How to rip using a handsaw

[Aggrajag]

Hi all,

I've got an electric sliding cross/mitre saw but like always I've come up with another job that needs yet another tool that I don't have.

I'm wanting to make some picture frames using my router table. I can mitre but I can't rip my wood and I have neither the space, the money or the permission from er-indoors to buy yet another powertool.

I've seen a few guides online (mostly for cross cutting unfortunately) but can't seem to find a good one for ripping by hand, does anyone have any tips, techniques or recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

 

[undergroundhunter]

You don't need any sort of guide, just a line on both sides of the work, cut 3" down one face then flip over and do the same, keep flipping until you have made the full cut, flipping every so often will help to keep you square. Depending on the length of timber to be ripped then you could stand it up in the vice, if its longer then do it on a saw horse. Or if you are struggling then bring it round to me and I will do it on my bandsaw for you (hammer) im not too far down the road.

Matt

 

[Aggrajag]

Thanks Matt, good advice. I've been looking for a true handheld RIP saw but it seems everyone (within budget) only sell combination saws now so I wandered over to Travis Perkins yesterday and bought a really nice looking Bahco for a bargain sale price.

I have some seemingly perfect strips of angle aluminium left over from a green house build which I think I might edge my workmate with and use as a guide, they're far less likely to cut than wood obviously which was what I've seen on YouTube sawhorse videos. (Which I searched after your tip as I don't own a sawhorse, yet.)

 

[bugbear]

I have some seemingly perfect strips of angle aluminium left over from a green house build which I think I might edge my workmate with and use as a guide, they're far less likely to cut than wood ...

But they're far more likely to blunt your saw...

But (seriously) if you're sawing accurately enough not to turn your workpiece into firewood, there's no reason to saw into your support.

BugBear

 

[Argus]

If it's any use to you, the saintly Mr Sellers provided a short video on the method of ripping along the grain, which Matt mentioned earlier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP1rAM_gnGI

Good luck.

 

[Aggrajag]

Good point well made.

I definitely need practice. When I was cross-cutting wood my cut across the top was perfect but my vertical cut (the thin dimension) was terrible until I realised and started to correct it. I only have one eye (the other 100% lazy) and to me it looks like I'm holding the saw at a terrible angle but it works.

Practice, practice, practice.

 

[Jacob]

You don't need any sort of guide, just a line on both sides of the work, cut 3" down one face then flip over and do the same, keep flipping until you have made the full cut, flipping every so often will help to keep you square. Depending on the length of timber to be ripped then you could stand it up in the vice, if its longer then do it on a saw horse. Or if you are struggling then bring it round to me and I will do it on my bandsaw for you (hammer) im not too far down the road.

Matt

Yes thats it.
Either vertical in a vice or horizontal low-down on saw horses. It's fairly energetic so you need to approach it like a boxer!

 

[deema]

Please do not lip your work mate with aluminium. The top of any bench should be wood so that when the inevitable slip / billy-do dies occur, it's only the top that gets damaged rather than an expensive tool.

For ripping anything you can't do in a vice, you need a saw horse, the height of the saw horse will be a lot lower than any bench. You will also need a bench that's rock steady with a completely flat top in order to plane the stuff up into useable section after sawing. To get is straight and true you will need the longest plane you have...no 5 / t1/2 is probably the shortest.

For a saw horse, I use one with a split top, see the un-plugged woodworker on uTube for a good video on how to rip by hand and also a very good design of saw horse with a spilt top.

When funds allow buy a secondhand rip saw with about 4~5 TPI, it's easy to sharpen back up if it's dull, it also easy to strip off the teeth and make new ones if the saw has the wrong TPI, but takes some time as the teeth are large. These saws are very cheap (c£1~£20, I look out for saws at the bottom end) on auction sites / car boots as very few people RIP by hand these days. Disston, Spear and Jackson come up regulatory. Preferably get one that's tapper ground. I did a thread on Sharpening a hand saw, the same techniques are used to sharpen a RIP saw. You want a saw that is as long as the stroke of your arm, any longer is just wasted metal, any shorter and it's more tiring. To measure your stroke, grab hold of broom handle and against a fixed point do your sawing action, measure the amount of handle that passes over the fixed point. Add to this about 4" for the blade round the handle that does not get used and you have the perfect saw length. If you get one too long, just chop it down. A saw that is too long can over time become concave along the tooth line. The teeth wear only where they cut. Jointing a long saws teeth is time consuming when some teeth have not been used. This usually results in a 'lazy' sharpen and the saw becomes concave which is very bad for a smooth sawing action.

