Chris,
There's no rush mate - end of January is the closing date. Its just nice to chat about progress etc.
Red
There's no rush mate - end of January is the closing date. Its just nice to chat about progress etc.
Red
Build a Bucksaw (Competition registration)
- Thread starter British Red
- Start date
Well, I promised to publish my efforts to make a bucksaw
I have set myself a slightly odd challenge, which is to make a robust and stiff frame out of parts that are accessible to all. I'm aiming for under £5 and certainly no more than £10 including the blade
Here are the bits I've got together
I bought two hardwood broom handles, a length of 8mm threaded rod a blade (I got a bulk deal recently a bit of 10mm ally tube and a handful of wing nuts plus two 6mm coach bolts. Say about £6 all up - within a tenner even if I bought the blade retail.
I sawed the two 48 broom handles off into two 24 uprights with the rounded part at the top. One of the off cuts was slightly cut down to make the cross member. The rough layout will be something like this
Now I have measured the cross strut to the exact length of the blade (eye to eye). I wrapped some sandpaper around an offcut of the broom and "indented" each end of the cross strut so it will fit tightly against the upright like this
This leaves the end of cross member this shape
So the fit comes like this
I'll lock the cross member in with a "pin and socket" arrangement using some threaded bar and a hole in the upright. More on that later.
So we have two uprights and a cross member that fits snugly between them. Time to get the drill out. A 10mm hols (the same size as the ally tube) is drilled right through the top of each uprights.
Another hole is drilled halfway through the upright about a third of the way from the top. The measurement needs to be the same on both sides.
Next job is to cut some lengths of ally tube the right size to line these holes
These are glued in place (super glue works fine, but rough up the outside of the tube first to give it a key). The tube is then filed and sanded to the contour of the wood (ally is soft so this doesnt take long)
Right thats the hole at the top done for the tensioner and the sockets further down for the cross strut.
Next I clamped the cross strut and drilled a ¾ hole in each end
A piece of threaded rod was glued into this hole as shown below
This stud fits into the socket created earlier.
Next step is to turn the upright over. A 6mm hole is drilled through the upright at 90 degrees to the through hole drilled earlier. This is for the 6mm coach bolt that holds the blade in place. A saw cut is made to the correct depth to slot the blade in. A bit of trial and error is required to make the cut the right depth to align the coach bolt hole and saw blade hole.
Thats pretty much it for construction. I then rubbed the whole thing down and gave it a wipe with some woodstain and then waxed it for protection
To assemble, bolt the blade in place, slot the cross member into the sockets and slide the threaded rod through the lined holes. Tighten the butterfly nuts at each end of the threaded bar and you are good to go. You will notice in the finished picture that the uprights are slightly bowed. This puts a great tension on the saw blade.
I guess theres no more than an hours work in this and, if a klutz like me can do it, anyone can. The saw really does work very well with no twisting which I suspect is to do with the slight flex tensioning the wood
Don't know how long it will hold up - slightly thicker wood might be an idea, but I'm happy enough for a first go
Not as pretty as some of those posted, nor as strong as others nor as well made as any I suspect. Not an entry either though
. I hope it encourages someone else to try and deprive me of my axe however 
Red
I have set myself a slightly odd challenge, which is to make a robust and stiff frame out of parts that are accessible to all. I'm aiming for under £5 and certainly no more than £10 including the blade
Here are the bits I've got together
I bought two hardwood broom handles, a length of 8mm threaded rod a blade (I got a bulk deal recently a bit of 10mm ally tube and a handful of wing nuts plus two 6mm coach bolts. Say about £6 all up - within a tenner even if I bought the blade retail.
I sawed the two 48 broom handles off into two 24 uprights with the rounded part at the top. One of the off cuts was slightly cut down to make the cross member. The rough layout will be something like this
Now I have measured the cross strut to the exact length of the blade (eye to eye). I wrapped some sandpaper around an offcut of the broom and "indented" each end of the cross strut so it will fit tightly against the upright like this
This leaves the end of cross member this shape
So the fit comes like this
I'll lock the cross member in with a "pin and socket" arrangement using some threaded bar and a hole in the upright. More on that later.
So we have two uprights and a cross member that fits snugly between them. Time to get the drill out. A 10mm hols (the same size as the ally tube) is drilled right through the top of each uprights.
Another hole is drilled halfway through the upright about a third of the way from the top. The measurement needs to be the same on both sides.
Next job is to cut some lengths of ally tube the right size to line these holes
These are glued in place (super glue works fine, but rough up the outside of the tube first to give it a key). The tube is then filed and sanded to the contour of the wood (ally is soft so this doesnt take long)
Right thats the hole at the top done for the tensioner and the sockets further down for the cross strut.
