Luke Dupont
11-21-2021, 2:09 AM
I was curious who has experience with bow-saws of the sort used for general work, as a replacement for panel and tenon saws for joinery and dimensioning.
6 years ago, I made my own, a sort of hybrid of the Chinese and German design. Very simple, and made with parts from the hardware store.
Here's the thread for reference: https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?244564-Bow-saw-and-blade-project-My-quot-hardware-store-quot-saw&highlight=Chinese
The blade I filed out of a thin strip of spring tempered steel.
This saw, I left in America when I moved to Japan, but it was one of the best saws I've ever owned. Very good for ripping. And, pretty decent for joinery, though with a bit of a learning curve.
I recently bought a Chinese bow saw to replace it, since I don't have the time to make all of the components like I did myself in the past. But the commercial Chinese saw I bought is almost identical to the one I made in form and function, so by all means, make your own!
The good:
- It's extremely easy to make both the frame and the blades, if you can source a suitable strip of steel
- It can be equipped with many different blades
- It's extremely versatile -- you can essentially replace all of your panel, tenon, and turning saws with a single saw, and it functions adequately in all of these roles.
The so-so:
- It's a difficult to turn the saw in the cut if you are sawing at 90 degrees to the work. It may just be the Chinese design (I'd like to know if European saws with their wooden handles offer more friction and solve this issue) but, because the blade is mounted on two bolts which turn freely, it is possible for the blade to turn even when under tension during the cut. So you may be trying to guide your saw, only to find your efforts in vain. This happens no matter how well the saw is tensioned in my experience.
- The weight of the frame can make holding the saw straight and square a bit difficult, though this is something you can get used to.
I may try making a frame with wooden pins that would offer more friction, or perhaps even one that has some sort of locking mechanism (would be easy to do with hex bolts.) But, with a bit of adjustment of technique, you can still guide it well.
Perhaps I'll give the European design a try first and see if there's any significant improvement.
6 years ago, I made my own, a sort of hybrid of the Chinese and German design. Very simple, and made with parts from the hardware store.
Here's the thread for reference: https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?244564-Bow-saw-and-blade-project-My-quot-hardware-store-quot-saw&highlight=Chinese
The blade I filed out of a thin strip of spring tempered steel.
This saw, I left in America when I moved to Japan, but it was one of the best saws I've ever owned. Very good for ripping. And, pretty decent for joinery, though with a bit of a learning curve.
I recently bought a Chinese bow saw to replace it, since I don't have the time to make all of the components like I did myself in the past. But the commercial Chinese saw I bought is almost identical to the one I made in form and function, so by all means, make your own!
The good:
- It's extremely easy to make both the frame and the blades, if you can source a suitable strip of steel
- It can be equipped with many different blades
- It's extremely versatile -- you can essentially replace all of your panel, tenon, and turning saws with a single saw, and it functions adequately in all of these roles.
The so-so:
- It's a difficult to turn the saw in the cut if you are sawing at 90 degrees to the work. It may just be the Chinese design (I'd like to know if European saws with their wooden handles offer more friction and solve this issue) but, because the blade is mounted on two bolts which turn freely, it is possible for the blade to turn even when under tension during the cut. So you may be trying to guide your saw, only to find your efforts in vain. This happens no matter how well the saw is tensioned in my experience.
- The weight of the frame can make holding the saw straight and square a bit difficult, though this is something you can get used to.
I may try making a frame with wooden pins that would offer more friction, or perhaps even one that has some sort of locking mechanism (would be easy to do with hex bolts.) But, with a bit of adjustment of technique, you can still guide it well.
Perhaps I'll give the European design a try first and see if there's any significant improvement.