Where to buy the best coping saw?

[markturner]

Hi, I am after a top quality coping saw, any recommendations?

Cheers, Mark

 

[jasonB]

Best for what? If its site use scribing skirtings etc then a good old Eclipse is hard to beat. If its for fine dovetails then you may want to consider a peircing saw.

 

[AndyT]

Well, here's my answer. I mentioned this in Jimi's thread on his new saw. Not as pretty, but very practical.

It started with a nondescript looking bundle of three sticks in box of sale stuff in an old tools shop. I think I paid a pound for it. The frame is marked Marples, and I guess it probably dates to before WW2.

Obviously, I added a twizzle-stick (thanks Condeesteso!) and some modern but practical terylene cord.
To use it as a coping saw I made a shorter stretcher from a scrap of beech, and cut slots in the brass rods to take the pinned blades.

The result is light, manoevrable, tensions well and is generally pleasanter to use than my ordinary Eclipse steel framed coping saw.

 

[jimi43]

As I mentioned in the Bowsaw thread...a spiral cut blade would turn it into a really useful bit of kit.

I can see why the design is shorter now Andy! New stretcher! Gottit! :wink:

I'm going to be making a larger bowsaw...(by request) but I think a smaller one might just find a use too!

Jim

 

[yetloh]

As said before, it depends what you want it for. I have an Eclipse but very rarely use it because it is too coarse for most of the work I would use it for - fine dovetails. For that I have recently acquired a Knew Concept piercing saw which is expensive but incredibly light and rigid and a joy to use. You can see them here http://www.palmermetals.co.uk/shop/tools/sawframes-blades-and-accessories-1.html

Jim

 

[markturner]

hi, yes it was for dovetails. I am currently using a stanley one and find it a bit inaccurate. thanks for the tips, cheers, Mark

edit, incidentally, what's the difference between a piercing saw and a coping saw? Could not see anything called a piercing saw on the palmer metals site.

Using the stanley saw is also difficult as the blade is thicker than the fine japanese saw I use to do the vertical cuts. The knew concept saws seem to use the same standard blades so I guess I would use the saw to do all the cuts and then tidy with a chisel to the line...

 

[jasonB]

The three "jewlers saws" at the bottom of the page are the same thing. This is the traditional style, Dictum also have a nice one

Piercing saw blades come in much finer tpis and they are also not as deep, a typical copingsaw blade is about 3mm but a piercing saw nearer 1 - 1.5mm. This means you can turn a much tighter corner.

The blades do not have pins on teh ends so they can be slipped through fine holes for pierced work where you can't saw in from an edge.

Downside is teh blades are a bit more delicate, thats why I asked what for, you would be forever snapping them doing skirtings etc

Jason

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Hi Jim

Your link for the Knew Concepts fretsaw is out-of-date insofar as the saw you link to is the jeweller's version. There is a woodworker's fretsaw that has replaced it. I worked on the design and did the testing, so I can assure you that they are quite different.

For a full run down: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReview ... etsaw.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[markturner]

Hi Derek, thanks for the info, , is this the one I need? ( I am after the woodworkers fretsaw package shown at the end of your review)

http://www.palmermetals.co.uk/shop/tool ... clamp.html

Cheers, Mark

 

[yetloh]

I wasn't aware of the woodworkers version, but I have this one http://www.palmermetals.co.uk/shop/...llers-saw-5-inch-with-swivel-blade-clamp.html It works extremely well for dovetails and is a lot less expensive than the titanium version. I'm not sure what advantage the woodworkers version would offer but perhaps Derek can enlighten us.

Jim

 

[AndyT]

One further thought for anyone trying to design the perfect coping saw. In my experience, especially when using very fine jeweller's blades on metal, the problem is that although you start with a well-tensioned blade, in use the blade heats up. This makes it expand, and go a bit loose. The 'bagginess' of the hot blade makes it easier to catch it in the cut and snap it.

So the problem is to find a tensioning method which won't overtighten a cold blade but will take up the slack as it warms up.

This is less of a problem with the stouter coping saw blades sold for working wood.

 

[Peter Sefton]

These fretsaws do look fantastic - far more sophisticated than the ones I use, I have three sizes 70mm, 100mm 150mm (the largest I use for marquetry work).

