Our old 24” bow saw was a gonner. A cheap POS when bought long ago, used in family and group camp, more recently around the yard. My son’s grabbed it to clear some saplings and limbs from the trail down to the stream and reported that it was nigh useless. Not the first time they had returned from sawyering with that report.
The dulled blade on that cheapie was not meant to be replaced, even if I could find one with matching holes. Time for a new bow saw for yard work and even need-a-fire group trips (solo I’m content with the Silky Gomboy). I wanted something a bit larger/longer for more cutting throw, and something with easily replaceable blades this time; if it is easy to buy and install a replacement blade the boy’s sawyering complaints could be remedied.
Doesn’t need to be fancy shmancy, just a new and better bow saw. This will do:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001IX7TW?ps ... ct_detailsP4090010 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Freshly unwrapped I used it to cut burl wood from a tree for a friend. Burl is notoriously hard; the new saw cut through with ease. One son later returned from trail cutting with equally happy results. Geepers, who would have thought that replacing a 20 year old saw would make such a cutting difference?
Bonus, replacing the blade in the new one is simple; I took the blade out just to see.
The blade cover that came on that bow saw came is crap, dangerous crap; too tight and finger risky to slide over the exposed blade once removed, meant only for shipping purposes.
I have a blade guard on every hand saw, in part because I sometimes travel with tools and don’t want the teeth dinged in the toolbox, in part because accidentally swiping hand against a saw blade while reaching for another tool is need-a-Band-Aid nay good. Cheap plastic “sleeves” work well enough for shop and travel purposes.
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Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Those are binding bars used on printed papers/reports. Most are only 12” long, some blade coverage needs more than one sleeve, but they slide on and stay on easily enough without risking bloody fingers.
https://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Binding-O ... 207&sr=8-7The old defunct bow saw had something better secured, a 19” length of scrap ash gunwale, with a wider-than-saw-blade slice down the center. A bit too wide actually, a tad wobbly but it was un-risky easy to slip over the blade.
Held in place with double sided Velcro at each end that cheap bow saw was transportable light, flat, and sharps-protected and came along on camper trips, better than the Sven saw’s reduced depth of throw, and a bonus - no assembly required. I am lazily unfond of take-apart saws even if they do pack down into a tube, little parts and pieces are the bane of my existence; the Sven saw had a spare wing nut on a leather strap.
The old bow saw was happily garbaged, but I kept the old wood & Velcro blade guard. Not sure why, I can make a better blade guard easily enough.
P4190007 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
I wanted a blade guard for the new bow saw, but had no suitable lengths of scrap ash gunwale. I did have have several lengths of ¾” square ash. Originally two 18’ lengths of square ash, from an old timey canoe guy who sent me home with all manner of stuff, I’ve been cutting it up for various uses ever since, it is straight grained, clear, tough as nails and certainly well dried.
P4190009 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Cut to blade fitted length with an easy-install groove cut down the center that wood will do nicely. Simple to slip in place with no risk of punctured fingertips.
While taking out the Bahco saw blade to check replacement ease I had a thought. Which involved emptying the shed to dig in the way back for a long unused tool, an antique saw, the Missus’ Grandfather’s buck saw.
Well whadda ya know, the holes in that 30” Bahco blade align with Grandpa’s ancient Buck saw. Talk about a dull blade, that antique bucksaw had seen its last viable use 20 years ago, kept around because it was historically sentimental.
$15 is worth a shot to put a new blade in the sentimental Buck saw. A replacement Bahco blade arrived a few days later.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001IX71U?re ... tails&th=1P4190012 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Ok, installing a new blade in the old bucksaw was finicky. The )( struts are pegged in oval holes in the handles and those pieces were a handful to keep seated all together at once. I saved the old buck saw blade and might eventually find someone to sharpen it and reinstall it for full antiquity. I nabbed seven of her father and grandfather’s rusty crusty shop saws after her folks died, cleaned them and had them professionally sharpened for her and her six siblings.
But that is another story of coercing Quakers to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do. They did seem to enjoy it.
With a new blade installed and turn buckled tight the vintage Buck saw makes short work of limbs and small logs. Not a canoe camp saw unless I go whole hog as an olden times re-enactor.
That one also needed an easy-on blade guard. Unless I start doing historically geared trips it will remain at home, but the new blade is damn sharp even for shop or shed storage.
Both ash blade guards need Velcro keeper straps and, no-rush time on my hands, some sanding to knock down the right angle edges to prevent splintering and urethane sealing first. No stain this time; I wanted to ID one guard as “BOW” and one as “BUCK”.
Couple coats of spar urethane, with scant attention to brushing perfection, well slopped in the fresh slice.
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Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Once the urethane dried the guards got pieces of double sided Velcro stapled on the bottom of the wood to hold the blade guard in place
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Mike McCrea, on Flickr
P4200028 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
We may be needing both saws soon. I heard some loud cracking and snapping yesterday morning and walked out to have a closer look.
P4190017 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
If a tree doesn’t fall in the forest but someone hears it? . . . . . And sees it? . . . . . I went out to observe the gunshot popping and cracking and watched for 10 minutes as the trunk splintered vertically before it hung up on an adjacent tree. That adjacent neighbor was my initial suspect, already reaching its angle of repose and heavily limbed on the downslope, I’d been waiting for it to come crashing down for a few years as the lean increased.
P4190018 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Thunderstorms and high winds, could be today. Should be a hell of a noise when they both come down. Should, other than some branches, miss the driveway. And, this time, even more happily, miss all our vehicles. I like living in the woods, but one shallow rooted Locust crushed the van roof, another landed on my son’s Corolla and a massive, bifurcated oak limb just off our property line took out the corner of a neighbor’s house.