# Turning (bow) saw



## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

I've been using a hardware store jig saw and a smaller jewler's fret saw for a while. Decided I'd like something with a bit more reach. While a bandsaw would be nice, I have neither the room or the money for one right now.

That leaves the bowsaw or more specifically, a turning saw. The key difference is a turning saw can pivot the blade while typically a bowsaw cannot. Also bowsaws can have wider blades.

You can get nice long pinned blades and the little brass handle inserts for a turning saw from Tools for Working Wood here Gramercy Tools Turning Saw Parts at Tools for Working Wood and make the arms, handles, stretcher and toggle or buy a complete saw. I decided to try and make a saw.

Hickory and osage orange are the two top recommendations for wood easily sourced in the USA. Beech is the traditional wood. Other woods that would work are cherry and mahogany. The key is to use wood that is quarter sawn and straight grain. Orient the arms so that the quarter sawn faces are opposed and the flat sawn faces to the side. I decided to use some of the quarter sawn white oak I have left over. If this snaps then I'll probably switch to osage orange. Lets just call this the practice saw...

I've left the wood in a somewhat rough state. It was planed, sanded, rasped and filed to shape and I left no sharp edges. It feels fine in my hand and I kind of dig the rustic look. Over time the handles will take on some character.

It takes less tension on the cord than you might think to stiffen up the blade. 

Here we see the finished saw in white oak. I hate this bench by the way. Normally I work out in my garage on a bench I built. This one is in the basement and "came with the house".









And a couple closeups of the handle and knob.

















I have the teeth cutting on the PUSH stroke. This seems backwards but based on the recommendation found at Tools for Working Wood and experimenting with both configurations, it does work just fine as a push saw. Even with the thin blade. The key is having just enough tension on the blade so that it will cut but not flex.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Great looking saw, Rob!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Rob.. now that is flat out cool!!! great work.. 

how does it feel when used? balance? effort to cut? how tight a turn can you make with it?


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

TwoSkies57 said:


> Rob.. now that is flat out cool!!! great work..
> 
> how does it feel when used? balance? effort to cut? how tight a turn can you make with it?


It weighs 13.6 ounces. The balance is pretty good, it might seem a little top heavy but I think the key is to take my index finger off the grip and place it along side the beam. That seems to improve the balance.

The blades measure 1/10" tooth tip to spine so pretty much the same as a standard coping saw blade. And those can cut pretty tight curves.

The throat on this saw is about 6" and the blades are just under 12" long. I bought the three pack sampler so I have one each at 10TPI, 18TPI and 24TPI. So far all I've played with is the 10TPI blade in pine and poplar. The long stroke makes cutting pretty easy. Turning seems easy too so long as you keep pushing the saw forward through the turn.

The blade angle doesn't lock, it is held by the friction of the pins in the arms and the tension of the saw. This means you can change it on the fly as you cut. Harder to do with metal coping saws and fret saws.

Like I mentioned above, it has been left rather rough on the arms and stretcher. The shoulders of the two mortises are curved, over time it will leave some marks on the tenons and then I'll round them a bit more to keep the fit tight. They work now but you can see the gap. Doesn't affect the saw. I've read that some turning saws don't have any mortise and tenon, just a butt joint. Friction and tension hold them together.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Rob.. your saw is considerably smaller than I thought, which is a good thing. For some reason I thought it was much bigger. Now I got an idea,,,I can see how it might not be all that bad at all to use. 

did you turn the handles yourself or were they available online as well as the blade setup?

bill


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Nice job Rob! Wish I had half your talent in the hand tool area.


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

TwoSkies57 said:


> Rob.. your saw is considerably smaller than I thought, which is a good thing. For some reason I thought it was much bigger. Now I got an idea,,,I can see how it might not be all that bad at all to use.
> 
> did you turn the handles yourself or were they available online as well as the blade setup?
> 
> bill


You have the choice when buying the kit parts to get just the brass pins or handles + pins.

I turned the handles on my lathe from some more of my white oak scraps. I didn't have any scrap 6/4 so I just made up a lamination and went after it.

I've seen some of these saws made with riven and shaped handles instead of turning them on a lathe. It isn't that critical, just need to be comfortable.


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Bob N said:


> Nice job Rob! Wish I had half your talent in the hand tool area.


Ha! My talent has very little to do with it. Mostly its not knowing that I can't make something.  But thank you.

To paraphrase Bobj3 from a recent dovetail jig thread, nothing makes firewood faster than trying to make your own tools... :jester: Trust me on this.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

That's most impressive Rob.


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

*Test cuts*

Should have added these earlier but here are some test cuts.

3/4" pine so it cuts pretty easily but does splinter out on the exit side with a 10TPI blade. No surprises there.

Sharpie marker shows scale of the workpieces.

I can follow a line reasonably well but definitely need some practice with the saw to feel comfortable. The long stroke makes for quick cutting so it can get away from you. Especially if you don't have the work secured well. I was putzing around on the bad workbench so the board was pinched in a 10" screw clamp which was then clamped to the benchtop. This setup tends to chatter a bit.

Also tried free-hand sawing a shape. The fish in the lower left came out pretty well but the mouth started to get away from me so I gave up. Ended up with a Jimmy Durante nose instead. :wacko:


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

Very Nice Rob!


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