Frame-saw

[Richard Hutchings]

I was watching this guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW4pyIclSE0) on YT show how to use a large 48" frame saw for re-sawing this morning. I was very impressed and I'm going to build at some point rather than buying a band-saw. I will never do enough re-sawing to benefit from the BS cost and I couldn't afford the BS needed to re-saw wide boards anyway. The kit, everything but the wood goes for $135, another $20 in wood and I think I'll be in business.

The thing I like about it the most is that it's practically effortless compared to a standard western handsaw. He uses his legs and body to move the saw and it cuts almost an inch per pass in the wood he was cutting. Whew!

[John Kananis]

I built one along with a kerfing plane a while back (I can't track straight without the pre-sawn kerf). Get on YT and check out a guy named Tom Fidgen - his is an excellent execution of the tool (if you've not watched him...hand tools only - great stuff). Gosh darned thing takes up more space than you'd think though and mine isn't 48" either.

[Steven Lee, NC]

http://www.badaxetoolworks.com/index.php
http://www.blackburntools.com/new-tools/index.html

badaxe and blackburn both have kits.

I got the kerfing blade from blackburn and plan to try resawing with a panel saw first before buying a frame saw. I like the gullets he adds to pre sharpened blades. he calls it a rebate saw-plane

I got great deals on Tom Fidgens books through used book resellers on Amazon and plan to make his adjustable kerfing plane.

[Mark Rainey]

I was watching this guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW4pyIclSE0) on YT show how to use a large 48" frame saw for re-sawing this morning. I was very impressed and I'm going to build at some point rather than buying a band-saw. I will never do enough re-sawing to benefit from the BS cost and I couldn't afford the BS needed to re-saw wide boards anyway. The kit, everything but the wood goes for $135, another $20 in wood and I think I'll be in business.

The thing I like about it the most is that it's practically effortless compared to a standard western handsaw. He uses his legs and body to move the saw and it cuts almost an inch per pass in the wood he was cutting. Whew!


I built one along with a kerfing plane a while back (I can't track straight without the pre-sawn kerf). Get on YT and check out a guy named Tom Fidgen - his is an excellent execution of the tool (if you've not watched him...hand tools only - great stuff). Gosh darned thing takes up more space than you'd think though and mine isn't 48" either.


http://www.badaxetoolworks.com/index.php
http://www.blackburntools.com/new-tools/index.html

badaxe and blackburn both have kits.

I got the kerfing blade from blackburn and plan to try resawing with a panel saw first before buying a frame saw. I like the gullets he adds to pre sharpened blades. he calls it a rebate saw-plane

I got great deals on Tom Fidgens books through used book resellers on Amazon and plan to make his adjustable kerfing plane.
Neanderthals, keep pursuing your quest to resaw by hand. It is a worthy endeavor and we hand tool junkies will be in awe of your accomplishments. Many have fallen in this pursuit, including me. Japanese turbo blades lie rusting near rarely used frame saws. Hacked up boards with wavy borders linger in my stack of wood. As the sweat poured and the whole table heaved about like a possessed beast while forcefully sawing, hope faded. I bought a band saw.

[Warren Mickley]

I made a "kerfing plane" about thirty years before Tom Fidgen invented the thing. At that time some woodworkers were resawing by making a kerf on both edges (as deep as they could) with a table saw and then sawing out the middle with a rip saw. I thought that plowing a narrow groove in each edge might save time and improve accuracy.

I probably did not use the pplane a whole year. I found that it took more time and had only a minor effect on accuracy. At that time I had been resawing by hand for around ten years. Maybe I would have found it more helpful if I had been less experienced.

[lowell holmes]

I have two bowaws. I made one from a kit from https://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/GT-BOWS.XX/Gramercy_Tools_Bow_Saw_Kits_and_Parts

It is a nice one. I made the frame using curly maple. It is a sweet saw.

[Richard Hutchings]

Oh well, so much for that. I just got a great deal on a Rigid table-saw.:D

[Richard Hutchings]

I love your reply Mark. Especially the part about the table heaving like a possessed beast.


Neanderthals, keep pursuing your quest to resaw by hand. It is a worthy endeavor and we hand tool junkies will be in awe of your accomplishments. Many have fallen in this pursuit, including me. Japanese turbo blades lie rusting near rarely used frame saws. Hacked up boards with wavy borders linger in my stack of wood. As the sweat poured and the whole table heaved about like a possessed beast while forcefully sawing, hope faded. I bought a band saw.

[David Eisenhauer]

Question for Warren - when resawing, do you alternately saw down from side to side at a longer angle to help keep to the line on each side?

[Warren Mickley]

Question for Warren - when resawing, do you alternately saw down from side to side at a longer angle to help keep to the line on each side?

I did try saying down alternate sides for a while, but settled on keeping a constant angle, either straight across or at a slight angle like 10 degrees (but not alternating). What you don't want is bowing in the middle of the cut. One of the hard things to learn is how much to lean to one side in an effort to correct the cut. If you are say 1/32 or 1/16 off, aim to correct that over 6 or 8 inches of cutting, not trying complete the correction in an inch more of kerf. It might be hard to visualize, but if you lean too hard to one side, the saw can bend the opposite direction inside the cut, making kind of a mess.