Hello All
I have just purchased a bow saw with a crosscut, rip and turning saw blade from ECE in Germany. The blades are 24in. I have a few questions on how to properly use it. Does one cut on the push or the pull? How do you hold it? I have tried with my hands on the crossbar and side, on the handles, only on the sidebars… It does not really seem that comfortable. There is a lot of tension on the blades and the handles do not rotate easily but I still do not cut straight with the crosscut or rip blade. Can anyone help? Last question, to cut turns (intentionally), is it better to turn the handles or rotate the saw? I notice that the blade bends if I rotate the saw but the cut does not go where I would like. (I have been chopping up pine, ash and beech as tests)
Thanks for your help!
Jim
Replies
I have an old Ulmia with a thin blade and I just bought a 1 1/2" blade from Garret Wade. The 1 1/2" works on the pull stroke, it has an arrow on it and is of Japanese style teeth. Garret Wade said my saw and blade are now discontinued, so I need a source for a 24" X 1 1/2" rip tooth blade. Where did you get yours?
These saws work good for some cutting.
I have ordered the saws from a German company - I live in Italy, but I am sure they would ship the blades, they are very helpful - Look up dieter schmidt feinwerkzueg
http://www.feinewerkzeuge.de
They are located in Berlin and carry all of the sized blades that you need!
If you don't speak German, look under Gestellsägen
Cheers
Jim
I have also looked for bow saw blades. I found an on-line store which sells ECE blades. Check out:
http://www.adriatools.com
under the links "ECE Hand Tools" - "ECE Saws"
Hope this helps
Jim,
Most of the ones I've seen were used on the push stroke, though it does make sense to use is on the pull, like a Japanese saw. I typically hold it by one of the arms under the cross brace and use my other hand as a guide for the blade. Depending on where you hold it, the balance can be awkward.
As for not cutting straight, I'm assuming that this is a bowsaw only issue. My first place to look at is the blade itself. Does it pull to one side? My guess is yes. Almost every saw blade is stamped from a piece of steel and the cutter leaves a burr on only one side of the blade. This burr tends to cause the saw to pull to that side. The best thing to do is to take an oil stone and make a couple of passes on the side of the blade where the burr is. You should be able to feel it with your fingers. The stone should contact the blade at the edge w/o the teeth and at the tops of the teeth set on that side. After a couple of passes, try it on some wood. If it doesn't correct the problem, try a couple more passes w/ the stone. Be cautious, since you can take the set out of the blade. Luckily, the oilstone cuts very slowly and the blades, esp. the rip blade has a huge set. This also works for tuning up western dovetail saws as well (or any saw for that matter).
If that doesn't cure the problem, then resetting and sharpening the blade may cure it. It seems like a lot of work, but it isn't as daunting as it seems. Tage Frid's book (vol 1 and 2 combined ) has a section on sharpening saws and making a saw sharpening fixture/vise. He is also a huge proponent of the bow saw and has some instruction on its use. It is also a great book for woodworking in general. Best line drawings I've seen in any book.
As for a source of blades, Highland Hardware has them in several sizes.
I hope that helps,
-- Blue
Thank you for your patience and help, I will give it a try. This is my first attempt with a new type of tool and I think patience is in order till I can master this one.
Cheers and thanks again!
Jim
I've used a bow saw, but nobody has ever shown me how to use it properly. With that caveat, here's what works best for me:
Arrange it to cut on the pull stroke.
Primary grip is on the closer sidebar, between the handle/blade and the crossbar. Secondary grip on the further sidebar.
To cut a curve, keep the saw steady and twist both handles into the turn. Keep sawing and the blade should straighten itself out, cutting a curve as it does so.
HTH
Graeme
If your saw has enough tension on it, the thing *should* cut straight. I own two diffrent bow saws and I ude them a lot. You might have to adjust your stance a little. I have found *for me at least that the body motion is just a little diffrent from when I use a back saw.
Keep making sawdust.
-Matt
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