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Starting a couple of little projects which I've decided to do entirely by hand with no power tools. After resawing a few feet of cherry I can appreciate why it is called wood "working".....

major_bob wrote:Starting a couple of little projects which I've decided to do entirely by hand with no power tools. After resawing a few feet of cherry I can appreciate why it is called wood "working".....

You used a HAND SAW for that resawing?:D

beeg wrote:You used a HAND SAW for that resawing?:D

Based upon how I feel today, it was more of an "arm and back" saw.

I was actually headed to the band saw when my son reminded me that I had intended to do it all by hand.

I don't know but I would guess you used a saw that wasn't made for that purpose.

I have often related a story where my neighbor got an old world Craftsman in to craft some book cases. I was horrified to learn he was planing to rip a number of 8ft+ boards by hand. I rushed home, got my keys, stopped at he pot, pulled my truck out of the garage, uncovered my Shopsmith, got a rip blade mounted and all the guards in place and rushed back over to tell him to come cut them on my saw. I was in time to watch him cut the last few feet of his last board. The saw looked like it was being ran by a laser guided machine.

My mouth fell open and I spend the rest of the day following this guy around like a puppy watching everything he did. He talked another language so we had to use a lot of sign language but I learned a ton from him that day. He had four saws, a cross cut, a rip cut, a resaw and precision fit saw. He also carried the sharpest chisels I have ever seen and touched them up often with a oil stone(I think because he used spit) to a gleaming cut wood like butter sharpness.

Ed in Tampa wrote:I don't know but I would guess you used a saw that wasn't made for that purpose.

I have often related a story where my neighbor got an old world Craftsman in to craft some book cases. I was horrified to learn he was planing to rip a number of 8ft+ boards by hand. I rushed home, got my keys, stopped at he pot, pulled my truck out of the garage, uncovered my Shopsmith, got a rip blade mounted and all the guards in place and rushed back over to tell him to come cut them on my saw. I was in time to watch him cut the last few feet of his last board. The saw looked like it was being ran by a laser guided machine.

My mouth fell open and I spend the rest of the day following this guy around like a puppy watching everything he did. He talked another language so we had to use a lot of sign language but I learned a ton from him that day. He had four saws, a cross cut, a rip cut, a resaw and precision fit saw. He also carried the sharpest chisels I have ever seen and touched them up often with a oil stone(I think because he used spit) to a gleaming cut wood like butter sharpness.

Yup, there are a few of those guys left. They are often referred to as "skilled craftsmen".

Had I had a brain in my head, I would have become an apprentice to a gentleman like that. But I did not. I went in the service instead.

I used a Japanese style ripping saw. After I got a few inches into the cut, I shimmed the kerf to keep it from binding.

I joke about the "work" but actually at the right angle and once I got into the rhythm, it cut really well.

Ed in Tampa wrote:I have often related a story where my neighbor got an old world Craftsman in to craft some book cases.

Great story Ed! It explains the appeal of Roy Underhill.

Always great to watch a person that really knows what they are doing. We can learn a lot from how they do things.

That's what I call excellent craftsmanship and great talent. It amazes me people who can make beautiful projects without using power tools, very creative and resourceful.

I can recall when I was a kid being around old carpenters who were always arguing over whether a handsaw or an electric saw was best. Of course some of those early electric saw were pretty crude and some weighed a ton.
It was common for some of them to claim that they could cut faster over all with a good handsaw.

I used to have neighbors (fellow farmers) that built a good bit of fence but never used a tractor mounted post hole auger. They claimed that one of the brothers could dig holes by hand faster than a tractor could.
I have a tractor auger but have not used it in a long time. It saves a lot of work but is too much work to mount on the tractor for just a few post holes. I don't "like" digging them by hand but then again I don't much "like" mounting that heavy auger assembly.
I remove about as much fence as I put in these days. To save work I have taken to saving the post holes when I pull out the old post. I store them in an old shed (to keep them from filling with water) until I need them. When I need to build a bit of fence I get a few out and stick them down where I need them. Saves a lot of digging...




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