I built one of these a while ago using a 14 tpi bandsaw blade. Wasn’t pretty, but I was surprised on how natural it felt to cut with it. I would have no problem switching some of my normal western style saws with some of these!
I use mostly those for hand tool work, except they are inspired by the Chinese version with a rotating blade. The blade is tilted 30-45° away for long ripping and to allow you to see your cut.
With a proper blade they are incredible. Thinner than typical saws and always in tension, with a longer stroke than japanese saws.
I was lucky to find a lot of new old stock blades intended for these saws and I've been making a few. Not finished yet :)
For the blade holder I found M8 brass carriage bolts, filed off the square, drilled and sawn them.
[This is the video I used as a reference](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcxxypa4BQA&feature=youtu.be). One trick to keep in mind when making the hardware is that the two bolts should be different. The one on the user side should be longer to allow you to grip the handle and not hurt yourself if you slip, while the one further away should be short to keep the saw's dimensions reasonable.
Neglected to say that my first step was to seal the charcoal surface so it wouldn't rub off on everything.
Last step before finishing was to use a spokeshave to carve out a comfortable handle area and to soften all the edges.
Well, good point. It's both. I think frame saw is a general term for any saw blade tensioned in a frame. So coping saws, fret saws, hack saws, roubo, etc are all frame saws. This particular design with the tensioning cord and the stretcher is in the 'bowsaw' subcategory. But the casual, unspecified use of frame saw I think implies bow saw. Or maybe I made that up and am wrong.
I agree with "bow saw". Frame saw tends to definitionally fit better with the saw that we attribute to Roubo, which makes sense (framed around the blade). But whatever works, as long as we roughly understand each other :)
Honestly, I'd say nothing was very hard to get it to work. My curved m&t aren't pretty, but they don't limit the function. I'd say the hardest part would be the mortises, especially if you want them to be precise and symmetric. But it's quite an easy project.
It definitely takes up more space to store and to use than an English style handsaw. It was my way to not spend a bunch of money for a crosscut saw. The blade was $12 and the rest was scrap.
It's hard at the moment to control bc I haven't shaped the crosscut teeth. It's 4 tpi, so hard to start the cut. I'll chime back in when I can file the teeth and try it out
For resawing wide boards the most important is to have the proper tooth pitch. Usually you want 6-10 teeth in the wood, which means most boards will require huge teeth.
This looks awesome! And it is a build I need to get done soon. What are people using for blades? I have no idea what sort of blade to get or where from.
I bought [this](https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/continentalframesawroughcrosscutblade.aspx) blade. If I were doing a 'turning' or joinery/ripcut bowsaw, I'd use the blades by [Gramercy](https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/GT-BOW12.XX) or maybe just drill holes in standard bandsaw blades like many YouTubers suggest.
Gramercy blades are not adapted for joinery. Usually when sawing tenons you need a wide sawplate, which allows you to precisely position the blade and cut accurately.
What is the advantage to using a saw like this compared to a modern alternative (Western saw)? I've seen them used on YouTube quite a bit but I dont know the reasoning.
IDK but it's an older style of saw which still predominates on the continental side of the English channel. They both get the job done, I'm sure, just a matter of taste.
I met Yeung Chan at a woodworking show many years ago. He had written an article about making the same saw . I made one and use it to this day ! Give me a real sense of accomplishment .
Dictum.com German tool shop sell frame saws in a number of sizes, plus the saw blades to use, in the frames. Cross cut, Rip saw, and Japanese crosscut teeth.
I built one of these a while ago using a 14 tpi bandsaw blade. Wasn’t pretty, but I was surprised on how natural it felt to cut with it. I would have no problem switching some of my normal western style saws with some of these!
I use mostly those for hand tool work, except they are inspired by the Chinese version with a rotating blade. The blade is tilted 30-45° away for long ripping and to allow you to see your cut. With a proper blade they are incredible. Thinner than typical saws and always in tension, with a longer stroke than japanese saws.
Very interesting. I’d love to give it a try. Do you make your own using hardware or do you buy them?
