Matilda Bow Saw.

[swagman]

Nice work gents, I've been meaning to make one for quite a while.

Just one question, where do you get your blades? Would bits of bandsaw blade do?

Cheers

Aled

Hi Aled. I wouldn't recommend bits of bandsaw blade, but if you need some traditional 12" bow saw blades, use these.

Regards;Swagman.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/5-x-12-Carpenter ... 53dd06634e

 

[woodbloke]

Nice...but I can't see any advantage on this variation that will have significantly improved the original design, which lets face it, has been around for at least 2000 years.

This is a frame saw I did recently with a 6mm rod to tighten the whole gubbins up, which is a departure from the traditional cord tourniquet:

If it ain't broke, it don't need fixing :wink: - Rob

Hi Rob. If you still use a horse and cart for transport, still use a bow & arrow to kill your food, and also refuse to use any other means of modern idea's , I would consider you are a seriously believer in the statement " if it ain't broke, it don't need fixing". :lol:

Seriously.If you can make an improvement to the original design, and it can help others who will also benefit from its use, its got to be worth doing.


All the best; Swagman.

I'm not taking anything away from your saw, 'cos it is a nice looking beasty. My only point is that this particular form of frame (or bow :? ) saw evolved perfectly 2000 years ago and has been in continuous use since then...you only have to have a look at medieval prints to see carpenters using big bow (or frame :? ...sorry Chris :lol: ) saws and they can still be bought new today from places like Rutlands but with the screw tensioner instead of the more traditional cord.
The bow and arrow/horse and cart refs are interesting because their not perfect...the bow was superseded by gunpowder weapons (much more effective) with their continual improvements over the centuries, so the bow as a method of killing food (but not the the French) went out of fashion very rapidly. The internal combustion engine has only taken over from the horse and cart (in all it's guises) in the last 100 years or so because it's a faster and a more convenient form of transport.
So if the original design was perfect, why change it? The 6mm rod on my saw is a change, but it doesn't make it work any better, it's just a little easier to wind on the tension...both work equally as well - Rob

 

[dannykaye]

I suspect that the bow went out of fashion because it needed a high level of skill and training to use not because gunpowder provided something better.

 

[bugbear]

If you take the idea of using a sprung arc of steel to tension the blade all the way to its logical extreme you end up with the modern coping saw.

BugBear

 

[swagman]

If you take the idea of using a sprung arc of steel to tension the blade all the way to its logical extreme you end up with the modern coping saw.

BugBear

Hi bugbear. If I follow your logic I could put a power lead on my Bow Saw and call it a Bandsaw.

Regards Swagman.

 

[bugbear]

If you take the idea of using a sprung arc of steel to tension the blade all the way to its logical extreme you end up with the modern coping saw.

BugBear

Hi bugbear. If I follow your logic I could put a power lead on my Bow Saw and call it a Bandsaw.

Regards Swagman.

I think that's more of a functional replacement than a design evolution.

BugBear