriver. You put the saw in a saw vice. If you don't have one, make one like I did. You can set the teeth by putting the saw in a vice. My saw vice is home made. To set the teeth, place a screwdriver between two teeth and twist. Do this on every other tooth until the are ali set. You can download tooth patterns on line.

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=pty&hsimp=yhs-pty_email&param2=23a20141-fcf6-4299-89f4-cd972799a611&param3=email_2.2~US~appfocus1&param4=d-lp0-bb8~Chrome~home+made+saw+vise&param1=20180115&p=home+made+saw+vise&type=em_appfocus1_cr

It was a fun project.

https://paulsellers.com/2016/04/sharpening-first-crosscut-saw/

[Mike Allen1010]

Lowell,


Personally I find any kind of sawing, both ripping and crosscutting, easier and more efficient at the saw bench that the workbench. At the saw bench, (through which is approximately the height of my knee), my upper body is above the work piece and gravity works with the stroke of the saw.


In comparison, while ripping at the bench the work piece is either flush on the benchtop, in which case your upper body is not as high above the work piece is would be on the saw bench, or if work is held vertically in a vice, you need to hunch down to get the tooth line below 90° (as oriented to the surface of the work piece), which is necessary for efficient ripping.


Lastly, ripping is the most labor-intensive of all hand sawing tasks and efficient saw geometry/biomechanics are particularly important. For the same reason, I personally favor the longest possible saw plate – 28 inch were common for preindustrial rip saws.


Just my opinion, your mileage may vary.


All the best, Mike

[Hilton Ralphs]

Tony I recall reading somewhere that the ideal length of a handsaw (stroke) is directly linked to your body dimensions. In other words if you pull your hand towards your shoulder (pretend you are holding a saw) and then extend it fully, that distance is the ideal length of the cutting bit on a saw. Any longer and you waste sharpened teeth and any shorter and you don't get full leverage from your body dynamics.

[Tony Wilkins]

Tony I recall reading somewhere that the ideal length of a handsaw (stroke) is directly linked to your body dimensions. In other words if you pull your hand towards your shoulder (pretend you are holding a saw) and then extend it fully, that distance is the ideal length of the cutting bit on a saw. Any longer and you waste sharpened teeth and any shorter and you don't get full leverage from your body dynamics.

I’ve seen that in a few places and a 26” saw is about right. I guess my question is: does that rule apply to sawing vertical as much as low on a saw bench?

[Brandon Speaks]

I am no expert and fairly new to the old hand saw world, but it is the portion of hand work I am finding most interesting and I have quickly acquired and fixed up several old saws. Initially I liked the concept of panel saws and went more after them, they just seemed so handy. I quickly discovered though that while they are quite handy I can cut much more quickly and with less effort with a longer saw. This seems most important with a big rip cut through thick stock.

If you were holding the piece vertically attached the the bench I cant see a big advantage to the shorter saw, if horizontally and ripping along the side I can see it more.

Again I am no expert though and this is just what I have found in my own limited experimentation.

[lowell holmes]

Actually, I have about 15 old Disston saws. They vary in length from about 15" to full length saws. I have short saws that were junker saws, some with broken handles and missing saw nuts.
I made panel saws out of them and made handles for some of them. I favor curly maple handles. I have one saw with the nib.

Some have bright saw plates and others have old dark saw plates. I have removed the grunge from all of them. I will sharpen them both cross cut and rip. I don't hesitate to file new teeth
in junker saws. It is a fun exercise if you have an old junker with a broken handle.

http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/

You can find saws as short as 16" at the website above.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=hand+panel+saw