Ripping with a hand saw

[twinwoodcarving]

I use hand tools to cut fairly thick boards to the size I require. I grew up in Ireland and did wood shop for 5 years. Everything in our wood shop was hand tools, the educators felt that if you didn't have a good idea of the feel of wood with hand tools you didn't really know wood. I'm not here to vouch for that theory that's just how they felt about it. This held me in good stead because after a 20 year hiatus I was still able to pick up a hand saw and cut a piece of 4 by 18 seasoned walnut and with a perfect right angle across the grain.

Ripping is another story though and I usually end up of a couple of millimeters per foot because of the saws tendency to follow the grain. Does any one know of a good ripping saw for me. I cut bowl blanks for dough and trencher bowls. Thanks so much, Joe.

[wilburpan]

There are a lot of good handsaw options these days: Wenzloff, Medallion Toolworks, Eccentric Toolworks, to name a few. For long rip cuts, there are some techniques that you can use to correct the cut if it is going off line. The basic thing to do if you are going off line is to lower the angle of the saw to correct the direction of the cut, which will slow down the progression of the cut somewhat, and as you correct it, steepen the angle again. I have a video on my blog that illustrates this principle somewhat using a Japanese saw, but as mentioned in my blog, this is illustrated with western saws as well on the Logan Cabinet Shoppe blog and video podcast, and the Renaissance Woodworker as well.

[twinwoodcarving]

There are a lot of good handsaw options these days: Wenzloff, Medallion Toolworks, Eccentric Toolworks, to name a few. For long rip cuts, there are some techniques that you can use to correct the cut if it is going off line. The basic thing to do if you are going off line is to lower the angle of the saw to correct the direction of the cut, which will slow down the progression of the cut somewhat, and as you correct it, steepen the angle again. I have a video on my blog that illustrates this principle somewhat using a Japanese saw, but as mentioned in my blog, this is illustrated with western saws as well on the Logan Cabinet Shoppe blog and video podcast, and the Renaissance Woodworker as well.

Thanks so much wilbur, I actually do find myself doing this to correct and it works quite well. Is a true ripping saw quicker in the rip than a standard saw. I find it takes 2-3 times longer to rip than to cross the grain.

[RenaissanceWW]

A properly tuned ripping saw and one that is suited for the work you do just sings through a cut and tracking the line is the last thing on your mind once you get started. The makers that Wilbur mentioned above are all excellent, but I found that having a saw customized to my work was the best solution. I had several vintage saws refurbished by Mark Harrell at Bad Axe Toolworks and they are a dream to work with. By customization I mean that Mark asked me a bunch of questions about how I would be using my saw and what type/thickness of wood. He then recommended pitch, rake angles, set, and fleam for my saws to match the work. I just had a zen moment with a huge 6 foot long rip the other day with one of his saws and the cut was dead on and took really no more time than the cross cut. Ron Herman is another luminary on saws and he has a huge collection but each is tuned to a specific job. That's not to say that you need 50-60 saws in your shop but we all tend to work with similar boards so you can get pretty close.

I have saws for rough work in 4/4 and rough work in 8/4 stock and both cross cut and rip files. There is a huge difference in performance from one to another as they are set for different thicknesses. You can very quickly fall down a steep slope with this topic, but I recommend you talk to Mark Harrell and he can help you build a good nest of saws.

[wilburpan]

I found that having a saw customized to my work was the best solution. I had several vintage saws refurbished by Mark Harrell at Bad Axe Toolworks and they are a dream to work with. By customization I mean that Mark asked me a bunch of questions about how I would be using my saw and what type/thickness of wood. He then recommended pitch, rake angles, set, and fleam for my saws to match the work.

Last year at WIA I heard Ron Herman talk about tuning a western saw for the type of wood you were cutting by changing the factors that Shannon mentions here, and I just about fell over. I like using Japanese saws myself, and when I first started learning about Japanese tools I learned about how Japanese saw sharpeners would adjust a Japanese saw for the species of wood being cut. The usual commentary on the woodworking interweb was how that was so much Eastern mystical mumbo-jumbo. So it was nice to see that this seems to be a practice that was done across the board, and not just in the Far East, at least back before we forgot a lot about woodworking that we are relearning today.

[twinwoodcarving]

Thanks so much R.WW and Wilbur, I appreciate the advise. I really don't need to do accurate work as all the fine adjustments are done in the process of carving the bowl. I'll definitely speak to Mark Harrell about this and I appreciate the contact, my Pay-Go business model may forestall the purchase of such a fine instrument though. Thanks so much, Joe.