The small one is my oldest and favorite – I have had it over 20 years and it’s still going strong. I have bought some more recently for my student tool kits from Axminster at about £11.00 each. The handles came off and I had to Araldite them but I know that Workshop Heaven now sell something very similar. If you need to do dovetails in a wide board and your saw frame catches the timber, just use a pair of pliers to twist the blade by 45 degrees and then you can cut all the waste out across the board.

Cheers Peter

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I wasn't aware of the woodworkers version, but I have this one http://www.palmermetals.co.uk/shop/...llers-saw-5-inch-with-swivel-blade-clamp.html It works extremely well for dovetails and is a lot less expensive than the titanium version. I'm not sure what advantage the woodworkers version would offer but perhaps Derek can enlighten us.

Jim

Hi Jim

There are two versions available, an expensive titanium and a reasonably priced aluminium. I doubt that most could tell the difference. Get the aluminium version. Both come with adjustability for angles and quick-release mechanism.

On Lee Marshall's recommendation, I am now using the Pegas SK7 blades. They are Swiss-made, and I am getting them from:
Bens Scroll Saw....

http://www.Bens Scroll Saw.com

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[woodbloke]

These fretsaws do look fantastic - far more sophisticated than the ones I use, I have three sizes 70mm, 100mm 150mm (the largest I use for marquetry work).

The small one is my oldest and favorite – I have had it over 20 years and it’s still going strong. I have bought some more recently for my student tool kits from Axminster at about £11.00 each. The handles came off and I had to Araldite them but I know that Workshop Heaven now sell something very similar. If you need to do dovetails in a wide board and your saw frame catches the timber, just use a pair of pliers to twist the blade by 45 degrees and then you can cut all the waste out across the board.

Cheers Peter

I've got one of the WH fret saws and have been disappointed by it No matter how hard you try to wind on some pressure to tension the blade, it always seems to be flabby, so I'd definitely be interested in one of the Woodworker's titanium saws...even if they are a bit spendy

Derek - I can find the titanium saw (linked to in a prior post) but where's the aluminium version please? - Rob

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Hi Rob

It is termed, the "woodworker" version.

Try this link: http://www.knewconcepts.com/titanium.php

Woodworker:

5" Woodworker Aluminum with Cam-lever & Swivel Blade Clamps ($95.00)

Titanium:

5" Titanium with Cam-lever & Swivel Blade Clamps ($195.00)

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[GazPal]

My go-to saws for radial & fine work are Eclipse coping and fret saws, a no-name jeweller's saw I "borrowed" from my wife (A professional jeweller) and a couple of wooden bow/turning saws. The pre-tensioned frames on the Eclipse saws tend to negate problems with blades loosening due to heat build up. I've never felt a need to invest in "better" saws as they're more than capable of doing the work demanded of them smoothly and accurately and are well enough made to see someone go from apprentice to retirement age.

 

[Racers]

Hi, Gazpal

Can you do this with an Eclipse?

It was done by several people at a bash so its not operator skill.

Pete

 

[GazPal]

Hi, Gazpal

Can you do this with an Eclipse?

It was done by several people at a bash so its not operator skill.

Pete

Yes, I most definitely can and much more smoothly. Can't you? Although I prefer by buy jig-saws pre-boxed and seldom find any need to produce my own or practice cutting pointless squiggly lines in timber billets/boards, such a - potentially abrasive - question makes me wonder which point you're trying to prove. I'd simply stated my preferred tools (From among the tools I use) and nothing more or less. My tool of choice depends upon the diimension and nature of the medium on which I'm working.

I use either an eclipse fret saw or my jeweller's saw when crafting ornate lute holes, dovetail or tenon saw when dovetailing and tend to match the tools I use to the work in hand. Zimples. :wink:

 

[Racers]

Hi, Gazpal

I always struggled with Eclipse saws in thicker wood, the blades curving like a washing line and having to twist the saw more than needed to change direction. My bowsaw coping saw works much better than an Eclipse.

That bit of wood was cut at speed not paying attention to accuracy and cleanness.


Pete

 

[woodbloke]

Hi Rob

It is termed, the "woodworker" version.

Try this link: http://www.knewconcepts.com/titanium.php

Woodworker:

5" Woodworker Aluminum with Cam-lever & Swivel Blade Clamps ($95.00)

Titanium:

5" Titanium with Cam-lever & Swivel Blade Clamps ($195.00)

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek, thanks for the linkies. I've changed over to my old Groz fretsaw from Axminster and even though it's only a cheapie, the tension I can get on fret blade is far higher than the WH saw - Rob