WHICH ONES AND HOW MANY SAWS????

[GEPPETTO]

Hi all,
Always I have asked myself : WHICH ONES AND HOW MANY SAWS I MUST OWN IN MY WORKSHOP (size and type) ??.
Can anyone give me a good advice?

 

[Midnight]

Geppetto....

this one's kinda hard to answer; it all depends on how far you want to go..

The most common would be hand saws, tenon saws and dovetail saws, each available in rip and cross cut as well as a variety of lengths. In addition, there's fret saws, bow saws, coping saws, veneer saws, gents saws, flush-cut saws and a whole multitude of others... the trick is to figure out which ones you need to suit your style of working.

It's a bit like hand planes... you either don't use em at all, use a certain few or you need dozens of em.... there's no set "right" answer.

Like hand planes, I've learned that quality costs... buy the best you can afford and they shouldn't let you down... that said, quality needn't cost a fortune...

 

[Anonymous]

there's a lot of argument in favour of a decent bow saw being all you need...

just a thought

 

[Woodythepecker]

In my workshop a few Japanese hand saws are a must. A favorite of mine is the Ryoba from Axminster One side of this saw crosscuts and the other edge rips. Another good one is the Doutsuki-Me backsaw.

But as Mike says it all depends on far you want to go.

Regards

Woody

 

[Midnight]

there's a lot of argument in favour of a decent bow saw being all you need...

Tage Frid would agree to that.....to a point...

 

[Anonymous]

there's a lot of argument in favour of a decent bow saw being all you need...

Tage Frid would agree to that.....to a point...

Aye - I think that must have been where I remembered it from! Knew it was either Krenov or Frid, but wasn't sure which

 

[Ian Dalziel]

this one's kinda hard to answer; it all depends on how far you want to go..

The most common would be hand saws, tenon saws and dovetail saws, each available in rip and cross cut as well as a variety of lengths. In addition, there's fret saws, bow saws, coping saws, veneer saws, gents saws, flush-cut saws and a whole multitude of others... the trick is to figure out which ones you need to suit your style of working.

I'm with midnight here, i like japenese saws, tenon saws and a dovetail saw. whatever type of woodwork you do these will always be handy

Ian

 

[GEPPETTO]

...

this one's kinda hard to answer; it all depends on how far you want to go..

Hi all,
First I wish to thank all you, and I want to say that I am a novice therefore I didn't have done a lot of wood-things and I will not do much in the next future (family, house, child ....take up me much time).
I want only to prepare the workshop for the far future and in the meantime, in free time (few), I will do only little and simple things.
All things which I have done, have been done with BACHO handsaws ( the only available in Italy). But now the hard-point cross-cut 14ppi is weared and I wish to buy another which I will can re-sharp.
My question was in other words: I know that is important “only tool for only task” but for an amateur woodworker, not professional, exists a minimum set of handsaws which is right for the majority of the tasks? I thought to buy only a rip-saw, a tenon-saw and a dovetail-saw. But which one is the right length ? How many teeth??
Help me. I could do to me a Christmas present.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Geppetto,
In Europe, bowsaws were traditional. The term bowsaw is pretty vague as they can be large or small and used for rip, crosscut or turning.
I am in the United States and our woodworking traditions don't go back in history so far. We were quick to adopt to the Western style handsaw which is a wide steel blade with a handle that cuts on the push stroke. The largest and most documented saw maker in the US was Henry Disston and they produced high quality saws from 1840-1955. After that period the company was purchased by H. K. Porter and quality saws were no longer made. Happily, many great old saws are still around and are very inexpensive and these are superior to any being manufactured today.
See The Disstonian Institute and Vintage Saws for details about Western saws.
If you are looking for Western saws on ebay, D-8's and D-23's are excellent users and usually low priced. You will need a ripsaw and these are commonly 28" long and have 5 or 5 1/2 teeth per inch. Crosscut saws in 8 point and 10 point will handle most cutting chores. Please feel free to email me if I can help.
Joint cutting saws in our tradition were backsaws which have a steel or brass back reinforcing the blade which cuts on the push stroke. You can buy excellent quality backsaws new from LN, Adria, and Spehar or buy vintage ones.
The biggest challenge with Western or European handsaws is keeping them properly sharpened. Most of us sharpen our own as sharpening services are getting fewer and fewer. This leads many woodworkers to Japanese saws which have very hard blades that are replaced rather than resharpened.

 

[GEPPETTO]

Hi Roger, thanks a lot for the advice.
Now I am going to think on what to do about the choice.
Excuse I have another question about backsaws: can I saw both tenon and dovetail with a single set backsaw ( I have seen that dovetail saw haven't set teeth)???.

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting and begs the question, does anyone on here actually use a bowsaw in preference to other types?

 

[Chris Knight]

Interesting and begs the question, does anyone on here actually use a bowsaw in preference to other types?

I have a bowsaw and have tried it on several occasions. I am always left wondering why anyone would want to use one. Its only advantages that I can I see are the ability to change blades easily and the manoeuverability (like a coping saw) .

However, I use bandsaw blades in it - and they make less than perfect handsaw blades. The manoeuverability is just as much a handicap as an advantage in my view. You have the weight flopping about where you don't want it half the time.

With other saws available I see no reason to use one.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Roger, thanks a lot for the advice.
Now I am going to think on what to do about the choice.
Excuse I have another question about backsaws: can I saw both tenon and dovetail with a single set backsaw ( I have seen that dovetail saw haven't set teeth)???.

Dovetail saws usually have some set in the teeth but not much.
Dovetail saws should be filed for rip. Tenons require rip cuts (cheeks) and crosscuts (shoulders). If you have only one saw for tenons and dovetails, it would be better to have it filed rip.

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting and begs the question, does anyone on here actually use a bowsaw in preference to other types?

I use a British style bowsaw (12") for curved cuts. It is much faster than a coping saw.

 

[GEPPETTO]

If you have only one saw for tenons and dovetails, it would be better to have it filed rip.

Hi Roger
Thanks for advice, but can a ripsaw to saw cross grain??
I have never tried??

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, a saw filed rip can cut cross grain but it will not cut as cleanly as a saw filed crosscut. If you knife your lines on tenons or clean up shoulders with a plane, the rougher cut of a saw filed rip won't be of much concern.
It is easier to saw more precisely if you have saws of the correct size and tooth configuration for the task at hand.

 

[GEPPETTO]

Yes, a saw filed rip can cut cross grain but it will not cut as cleanly as a saw filed crosscut. If you knife your lines on tenons or clean up shoulders with a plane, the rougher cut of a saw filed rip won't be of much concern.
It is easier to saw more precisely if you have saws of the correct size and tooth configuration for the task at hand.

Hi Roger,

Thanks a lot.