Handsaw order

[Jack Camillo]

I've been on the fence in ordering a couple Wenzloff and Sons hand/panel saws for a while now (hell, I would have had them already). Both a rip and a crosscut.
Example reasons for the crosscut: cutting down longer boards to make them easier to deal with in a smallish shop, and also initial squaring off of wide table tops and such after glue-up (don't have a sliding table on my table saw, and couldn't fit one in my shop anyway). I frequently work with thicker boards as well, so that's a factor.
One example use for the rip saw is sawing a flat surface along airdried logs in order to have a starting point for jointing either by hand or on my 12" jointer, or going straight to the bandsaw.
The questions: length? For crosscut, I'm thinking 10-12 ppi, and for rip, 8-10. Opinions? Thanks.

[Narayan Nayar]

Mike will talk you through all of these specs when it comes time to build your order. I think with only one exception, after telling him the kind of woods I like to work with, the type of stuff I do, and the environments in which I work, I deferred to his recommendations and I couldn't be happier.

I'm no expert (yet :)) but I'd probably go with fewer teeth on the rip saw, particularly because a more refined cut isn't what you're going for in that application, and fewer teeth will get you that flat face a lot faster.

You're not going to get that much more stiffness by either adding or removing length in a panel saw--you'll get it through the plate thickness--a spec, again, which Mike will talk you through.

[Steve Hamlin]

Hi Jack
The panel saw sounds about right to me for an all rounder, but perhaps a bit fine if lots off thick stuff to dimension. I use a 26" 8ppi for rough dimensioning, and a 22" 11ppi for trimming.

You may want to go coarser on the rip too. I use a 28" 4.5 ppi rip for rough dimensioning, which works a treat - this one's an oldie which I've just retensioned very lightly (read timidly) and I wouldn't want shorter for what it does.
Mike really knows his onions - best advice would be to describe what you want the saws to do and go with whatever he suggests. That's what I did with the one custom saw I have from Mike (I have another for fret slotting on order), and it far exceeds all expectations.

(O, and listen to anybody else before me - I ride a desk during the day and there are folks on here who've been living and breathing this stuff since before I was in long pants)

Cheers
Steve

[Don C Peterson]

The cross cut saw sounds about right, but if you are going to be ripping logs I'd be looking at something more like 4 tpi. 8-10 tpi is pretty fine for a rip saw. In my collection of vintage saws I do have a rip saw with 8 tpi and I never use it, my favorite rip is a 4 1/2 D-12, nice thin kerf and aggressive cut to get through those long rip cuts.

You didn't ask about this specifically but if you are going to be doing serious ripping, you might want to consider a frame saw. That's how you'll get the most agressive cut with the smallest kerf, or so I'm told. I haven't yet started down that road, but I'm looking...

[James Mittlefehldt]

My .02 worth, if you seriously intend to try and render logs down then perhaps you might just be better off with an older style saw with web teeth. I don't think Mike deals with those but could be wrong. However if that is the case and your talking green wood than the web teeth might be a better option for rough dimensioning then do final dimensions with the saws you mentioned.

Also I agree with the others that by and large you don't want more than 4 or 5 teeth in a rip saw.

As always though in matters of saws I defer to Mike's knowledge on the subject. (which begs the question does Mike do web pattern teeth?)

[Ray Gardiner]

One example use for the rip saw is sawing a flat surface along airdried logs in order to have a starting point for jointing either by hand or on my 12" jointer, or going straight to the bandsaw.

I have pretty much the same problem, but I find you need to get a reasonable flat surface to get through the bandsaw anyway. I don't have a sliding sled to clamp logs to. So what I generally end up doing is roughing it out with a chainsaw, to a manageable size. What I think you are trying to do is much the same as I do with a chainsaw.

So I would be thinking perhaps a big "M" toothed rip saw of some kind.

Also, I find a small side axe is handy for removing bumps etc.

I hope I've correctly understood what you are looking to do.

Regards
Ray

[Jack Camillo]

thanks everyone for the replies, very helpful.
ps: anyone ever buy an Adam Cherubini saw? Comments?

[Martin Shupe]

thanks everyone for the replies, very helpful.
ps: anyone ever buy an Adam Cherubini saw? Comments?

No, but I'll bet Adam's is a good one.

I own a couple Wenzloff's. His are excellent. Be prepared to wait, but the wait is worth it, and he won't invoice you for money until yours are almost ready.

You can buy Mike W's saws through Lee Valley, but if you want a custom handle, with fancy wood, you will need to special order, but it will take longer.

Either way, his saws are outstanding!