So many of you to blame, uh, thank for this

[Maurice Metzger]

You know who you are, I won't name names (Mike W, Junior, Alan D, Alan T, Bob "you aren't a serious woodworker without a table saw" Smalser ;) and others).

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Transitioning from cheap Japanese to cheap Western saws. Ripping some QS white oak. It will be a while before any furniture results from this but I'm in no hurry. I'm still using Japanese style body english but I'll make Junior's sawbench soon.

Just wanted to show that the tools do get used.

Cheers and have a good weekend,

Maurice

[Andrew Homan]

It will be a while before any furniture results from this but I'm in no hurry.

Hi fellow lefty!
Thanks for the pics. I like the "working out on the porch" setup -- seems like a good way to enjoy the fall.
I'm with you 100% on the "no hurry" ripping. I just ripped 1" off of a piece of 3"x6" ash that is 6 feet long. It was slow work, which I accomplished in about three twenty-thirty minute segments, using a 6 ppi Western rip saw of mediocre quality. I couldn't care less about the time it took, and I'm pleased at the result. About one foot into it, I said to myself, "this is real work," but from that point on, I suddenly found a way to make the saw do the work for me rather than forcing it, and then it was almost as pleasurable as using a plane. I listened to the sound and contemplated the wood, watching the line of the cut extending, and before I knew it, the job was done.
Cheers,
Andy

[Maurice Metzger]

Hi Andrew, welcome to Sawmill Creek!

I realized I did have a western style sawbench after all:

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Maurice

[harry strasil]

LOL, good show, adapt, overcome, improvise, you on the right road LOL

[Mike Wenzloff]

...I just ripped 1" off of a piece of 3"x6" ash that is 6 feet long. It was slow work, which I accomplished in about three twenty-thirty minute segments, using a 6 ppi Western rip saw of mediocre quality...
Just a thought about methods of work. Should I have a piece where only an inch or so needs to come off, I'll scribe or snap a chalk line and using a coarse jack or a scrub done close to the line and then switch to a # 6 or #8.

Don't get me wrong, I like sawing, but for just a thin rip, the planes are quicker.

Take care, Mike

[Bart Leetch]

Maurice


Thats a right handed saw thats why your having problems.

Really you just gotta have rhythm & let the saw flow through the wood.

[Alan DuBoff]

Maurice,

Good show! Western saws can be addicting, especially after you sharpen one. If you haven't ventured to sharpen it yourself yet, you're in for a treat.

Amazing what a couple strokes of a file to each tooth will do.

[harry strasil]

Just an observation from the pictures, but it looks to me one reason you might have been having troubles is you were using the saw on the right side like a righty would do rather than on the left where it is easier to use for a lefty, I can use either hand by the way, just better with the right one.

[Maurice Metzger]

Junior, thanks for making that clear for others, I guess the pictures and my title weren't all that clear. I wasn't having any troubles at all, it took about 5 minutes and was very easy, as Bart said I let the saw do all the work.

And I didn't mean to run down the saw by calling it cheap - actually I'm cheap, the saw was inexpensive, I think because it has a refinished handle that also has some large initials carved into it. It's a Disston that came very sharp.

Hope your back is better, you take care of yourself,
Maurice

[Andrew Homan]

Don't get me wrong, I like sawing, but for just a thin rip, the planes are quicker.


Yikes! I didn't think of 1" as "thin," but I guess it is: if I had started with a scrub plane or jack set to take a thick cut, I probably could have planed it in less time than the ripping took. I had already planed one face of the board and had experienced it as very difficult to plane. (ash). Now I'm thinking that I should regrind the bevel on my bench planes to 30 degrees for this project.
-Andy

[Mike Wenzloff]

Hi Andy, using a cambered blade such as in a scrub or a #5 will make short work of it.

Sawing Oak like Maurice is using is one thing, Ash another as it is even more open pored and tends to be grabby. Still worse are exotics, but because of hardness.

Take care, Mike