Making a Frame Saw – Episode 2

Posted 16 October 2015

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The next steps are to make the saw kerf to accept the blade and position the hole which will take the screw to hold the blade in place. Then Paul shapes the handle using saw and chisel cuts and then the spokeshave, rasp and scraper to refine it and make the saw more comfortable in the hand.

Previous: Making a Frame Saw – Episode 1

46 Comments

  2. The two things I really wanted to learn about is a rocking chair and a frame saw. The last series on making the chair comes close! and this set of videos on the frame saw is like Christmas comes early this year. 🙂 Thanks Paul and Phil

    1. last year I started making a rocking chair while attending a course with Paul. Tonight I finally glued it up 🙂 Now only the armrests, the seat (I’ve ordered the foam and leather), and then I have to decide on whether I want to make it a rocker – or a nice comfy front room chair!

  3. Whilst the addition of the 1080 resolution is nice I wish you had retained the 720 option as well. The 1080 does generate rather a large file (and download) and I found the 720 resolution gave a reasonable compromise between definition and file size.

    1. Thank you all for the kind comments. Episode 3 is now up and available and there is a video still to come re blade and sharpening.

      Paul blogged re the rasp here although it seems they don’t want to ship just one item now. I would be tempted to see if you could order various rasps and files, including saw files, from Tome Feteira to make it up to 6 or 12 if that is allowed:

      https://paulsellers.com/2015/07/rasps-and-wood-two-key-ingredients/

  4. I must be delusional. I thought he finished out the framesaw last week. I can even clearly remember him shaping the handle and saying something along the lines of

    “Some people like to have a handle of both ends, but on this particular saw I am only going to put a handle on one end. That way I always know the orientation of the teeth when I pick it up”

    2. Looks like they did two versions of this: one for YouTube, and one for WWMC. The YouTube one is short and finishes a simple version of the saw in one episode. The WWMC version is longer, and goes into more detail on each of the steps, and appears to go more into the shaping and such of a “fancier” version, and hence takes multiple episodes.

        1. When you don’t get an answer at the manufacturer’s site, do a (Google) search and look for sellers. There are quite a few for Tome Feteria. … workshopping.uk.co, angloamericantools.com , Amazon, and others.

          1. Thanks for the rasp sources Bob. I checked AmazonUS and they only have files, no rasps. Of the other two, one has a set of files with one rasp. The other only sells quantities of 6 or 12. Not sure if either ships to the US or how much it would be if they did. Extensive searching for other sources came up with zilch. I did (likely, only says made in Portugal) find their hand cut rasps at Traditionalwoodworker but the prices were about the same as other more noted brands. In short, I don’t think they’re readily available in the US without purchasing a large quantity.

          1. I was curious so I emailed LV. They told me they’re made in the Czech Republic but wouldn’t give out the brand. Most likely Narex. Narex does make rasps.

  11. So THAT’S how it’s done. What a versatile saw. I made a small version of the frame saw a while back that takes standard coping saw blades. I love it. What a pleasure to use after years of dealing with the deficiencies of metal coping saws, never tightening quite right, etc.

  13. I would love for a third part to the framesaw that shows how to make the guard and maybe tips for tightening the blade. Your videos are outstanding and I appreciate the knowledge you pack into them Paul.

  14. As an alternative maker of hand stitched rasps, Noel Liogier in France produces excellent rasps of all types, including one-offs, plus he also makes a range of floats.

    Not sure about selling outside Europe, but his postage costs are quite reasonable, though be careful of your plastic adding exchange-rate commission for Euros.

  19. For the dimensional lumber, is the standard American 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ (1 x 2) fine vs. the 7/8″ x 1 3/4″ for strength and stability? Otherwise I would have to by 2×2 which is really 1.5 x 1.5″ and rip them down to proportion.

    Thanks

  21. Hi, Mr. Sellers. I’ve been watching your videos and articles for a long time. It is admirable what you have accomplished and what you are proving. I have one little piece of information about this video. Since I am from Slovakia, in our country, in the whole of CzechoSlovakia, the czechoslovak company Pilana has been the supplier of various saws for decades. So far, it has been producing saw blades, the pattern of which has not changed for decades. They are not expensive, but I think they are good quality and I am convinced that they are worth a try. I use them and I have no problem with wood. I’m talking about frame saw blades. Marek, Slovakia

  22. I would like to know what kind of wood Mr Sellers used in the video to make the saw. I don’t think I heard it mentioned.
    It will help when I go to my lumber store to buy something to make the saw out of. I know that the European saws are likely Beach.

    Thanks,
    Rick

  23. Ulmia make them with steamed beech for the handle and limewood for the stretcher.
    For those sold by Dictum: no indication for the handles; stretcher in cedar.
    E.C.E. ones: with hornbeam stretcher.
    As seen in an old Swiss video: Robinia false acacia for the handles if used on a construction site.

  26. Paul’s tip about using these saws for cutting metal is a great one. I made a frame saw about 20 years ago, but I was never really happy with the result. I tried it this week with a metal cutting blade and am very pleased with the result. I also made a longer version using Paul’s plan, a bimetal bandsaw blade, and the knuckle joint, which is a great improvement.

    I always used to feel like I was tensioning the frame more than the blade with the standard mortise and relieved tenon. It was a moment of pure joy when I tensioned the saw for the first time and watched it pull tight.

    One note: I used nylon line for the saw I built a decades ago, and it’s still going strong. I used cotton on the frame saw. It can be tensioned enough to work with a thicker bandsaw blade, but not enough for the very thin bimetal bandsaw blade I chose. If over-tensioned, the cotton will break in stages. When overtightened to the point of failure, one strand will fail first but the saw is still usable. If tensioned further, the entire string loop will fail completely, and the saw will fall apart. I switched to nylon and I can tension as much as I want with the thin blades.

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