First Cuts with my New Bowsaw

If you have been following along you have seen how I made myself a bowsaw. If not, here are the links to the whole series:

https://steemit.com/woodworking/@skycranehandwork/making-a-bow-saw-part-1-carving-the-handle

https://steemit.com/woodworking/@skycranehandwork/making-a-bowsaw-part-2-the-cross-brace

https://steemit.com/woodworking/@skycranehandwork/making-a-bowsaw-part-3-cutting-a-tenon

https://steemit.com/woodworking/@skycranehandwork/making-a-bowsaw-part-4-the-toggle

https://steemit.com/woodworking/@skycranehandwork/making-a-bowsaw-part-5-chopping-the-mortice

https://steemit.com/woodworking/@skycranehandwork/lllasa7i

Maybe it was not the smartest move, but once I had it all put together, I went right to work ripping some 8/4 walnut that I plan to use to build a bookshelf.

I need four 2x2 sticks for the frame of the shelves which will be 75 inches tall.

Just the length of it was giving me trouble. I tried clamping it along side my bench and going at it sideways with the pull saw but I could not saw straight that way. I tried sawing it upright in my vise but the angle to start the cut was so high that the saw was jumping around a lot and not tracking well.

That is when I decided to make a bowsaw. Since the blade can be tensioned it ought to track better whatever the angle.

Once I got the bowsaw together, I jumped right into trying to rip the walnut. What I should have done was practice on some wood that was not going to be used in a piece of fine furniture.

You can see that the saw wobbles a bit. I should have started the cut with the blade vertical in the saw instead of rotated at 90.

Eventually I got the hang of it.

Even though the frame of the saw still wobbles a bit it seems to track quite well

I just used a chunk of old bandsaw blade so the kerf is wider than I would like. I am thinking a thin kerf resaw blade might be better.

Here is the completed rip cut. There is about 1/8th inch of daylight there between the straight edge and the board.

The sawn face is a bit rough,

but in the end it planed out nice.

So I still have to square up my stock. I will go into that next time as I start to build my bookshelf.

Thanks for looking and let me know what you think,
Until next time,
@skycranehandwork

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