I was hoping the fine folks on this forum could provide me some advice regarding my next hand saw purchase. I’m a novice that prefers to work with hand tools. I currently have a bit of expendable income and thus, am in the market for a shiny new saw. I’m not sure if I should get a rip or Crosscut carcass/tenon saw.
I currently own a dovetail cross, a dovetail rip, a Japanese Ryoba, a couple small dovetail pull saws and a generic panel saw. I don’t plan on making another hand saw purchase anytime soon. So with this small stable in the shop, which saw would you recommend I get next?
Replies
If it were me, I would get a Crosscut carcass saw.
Why buy a tool if you have no idea of what you want to use it for? One must decide: am I a woodworker or a tool collector? :-)
On the other hand, I could suggest the purchase of a kerfing saw. I've recently acquired a plough plane that comes with a kerfing blade and the gubbins to mount it to the plane. Sawing a 1/4" - 3/8" kerf around the edge of a plank to guide a panel saw as you employ it to make two thinner boards from one fatter one stops the wandering saw syndrome, which can (if one is incautious) merely make two long wedges.
Badaxe and Blackburn Tools both sell kerfing saw kits - basically a blade and a few other metal bits to fit to your own self-made wooden body. You can also go mad and buy their associated frame saw kit - or even a whole frame saw from Badaxe.
http://www.badaxetoolworks.com/kpfs-Roubo.php
http://blackburntools.com/new-tools/new-saws-and-related/roubo-frame-saw-kit/index.html
Lataxe
Sounds like you have pretty good saw coverage..pe4haps anothe type of hand tool to fill an actual void?
Unless you are making really big things, such as timber frame buildings, I'm not sure you need another saw. You said you have a cross cut dovetail saw. I would imagine that should be adequate.
I used my rip cut dovetail saw for tennon cross cuts for about 2 and half years before I got a cross cut fine saw and it wasn't for lack of depth of cut. Truth be told, the rip cut dovetail saw and cross cut tennon saw produce nearly identical quality when cross cutting.
Do you have both a cross cut panel saw and rip cut panel saw? If missing one of those that would be my next purchase. If happy with your generic panel saw, I'd save the money myself and spend it on another tool instead.
Thanks all for the replies. I appreciate all of the feedback.
@lataxe- I've never made or used a bow saw but it seems like it would be a lot of fun. Thank you for the links.
@MJ- You make a fair observation, I do need a new plane more than a new saw. I have a "thing" for saws I guess.
@joeleonetti- the panel saw I own is one of those saws where the manufacturer claims it "can do both rip and cross cuts at a high level". I beg to differ from said manufacturer. So I will consider a new panel saw instead. Thank you.
Still - I urge you to try a kerfing saw of some kind if you habitually rip one plank (especially a large plank but it works with small and even thin planks too) into two planks with a handsaw. They do improve the ripping result a great deal.
As to the panel saws ....
There's a Paul Sellers video out there that compares a cheap panel saw - with Western name but made in the Far East - with a Lie-Nielsen panel saw costing N-times as much. The former is as good or perhaps even better than the latter after it's been fettled with the saw file!
My own recent experience echoes this somewhat. After applying that wee kerfing plane to a plank or three, I found that a £6.50 Bahco panel saw of the all-purpose hardened-tooth variety resaws the kerfed plank faster than any other kind of saw. I could spend oodles on a posh panel saw or even that Blackburn frame saw, just to make sure; but why bother if the cheap Bahco is doing the job very well?
Anyroadup, for your interest consider also a combined plane and kerfing saw. I can heartily recommend this one, despite it coming from The Place Many Abhor.
https://www.workshopheaven.com/quangsheng-no-043-plough-plane.html
Lataxe
I would echo that what you get next should depend on what you want to build or how you work. Since you say you prefer hand tools, I will share an idea. I built a miter box (using the guides available from Lee Valley) for use with a carcass cross cut saw (mine is a Veritas)- you set the guides for the thickness of a saw and then cut through the box making a tight fitting, relatively accurate jig. Of course, the same could work for your dovetail cross, but the carcass allows for larger stock. In concert with a shooting board, makes for a good system.
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