Thread: Bowsaw blades - found em !

Was it something I said ?

Originally Posted by Sam

Was it something I said ?

Not at all Sam. I suspect as we are from all over the place not many have dealt directly with that company and those that might have possibly have not seen your request because they do not frequent the hand tools section.

Quite a few like myself try to avoid those places hence why we are so passionate about making our own hand tools and trying to limit the amount of shop bought parts required which is not always possible.

A bow saw is on my agenda after I finish a few back saws. Please keep us up to date with your progress.

Peter

Originally Posted by Sam

Was it something I said ?

No - but we all know The Wood Works. They are good, but a bit pricey. You can also get bowsaw blades from My Tool Store. They are also good to deal with.

Originally Posted by Sam

Found an Australian website that has a good range of blades for my first tool making project - a 600mm long bowsaw (or two) !!

http://www.thewoodworks.com.au/product/products/SAW+BLADES/BOWSAW.html

I've never used one so does a 4 tpi blade for ripping/re-sawing and a 6tpi blade for cross cutting (both blades would be 1 inch high for straight cuts) sound right to use on some hardwood furniture projects ?

I'll let you know how I get on with the website, has anyone else dealt with them ?

Thanks,

Sam.

Hi Sam.

You might want to look at this site also http://www.michealconnorwoodwork.com...ccessories.htm Micheal has some great hand tools as well


Cheers


Steve

Thanks Guys, being new to the Darksider ranks (am I allowed to assume that without an initiation ?) I was starting to think I'd broken an unwritten rule !

So what do you think about the TPI ? I guess kerf is more critical than the number of teeth ?.

Thanks again.

Originally Posted by Sam

.....So what do you think about the TPI ? I guess kerf is more critical than the number of teeth ?.

Sam,
It really depends what you plan to cut. It's pretty hard to imagine a 'one size fits all' when it comes to tooth pitch. Take a look in any Darksider's toolbox & you'll most likely see saws with 4 tpi & 20 tpi & everything in-between, and theer are good reasons to have such a selection. A (very) rough rule of thumb is that you want at least 4 or 5 teeth in a cut, to support the blade & prevent excessive 'biting', so your 4 tpi ripping blade would be suitable for stock over about 25mm thickness. You can make do with a tooth pitch that is not ideal, at the expense of a more ragged cut (too coarse) or very slow cutting (too fine). The set, rake & fleam of teeth and the moisture content of the wood also have a big influence on how a saw performs at a given task.

For general cross-cutting of smallish bits (say 50-90mm wide) you would probably find a blade with slightly finer pitch (8-10 tpi) more suitable, by which I mean easier to start, easier to control, and gives a less ragged cut. For pieces around 20-75mm wide, 12 tpi (the pitch of your average 'carcase' or general-purpose backsaw) might be better.

I use a couple of bowsaws, pretty much exclusively for curve cutting, & never mastered them for fine work a la the late Mr. Frid. I was raised in the British backsaws tradition and got too set in my ways, I reckon. My attempts at cutting clean dovetails with a bowsaw would bring tears to your eyes (of laughter!). However, I do find the little bowsaw I made for coping saw blades a nifty gadget for quickly cutting out most of the waste on through-dovetails...

Cheers,

Mike at the Wood Works is great. he has the best products and has been in the game longer then most.

4tpi will be great for most work. it'll cut quickly. and give a resonable surface.
Go for it. and post pictures.

Thanks Ian, that makes alot of sense.

Lumber Bunker - So far so good with Mike, I emailled him yesterday and he replied with an hour. Apparently the tooth pattern on these particular blades is a compromise and will work well for both c/s and rip.

I'll post some pics after I build it.