Thread: Frames Saws/Bows Saws for re-sawing small boards 100mm deep

Kate; you may wish to read the following comments by McPete on the Mujinfang Large Frame Saw.

McPete
22nd May 2014, 05:10 PM



I've bought a few odds and ends from them. They have an eBay store too.

I have;
*Wheel cutting gauge.
* Marking Knife.
* Little hammer
* Sliding Bevel.
*The rosewood spokeshave.
* The Large Indo Redwood Frame saw.

All the tools except the frame saw are quite usable. The frame saw's blade is, to put it kindly, useless. Two thirds of the teeth are set one way, one third the other. The result is a sweeping curve, regardless of your intentions. The tensioning system is also sub-optimal. I'll have to keep an eye out for some nice twine to do it the traditional way, because the brass threaded rod is a bit prone to stripping.

Contacts with the proprietor (Jason) were good until I pointed that out and since then I haven't heard a peep. I haven't chased very hard, but really, it's turned me off Chinese tools a bit. The fact that can get out of the factory like that is a bit worrying.

Cheers,
Peter

https://www.woodworkforums.com/archive/index.php/t-184598.html

Kate; the following frame saw is a lot more expensive. The manufacturer ECE has an excellent reputation.

Tension saw, Japanese blade - My Tool Store

Stewie;

Different types of blades that fit the same length of Frame Saw can also be purchased from the supplier.

Woodworkers Corner - ECE Frame (Bow) Saws - My Tool Store

Stewie;

Hi Kate, and welcome to this section of the Forum!

A frame-saw is pretty easy to make and the only part you'd need to buy apart from the blade is a bolt & wing-nut, which you can get from your local hardware store. If you can't find some plans on-line, I've given a quick run-down on one I made a while ago here (post #33). Just about any wood will do, but try to keep the frame as light as you can, consistent with enough strength.

If I were planning a saw to cut 100mm deep material, I'd be looking for a blade that has 4-6 tpi, and 19-20mm wide. A 500-600mm blade will give you a very comfortable stroke. The "turbo-cut" blades are interesting, but seem to me to have a rather high tooth-count for ripping wide material. However, since I've not used one, I'm probably talking through my hat, the Japanese tooth pattern has deeper gullets than equivalent 'western' tpi and should have a much greater sawdust-carrying capacity. If this was the Australian supplier you were talking about, note they also have 'bowsaw' blades for much less, in a wide choice of widths & tpi. These look to me like lengths of bandsaw blade, because (as far as I can tell from the illustration), the teeth have positive rake and will actually rip better than they would crosscut. The positive rake means they will cut aggressively, but should be manageable, unless you are cutting very soft wood, which the teeth will bite into and catch on. I found cutting with a 'pull' stroke works best with the bandsaw blade I used on my frame saw.

Frame-saws are different beasts from regular bench saws, it took me a while to get the 'feel' for mine, but the narrow, relatively thin blade causes much less drag than you get with a large handsaw, so the effort involved is considerably less, but it took me a few cuts to learn to keep it straight with the 1/2" wide blade I tried.

Keep us posted on how you go,
Cheers,

I've a set of these. NEW!Handcrafted 18" Woodworkers Bow Saw.Figured Sapale/ Maple Handles and Toggle | eBay
Mine have German made blades. I've been meaning to make some blades for them but haven't had the time. Shipping may be a killer for you however.

Hello Kate

There is a lot of information already posted here. Possibly some of it not quite what you were hoping for. We are always hoping, I think, that our best guesses are confirmed.

IanW did note that he would be looking for 4 - 6 ppi for sawing to a depth of 100mm and I would agree with that in principle, but I am not sure he picked up on the fact that your boards are thin.

How thin are they? If for example they are only 6mm thick you would probably need more teeth. You need a minimum of four teeth in contact with the wood at any one time and preferably more (six). If for example you were ripping the boards held vertically in a bench vice you would need many more teeth (twelve actually). Clamped on a saw horse (that's the timber, not yourself ) you might get away with 8ppi.