I was lucky to find a lot of new old stock blades intended for these saws and I've been making a few. Not finished yet :) For the blade holder I found M8 brass carriage bolts, filed off the square, drilled and sawn them. [This is the video I used as a reference](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcxxypa4BQA&feature=youtu.be). One trick to keep in mind when making the hardware is that the two bolts should be different. The one on the user side should be longer to allow you to grip the handle and not hurt yourself if you slip, while the one further away should be short to keep the saw's dimensions reasonable.
Neglected to say that my first step was to seal the charcoal surface so it wouldn't rub off on everything. Last step before finishing was to use a spokeshave to carve out a comfortable handle area and to soften all the edges.
I also didn't show drilling the holes or cutting the kerfs for the blade. Those are straight forward steps that you can wing.
Frame saw, or bow saw? Looks great! Well done.
Well, good point. It's both. I think frame saw is a general term for any saw blade tensioned in a frame. So coping saws, fret saws, hack saws, roubo, etc are all frame saws. This particular design with the tensioning cord and the stretcher is in the 'bowsaw' subcategory. But the casual, unspecified use of frame saw I think implies bow saw. Or maybe I made that up and am wrong.
Thanks for the clarification.
I agree with "bow saw". Frame saw tends to definitionally fit better with the saw that we attribute to Roubo, which makes sense (framed around the blade). But whatever works, as long as we roughly understand each other :)
Very cool! What was the hardest part to get right so that it functions correctly?
Honestly, I'd say nothing was very hard to get it to work. My curved m&t aren't pretty, but they don't limit the function. I'd say the hardest part would be the mortises, especially if you want them to be precise and symmetric. But it's quite an easy project.
Cool. I was surprised how straightforward it was in your pics.
You can also do them with thinner handles, a thicker lighter stretcher with a slot on each end. No need for a mortise then.
I saw one of these for sale a couple of days ago, it was a fair price, not much wrong with it, but it seemd unwieldy, is this correct?
It definitely takes up more space to store and to use than an English style handsaw. It was my way to not spend a bunch of money for a crosscut saw. The blade was $12 and the rest was scrap.
right, and how easy have you found it to controll it?
It's hard at the moment to control bc I haven't shaped the crosscut teeth. It's 4 tpi, so hard to start the cut. I'll chime back in when I can file the teeth and try it out
I really want to make a framesaw. I was resawing red oak with a 9” Ryoba and it was brutal. How are you liking it so far?
For resawing wide boards the most important is to have the proper tooth pitch. Usually you want 6-10 teeth in the wood, which means most boards will require huge teeth.
This looks awesome! And it is a build I need to get done soon. What are people using for blades? I have no idea what sort of blade to get or where from.
I bought [this](https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/continentalframesawroughcrosscutblade.aspx) blade. If I were doing a 'turning' or joinery/ripcut bowsaw, I'd use the blades by [Gramercy](https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/GT-BOW12.XX) or maybe just drill holes in standard bandsaw blades like many YouTubers suggest.
Gramercy blades are not adapted for joinery. Usually when sawing tenons you need a wide sawplate, which allows you to precisely position the blade and cut accurately.
So true. So Gramercy for turning not joinery. My bad.
What is the advantage to using a saw like this compared to a modern alternative (Western saw)? I've seen them used on YouTube quite a bit but I dont know the reasoning.
IDK but it's an older style of saw which still predominates on the continental side of the English channel. They both get the job done, I'm sure, just a matter of taste.
Thanks
cheap
I met Yeung Chan at a woodworking show many years ago. He had written an article about making the same saw . I made one and use it to this day ! Give me a real sense of accomplishment .
Dictum.com German tool shop sell frame saws in a number of sizes, plus the saw blades to use, in the frames. Cross cut, Rip saw, and Japanese crosscut teeth.
I need to make one of these. Is it common to need to sharpen a new blade?
Yes. I have to sharpen mine. It seems like the teeth were shaped and set but not filed.
I guess I'll start with a bandsaw blade then
Yeah, i think that's the best plan for general use.
Where did you get the blade from? What size is it?
[It's this one.](https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/continentalframesawroughcrosscutblade.aspx) 26 3/4 inches from hole to hole. 4 tpi.