storri Posted November 25, 2010 Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 I am starting out gathering tools and was wondering how I could resaw rough lumber by hand. I have seen a variety of frame saws where the blade is in the middle of a frame. I have also seen saws that I think are called bow saws. I do not have any power tools right now. So I was wondering how I can resaw lumber without needing a table saw or band saw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathryn Posted November 25, 2010 Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 I am starting out gathering tools and was wondering how I could resaw rough lumber by hand. I have seen a variety of frame saws where the blade is in the middle of a frame. I have also seen saws that I think are called bow saws. I do not have any power tools right now. So I was wondering how I can resaw lumber without needing a table saw or band saw? With practice and time, you can resaw most stuff with a rip saw, any length and most thicknesses, within reason. You could try to rip 16-inch wide veneer 1/32" thick with a D-8 thumbhole rip saw, but I wouldn't recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted November 25, 2010 Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 I love using hand tools, and for resawing I go to a bandsaw. To give you an idea of what's involved in resawing by hand, here's a video of Caspar Labarre, a phenomenal woodworker from the Netherlands, resawing a board with a frame saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted November 25, 2010 Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 They are called bow saws and I think I have seen a shopmade jig that helps with resawing, maybe on Roy's show?? I have never tried it but as with anything some practice and you can do it. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboMonk Posted November 25, 2010 Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 I use a Japanese ryoba pull-saw to rip and resaw wood. My trick is to mark both sides of the lumber and use a mirror to view the backside while ripping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storri Posted November 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 Thanks for the information. I found another site that talked about using a frame saw. What I could not find is where I could buy one. I did find instructions on how to build one. That leads to a dilemma. How do you build a frame saw when you need a frame saw to resaw wood? I was wondering if a bow saw could be used or does its design get in the way? I have found links to ryoba being used but I like the length of the frame saw blade and its design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwatson Posted November 26, 2010 Report Share Posted November 26, 2010 http://hyperkitten.com/woodworking/frame_saw.php3 here is a frame saw tutorial i saw the other day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rozaieski Posted November 26, 2010 Report Share Posted November 26, 2010 Stephen, I don't think shops nonchalantly resawed lumber before power like we do today. I think they had other solutions (i.e. buy thinner lumber, or let the mill/pitsawyer do it). I've tried numerous solutions for resawing without power, including frames saws, bow saws and standard rip saws. All have their pros and cons, but more cons than pros. That's not to say they didn't do it, but I think they probably tried as much as possible to avoid it if they could. Here's a recent article I wrote about the subject for my web site. My Article on Resawing Without Power Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted November 26, 2010 Report Share Posted November 26, 2010 Thanks for the information. I found another site that talked about using a frame saw. What I could not find is where I could buy one. I did find instructions on how to build one. That leads to a dilemma. How do you build a frame saw when you need a frame saw to resaw wood? I was wondering if a bow saw could be used or does its design get in the way? I have found links to ryoba being used but I like the length of the frame saw blade and its design. A bow saw is going to have a limit from the frame. I have a shop-built bow saw that I use (not for resawing) and the throat does limit you to depth. I think it would be a little difficult to control if you turned it on its edge as you'd only have the one handle and stability would be an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storri Posted November 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2010 Thanks for the link Bob. I am just trying to judge the path that I should go. Buy hand tools first or machinery. If it is machinery then I have another step to consider which is to get 220v power added to the basement. I am renting a house and the owner is open to letting me do it through a licensed electrician naturally. The basement only has one 220v outlet for the dryer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddlermike Posted November 27, 2010 Report Share Posted November 27, 2010 like Mr. Pants said, a true bow saw has a fixed blade, where as a frame saw allows the blade to rotate like a coping saw. this enables you to saw an entire length of a board. Also, many did it with rip panel saws. A sharp saw and proper sawing technique can achieve good results, although obviously not as quick as a bandsaw. here's some new frame saws: highland woodworking also, look at antique shops - even die hard plane collectors don't really give a crap about frame saws, so they can usually be found pretty cheap. A local antique shop near me has 3 or 4 lying around for about $15 a piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhell Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 I have a book call Old Ways of Working Wood by Alex Bealer. I recommend it to learn all kinds of old school woodworking methods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 ooh! ooh! I know the answer to this one!!! No reason to live!! ;o) Seriously, I don't get why ANYONE would EVER want to go back there. Use the power tools to do the bulk of the work and refine things with your hand tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 ooh! ooh! I know the answer to this one!!! No reason to live!! ;o) Seriously, I don't get why ANYONE would EVER want to go back there. Use the power tools to do the bulk of the work and refine things with your hand tools. Somewhere, there's a CNC guy reading your post wondering why you pick up your tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Somewhere, there's a CNC guy reading your post wondering why you pick up your tools I don't think the premise follows the same line of thought. Although, considering I'm more into design than building...mmmm...no...I think there is something very sensual in doing the fine details with hand tools. And PAUL....no, not sexual...sensual!... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Gack! Life really is too short to ponder such things. The video of that poor sod in Holland going back and forth with a frame saw merely confirms it for me. Krenov had it right: Use your machines for hated, menial chores (such as ripping or resawing) so that you're all bushy-tailed when time comes to do the work that actually makes a difference in the finished piece. I've got a fine crosscut saw on constant call, and it's been getting the call more and more frequently. (Conversely, my chop saw has been sitting idle for longer and longer at a stretch.) But every time I do a rip cut of any length, I come away thinking that there were a thousand different and better ways that my time would have been spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 I'm not a historian, but I suspect that in the golden age of furniture building, they used water mills (later, steam mills) to cut lumber to rough dimensions, and used apprentices to do the bulk, repetitive work. Master furniture makers didn't do that stuff if they could avoid it. Oooh! I just remembered something. I was thinking how people who did lots of turning used foot powered lathes, rather than using a spoke-shave, etc. The lathe was named for the thin, flexible strip of wood that you stepped on to spin the spindle. When you released your foot it moved back for the next foot press. Or at least, that's what I remember being told. Anyway, that reminded me of a foot powered saw that I once saw in a drawing. It had a horizontal table with a slot that the blade passed through. The blade was straight, like a frame saw. I think there was a frame to keep the blade under tension and straight. The blade was suspended from a flexible lathe, and attached underneath the table to a treadle. You pumped the treadle (or had an apprentice do it), and that pulled the blade down. When you released the treadle the lathe above the blade pulled the blade and frame back up. Seems faster and easier than what that Dutch guy was doing. I bet you could build this if you wanted. Extra points for making the blade move into the wood on the cut stroke and away from the wood on the return stroke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Sorry, maybe there should be a separate page for all the hybrid woodworkers. Kidding, Marc! I think Beechwood hit it on the head. Even if you're not a journeyman cabinet or furniture maker, you have the ability to have an apprentice who will do all those menial tasks for you and free you to do the truly fine work that comes from your hand and an extremely well honed blade. I say take full advantage of all a power tool will afford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddlermike Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 I think you guys are missing the point. Stephen doesn't have any power tools at the moment. It's obvious that he's looking for an alternative means to do wood working, whether it be that he doesn't have the cash for a band saw, the space for it, or he's taking the galoot approach to his hobby. practically all wood working techniques have multiple ways to achieve the end result, including those that don't use electrons. and Paul, shame on you for mentioning a CNC machine in a wood working forum. Suddenly I'm a little queezy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 and Paul, shame on you for mentioning a CNC machine in a wood working forum. Suddenly I'm a little queezy.... ma bad... ...though it is where a lot of more rudimentary woodworking is going, regrettably or not. But that's a discussion for outside The (Neanderthal) Village Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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