Oh, and welcome. This is a particularly good section of the Forums, particularly if you are even the teeniest bit obsessive.

Regards
Paul

Blackburn tools sells a frame saw hardware kit that, I believe, has a very short turnaround time. My cousin and I built one a while back and it worked really well for your application. Highly recommended.

Cheers,
Luke

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

...IanW did note that he would be looking for 4 - 6 ppi for sawing to a depth of 100mm and I would agree with that in principle, but I am not sure he picked up on the fact that your boards are thin.

How thin are they? If for example they are only 6mm thick you would probably need more teeth.....

Paul, I guess we need some clarification from the OP. I interpreted 're-saw' as slicing thinner boards from 100mm wide boards, which is why I suggested 4-6tpi. Indeed, if it is thin material 5-10mm thick, and the cut only has to be 100mm long, then a much higher tpi would be the go, for sure. However, if you're only cutting thin material for 100mm, I don't think you would need a frame saw....

Cheers,

Paul,
Kind sir as you know ,I struggle with my native language.
Could you abbreviate on "we're obsessive"?

A big welcome Kate .
Some very nice people here ,
some have a habit of running threads well of course.

Cheers Matt



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Kate, I dont mind offering advise when its needed, but a simple acknowledgement of appreciation is always timely. Nothing more to add. Good luck with your search.

Stewie;

Originally Posted by Kate84TS

Hi All,
..... I am also looking at the Turbo Cut Japanese frame saw blades and make the frame myself but I have only found one stockiest in Aus.

Regards Kate Adamson.

Good Morning Kate

I also took this route and bought the Japanese Turbo Cut Universal Blades (Its engraved on the blades) from Dieter Schmidt in Germany.
https://www.fine-tools.com/gestell.html
I have found them a very reliable company, quick and their decriptions and advice is honest. Delivery is usually about 6-7 days.

Japanese blades cut very fast with a quite smooth finish, but not as smooth as a similar pitch dovetail saw. (Pitch of 2mm is equivalent to 13 tpi which is quite fine). The secret of their speed is their very narrow kerf when compared to western blades - simple physics. There is also a definite learning curve with these blades; their speed amplifies your errors until you learn better control. Tage Frid was an advocate of continental style frame saws and recommeded 50 practice cuts initially - he was a faster learner than me!

If you do make your own frames, remember that the frame between the blade and the stile is you hand-hold; also their is a lot of tension in the frames. I made my first frames too light.

I have made made frame saws using Dieter's Saw Blade Holder hardware and by just putting a bolt through the frame and the blade. The former gives more speed (longer stroke) and the latter gives more control.

Have also cut a blade into unequal halves and drilled bolt holes to give me shorter saws at 250 and 450 mm.

Hope this helps. Good luck


Graeme

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Paul,
Kind sir as you know ,I struggle with my native language.
Could you abbreviate on "we're obsessive"?

some have a habit of running threads well of course.

Cheers Matt

"OCD."

Digression is the spice of life and the saw collector's prerogative!!

Regards
Paul

Hi Kate,

I realise that this is the Hand tools forum, but a lot of resawing sounds like the job of a bandsaw to me. I've enjoyed success resawing by hand with Western style hand saws but it may not be worth the time and financial commitment of buying a rip and learning western style sawing.

Good luck,

Zac.

Hi All,

Sorry about the slow response to this thread I have been very busy with jobs, As well as looking up saws I have taken on board all replies and feedback. So I will keep this in mind when making my saws. I managed to get the job done with a Nakaya 240mm Ryoba. Which took a bit to get used to but it cuts very smooth. However for further re-sawing I am looking at getting a frame saw as well as making a few. So I am still looking at the turbo cut rip and universal blades as I know the Japanese blades a very hard and can handle Australian timbers.

As mentioned above I have seen some blades for sale that look very much like cut sections of bandsaw blades which I was a bit wary of. As they would be designed to cut at higher speeds. Its good to hear though that they cut well by hand.

Regards Kate