 

[Aggrajag]

Thanks Argus, no idea how he doesn't end up making a 2 foot long door wedge! I'll just finish watching and then read the following posts.

 

[Jacob]

....
For ripping anything you can't do in a vice,

You can; hold it vertically so the cut is about elbow height. You'd have to if you are trying to rip a short piece - not easy over saw horses.
If a long cut over saw horses you can vary the work by sitting astride and holding the saw two handed almost vertically. Finish off the end of the board by turning the saw around and cutting away from you.

 

[Aggrajag]

I understand the 3" cuts now, that's very informative everyone, thank you. So much advice and help, I love this forum!

I don't have room for a vice; my homemade bench is literally my entire workspace with no overhang even, I have a P/T underneath (and sliding mitre) that I have to take out into the garden to use.

I don't understand how sawhorses can be used for ripping, they look like they're used for cutting logs off the end as far as I've seen, so I'll search a bit more and maybe buy a folding one once I've understood the method.

 

[Jacob]

Two of these:

NB not sure about the 3" cut thing - it's not something I've ever done or felt the need for.

 

[DTR]

Two of these:

Note the wide top, perfect for sitting on, standing on etc. Far more useful than the commonly manufactured sawhorse!

If a long cut over saw horses you can vary the work by sitting astride and holding the saw two handed almost vertically. Finish off the end of the board by turning the saw around and cutting away from you.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodw ... ays-to-rip

 

[Aggrajag]

Now I see! I'd thought it would need clamping down somehow (as the vice technique is) and couldn't figure how that would work on a sawhorse.

Will be practicing this weekend for sure! (On softwood to begin with )

 

[AndyT]

A while back, I made my first chest of drawers. It was a long project, in which I tried out some techniques for the first time. It included ripping the edge off a board, held on a Workmate

and progressed to deep-ripping some softwood for a back panel and some cedar for drawer bottoms. One question that puzzled me was the difference between cutting wood held in the vice (a) with the wood straight up and my feet at right angles to the bench

and (b) with the wood leaning over and my feet parallel to the bench.

In the end, I found (b) was the more productive way.

I also learned that it does make a big difference if you have a proper rip saw, and if your cut is going to be a deep one, you really need a coarse saw of only 3 - 4 tpi, or else it will just fill up with sawdust and stop working.

I can't use sawhorses in my workshop as the floor is so uneven, but if you can, there's no need for clamps - you kneel on the wood to hold it down (provided it's big enough).

 

[deema]

Here is the unplugged saw horse. Makes a great little bench also

 

[Jacob]

Very neat but I can't see the need. It's straightforward to rip a board like that over two saw stools. No need for clamps either - all the force is downwards.
There's a vid somewhere of rip saw speed competition but I can't find it.
I found this one instead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzxZQLI8uzs but its another difficult and slightly pointless special bench and inconvenient clamping. He's "over thought" it and made it really difficult for himself - obviously nobody has ever showed him how to do it!
You can do it much much easier by just resting the board over two saw stools - perhaps a bit lower than this chap's special, no clamps - hold it down with your knee or sit astride and cut near vertically with two hands holding. Move the board to avoid cutting through the saw stool.

PS very odd - I've been searching for rip hand saw how-tos on youtube but can't find a single good example - just odd ones who have no idea, like the above. They were there a few years back - another lost art??
Except Paul Sellers here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP1rAM_gnGI though it's easier straight on rather than side ways IMHO.

PPS you can also do it easily with one saw stool - put the board lengthways and just cut the extended end. Move it away as you get near the saw stool. Support the end if it's too long, and/or turn it to start at the other end

 

[bugbear]

Except Paul Sellers here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP1rAM_gnGI though it's easier straight on rather than side ways IMHO.

For shallow ripping, I agree that straight on is easier, but for deep ripping, sideways on allows you to alternate the angle, as Sellers (and AndyT) show nicely; it's just a much bigger version of the technique used for tenon shoulders.

Since I have no power saw, I do quite a lot of both. Sadly, my workshop is far too small to allow the use of a pair of sawhorses, so everything
has to be done at the bench.

BugBear

 

[disco_monkey79]

Hi

Interesting thread. I'd also like a rip saw - how do I identify that it's a genuine rip saw and not a large-toothed cross cut?

Many thanks

 

[DTR]

On a rip saw the front face of the tooth is perpendicular to the length of the saw, i.e. it's sharpened straight across. On a crosscut, the front edge of the tooth is at an angle. This angle is called "fleam".

Also, rip teeth tend to be more aggressively angled forward (but not always).