I want to find out if anyone uses a Japanese handsaw for ripping long-ish lengths and if so, what is a good recommendation for technique. I’m trying to determine the best way to support the stock and to position my body for ripping boards up to 4′ or 5′ or more.
Please don’t reply if you are going to tell me not to rip long boards with a Japanese saw. I don’t own a table saw nor can I own one, as I do woodworking in my apartment. Please post if you’d like to help me be innovative.
I tried ripping a piece of 3′ long 6/4 maple and it took about 30 minutes. I tried all kinds of things: even standing on the board. But I found along the way that it helped if I turned the saw upside-down and sawed going up instead of the typical way of sawing going down. I’m thinking of coming up with some way of holding stock vertically so that I can rip starting at the bottom and moving toward the top. The combination of pulling the saw back and up seemed to be quite effective and efficient at cutting. Perhaps I’d even have a way to lower this contraption so that I could keep the cutting area at a comfortable height.
Laugh if you will, but I’m trying to come up with something that works.
Thanks!
Mitch
Replies
6/4 x 3' I'm impressed. I can't steer my Japanese saw well enough to make cuts much longer than about 6".
In your position, I would explore a hand held saber saw or jig saw. They're not silent, but they're certainly no louder than a vacuum cleaner.
Mitch,
I have never done it...but I watched a japanese woodwoker at the show in Springfield, MA a couple of months ago do it. He had a piece of stock that was about 6.5' tall and 24" or so square. He marked out his boards on the stock....shoved the stock between to logs standing on end...clamped the logs..and began sawing..and sawed....and sawed. I did not watch to the end..it would have been hours...but I'm sure he fliped the stock and finished from the other end...
Was the stock vertical? Did he saw from the bottom up or the top down?
Thanks for your reply. This is the kind of thing I want to learn about.
Mitch
Mitch,
Yes, the stock was vertical..stood on its end and he cut from the top down..taking nice easy strokes..not putting any pressure on the saw..letting the tool do the work.. continuously checkng the line of cut..
I would guess he cut about a foot an hour...
In "The workbench book" an example is shown were two low sawhorses (7") are used to support the stock. The Japanese furniture maker is standing on the stock with 1 leg and cuts upwards.
Do you have a good bench ???
A frame saw might just do it. You can rip real fast with it, does not cost much to do, and it is fun.
http://www.hyperkitten.com/woodworking/frame_saw.php3
Bob in Sherbrooke, Province of Québec
if i remember correctly, one of tage frid's books show him ripping with a bowsaw fairly efficiently.
let me know if you don't have it and i'll look up the exact reference for you.
m
Mitch,
That cut, done with a conventional western style handsaw with coarse teeth and properly ground for ripping would go very quickly, maybe five minutes, and it wouldn't be a lot of work. It seems that a Japanese style saw shouldn't take a lot more effort.
My first questions would be is the saw sharp and is it ground for ripping? If the saw is ground for cross cutting you would experience exactly what you are describing.
Japanese saws are made for either ripping or crosscutting and one saw can't be substituted for the other. Japanese saws are also sharpened for cutting either hardwoods or softwoods and, here again, one saw isn't a good substitue for the other. The majority of traditional Japanese woodworking is done with softwoods and blades for cutting softwoods are thus much more commonly sold, especially to the uninitiated.
If you aren't experienced with using Japanese tools you should get a few books on the subject. Japanese tools are very effective when they are used properly but, like any hand tool, they are endlessly frustrating if you don't understand the subtleties of their design and use.
John W.
Mitch,
I saw the same thing as BG at the Ontario Woodworking show a month or so ago. The Japanese woodworker was none other than Toshio Odate. The stock was indeed held vertically. You could accomplish the same thing by clamping your piece vertically in the woodworking vice on your workbench (assuming you have one) or by clamping it vertically to something sturdy if you don't. The board would indeed be rotated to complete the cut. By holding the stock vertically and cutting downward gravity works to your advantage both with saw and sawdust ejection. Mr. Odate's saw was a very large saw by the way (the largest Japanese saw I have ever seen).
So, did it really take him 6 hours to rip that board? "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." A. Einstein
http://www.albionworks.net
Al,
He struck me as the type that would have no idea how long it would take if you asked....He would probably say "the wood will tell me how long.....grasshopper"....
It wasn't like I stood and watched him. He was keeping a leisurely pace and stopped to talk frequently. All I know is, judging by the amount of sawdust that exited the kerf with each pull stroke, it definitely could have been done at a much quicker pace had that been Mr. Odate's intent.
Not to confuse things but I saw a pick of Mr Odata (sp?) at one of the WW'ing shows posted on another site. He was indeed using a 'huge' saw but he was resawing, not ripping.
as for the Japanese saw, I have a ryoba and am able to cut 5/4 stock 6' in length. Not easy but it doesn't take more than 5-7min. What has worked best for me with med. length pieces (3-4') is using two hands on the saw. I clamp it to the bench and stand behind the piece. Once the kerf is started I just pull direcly into my stomach. I usually have to take a break somewhere in the middle but definitely less tiring that working with one arm.
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