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colinc

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Hi,

I have amassed a collection of logs from a variety of sources and realised that I no longer had possession of a bowsaw. I guess I lent it to someone who still has it.

So, I ordered a 24” Bahco blade from Axminster and made myself a folding version that can travel with me ready for the next tree scrounging opportunity. Having made one, I made a couple more as it was a pleasant, simple project. The later ones are slightly improved, it they all work.
 

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Another pic. I found someone selling the blades cheap on eBay, so I bought five.
 

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I have certainly found mine useful, as I am sure you will.
However from the pictures it is not clear whether the mid rail is loose and merely trapped by the tension. If so then as the saw cuts through a branch and drops under its own weight the mid rail will dislodge and the saw may disintigrate. Not serious of course but annoying.
In some saws I have seen in france the blade end of the toggle rests in a groove in the mid rail. This of course avoids the collapse mentioned above.
I wonder if you could post the ebay reference, to the blades please.
Have fun, xy
 
Hi, the mid rail has small tenons that each locate in mortises in the verticals, is it can’t fall apart. One tenon is just visible on the left end if you zoom in.

Colin
 
Well done that man. Sorry I didn't zoon in to see the tenon. It took me quite awhile to figure out just why I was seeing grooves in the top of the mid rail in old, french, rural bowsaws.
Just in case it maybe of interest. A number of the older saws I have seen give the impression that the blade is not drilled for fixing. The rustic, crude, frames have a slit for the blade and a thin nail is driven through the frame and blade. Of course the saw cannot easily be taken apart but it is quick and easy to make. How the blades were sourced I cannot say.
Enjoy using your saw.
xy
 
The groove or shallow mortrise in the top of the rail usually serves the purpose of holding the toggle out of the way so it cannot catch on anything when sawing in a tight space or up against something.
On bow saws without tennons on the rail ends the rail ends are usually let into the uprights just deep enough to prewent the sort of collapse you mentioned.
 
heimlaga":2mklotaw said:
The groove or shallow mortrise in the top of the rail usually serves the purpose of holding the toggle out of the way so it cannot catch on anything when sawing in a tight space or up against something.
On bow saws without tennons on the rail ends the rail ends are usually let into the uprights just deep enough to prewent the sort of collapse you mentioned.

Ah! Clearly the ones I was trying to use were more crude than I thought. The mid rail on one had neither groove nor any sort of joint other than friction at its ends. A couple of times with the thing collapsing at the end of a log cut had me fairly un-happy. Then I found another similar in all respects except for a groove in the mid rail. Using that, with the end of the toggle snug in the groove, got around the problem.

xy
 
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