toggle system<\/strong>\u00a0easily permits half turns, which is important in properly setting the blade tension.<\/p>\nThe “Turbo-Cut” blade,<\/strong> listed at 400mm (15 3\/4″) long but with a comfortable 13 1\/2″ of tooth line, has super-hard (>Rc 70) Japanese-style teeth, 15 tpi. The pattern,<\/strong> which could be considered a modified ikeda-me, is seven three-bevel crosscut teeth followed by a pair of special rakers that have their end bevels cut in the opposite direction from those of the crosscut teeth. It crosscuts fast<\/strong>, and seems to rip even faster.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe blade is about 5\/16″ wide, .024″ thick, with the teeth widely set to a .048″ kerf. This makes it surprisingly maneuverable<\/strong> following curves, though the cut is fairly rough<\/strong> across the grain.<\/p>\nFor power, comfort, and accuracy, I prefer to use this saw with a horizontal push cut,<\/strong> and the frame is plenty rigid enough<\/strong> for that. Some may prefer a horizontal pull cut, or a vertical push cut, though the latter may be difficult at typical workbench height.<\/p>\n![\"IMG_0994_edited-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/IMG_0994_edited-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
This is a fairly heavy saw, so here is how I hold it for cutting curves. I grip the handle with my dominant right hand,<\/strong> similar to holding a straight-handle dovetail saw, and align it with my right shoulder. This reliably steers<\/strong> the saw while my left hand provides passive support<\/strong> near the end of the rail. The saw works best when you let it do the work<\/strong> and use as much of the blade length<\/strong> as you can with every stroke.<\/p>\nThis saw could quite reasonably be used in a hand-tool-only shop in place of a bandsaw<\/strong> for roughing out curved table legs<\/strong> and other heavy curved work. It has the moxie and the control<\/strong> to easily handle 8\/4 maple.<\/p>\nI like this size saw for curved work<\/strong>. Woodjoy also makes larger sizes, and Turbo-Cut blades are also available in 1 1\/4″ width.<\/p>\nI bought the bowsaw pictured below<\/strong> more than 30 years ago. It was made in Denmark by JPBO but, as far as I know, is no longer available. This is the model of saw that was preferred by the late great teacher Tage Frid<\/strong>. He used it with a horizontal push stroke for joinery and crosscutting, and vertically for ripping stock.<\/p>\n![\"IMG_0992_edited-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/IMG_0992_edited-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Not long after buying it, I replaced the original blade<\/strong> with one labeled “The K and P Saw, Western Germany,” also no longer available. An excellent blade, it is tapered in thickness from the teeth to the back<\/strong>, so it can be prepared with very little set. The blade is about 19″ long<\/strong> and has 10 tpi, which I file rip.<\/strong>\u00a0Frid advocated a rip filing for both ripping and crosscutting.<\/p>\nThis saw is surprisingly light yet rigid<\/strong>, probably due to the width and orientation of the frame members – unlike most bowsaws, the wide dimension of the rail is horizontal. The toggle system<\/strong> is less refined than on the Woodjoy saw, but half turns are still possible by loosening and reinserting the toggle stick in the opposite direction, then retightening it.<\/p>\nI find I get the best control and endurance<\/strong> by holding it by the lower part of the fairly wide stile.<\/p>\n![\"IMG_0997_edited-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/IMG_0997_edited-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
This saw does not get a lot of use<\/strong> in my shop now but it is still handy to have for various ripping tasks. I find it is especially accurate and comfortable for cutting tenons<\/strong>, though I’m in the habit of using the ryoba for that.<\/p>\nBecause I like using my bandsaw so much<\/strong> (“the hand tool with<\/i> a motor<\/a>“), I also don’t frequently use the Woodjoy bowsaw. Nonetheless, I still want both of these hand tools in my shop – they give me options<\/strong> and they’re ready when I want them.<\/p>\nNext:<\/strong> the fret saw and the humble coping saw.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Why part 6? Parts 1-5\u00a0were\u00a0posted in 2010, and cover the main Western and Japanese handsaws and joinery\/backsaws that I use. I have since added the Bad Axe dovetail saw to that group and it has risen to the head of the class.\u00a0This post will cover bowsaws. Part 7 will cover coping and fret saws. Part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-2335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tools-and-shop","tag-east-meets-west-my-saws-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2335"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2372,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335\/revisions\/2372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"IMG_0993_edited-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/IMG_0993_edited-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n