Next I clamped the cross strut and drilled a ¾ hole in each end
A piece of threaded rod was glued into this hole as shown below
This stud fits into the socket created earlier.
Next step is to turn the upright over. A 6mm hole is drilled through the upright at 90 degrees to the through hole drilled earlier. This is for the 6mm coach bolt that holds the blade in place. A saw cut is made to the correct depth to slot the blade in. A bit of trial and error is required to make the cut the right depth to align the coach bolt hole and saw blade hole.
Thats pretty much it for construction. I then rubbed the whole thing down and gave it a wipe with some woodstain and then waxed it for protection
To assemble, bolt the blade in place, slot the cross member into the sockets and slide the threaded rod through the lined holes. Tighten the butterfly nuts at each end of the threaded bar and you are good to go. You will notice in the finished picture that the uprights are slightly bowed. This puts a great tension on the saw blade.
I guess theres no more than an hours work in this and, if a klutz like me can do it, anyone can. The saw really does work very well with no twisting which I suspect is to do with the slight flex tensioning the wood
Don't know how long it will hold up - slightly thicker wood might be an idea, but I'm happy enough for a first go
Not as pretty as some of those posted, nor as strong as others nor as well made as any I suspect. Not an entry either though
. I hope it encourages someone else to try and deprive me of my axe however Red
Got the blade and design figured out... just need the rest of the materials and some 
time to get it worked on!
time to get it worked on!
H
Heathenpeddler
Guest
Darn BR, that's looking like something even I could do! Still got any of those blades left? Maybe I could make something worthwhile after all
Sure have Heathen Peddler. If you want one PM me your address and I'll post one off to you. I have 30" 24" and 21" (although you will certainly need stiffer wood for a 30" bucksaw - it would be a beast of a saw). No charge of course (paying it forward).
Red
Red
We i'm most impressed by all that has gone before, i don't know if i'm in time, or if there are any of the bonus places left, if not, its no biggy, but here is my attempt all the same.
Blade 1.69 at wilco's
pine stripwood couple of quid for about 2.4m, i had a load left over from some DIY
nuts and bolts - liberated from work
string - 50m reel of guy rope about 6 quid at towsure
thats about it, i wanted a modle that self masked the blade so the handles fold down.
can't work out how to post the pics, i'll upload them to my gallery.
best regards
steve
Blade 1.69 at wilco's
pine stripwood couple of quid for about 2.4m, i had a load left over from some DIY
nuts and bolts - liberated from work
string - 50m reel of guy rope about 6 quid at towsure
thats about it, i wanted a modle that self masked the blade so the handles fold down.
can't work out how to post the pics, i'll upload them to my gallery.
best regards
steve
Stevec,
Course you have a slot. I've added your pics for others to see
I'm intigued by the "double layer" of the handle - its a great idea for protecting the blade - nowt humble about that mate
Red
Course you have a slot. I've added your pics for others to see
I'm intigued by the "double layer" of the handle - its a great idea for protecting the blade - nowt humble about that mate
Red
woodwalker
Need to contact Admin...
Right, my entry is now complete . Its made from European Oak and is essentially two (contoured) uprights which are held apart by a cross-piece. This is held in place by a snug mortise and tenon joint, definitely not something to be attempted with blunt tools!
I spent ages making these joint perfect, and it payed off as in testing there was no twisting bending snapping or unwanted movement.
It was given a good play/test yesterday by myself and kieran725, and the saw worked fine.
Below are all the components - (from left to right) ; Duffel Bag made from curtain backing material, Tightening rope, Tightening bar, the two upright/handle parts, cross piece/tenon and the blade (24")
And the finished article, in the woods where it should be . Leaning against it is a Small Forest Axe for size comparison.
cheers guys and British Red for organising this,
woodwalker
. Its made from European Oak and is essentially two (contoured) uprights which are held apart by a cross-piece. This is held in place by a snug mortise and tenon joint, definitely not something to be attempted with blunt tools!
I spent ages making these joint perfect, and it payed off as in testing there was no twisting bending snapping or unwanted movement.
It was given a good play/test yesterday by myself and kieran725, and the saw worked fine.
Below are all the components - (from left to right) ; Duffel Bag made from curtain backing material, Tightening rope, Tightening bar, the two upright/handle parts, cross piece/tenon and the blade (24")
And the finished article, in the woods where it should be
. Leaning against it is a Small Forest Axe for size comparison.
cheers guys and British Red for organising this,
woodwalker
Blimey that's a nice one!
I saw a 12" blade in Homebase yesterday. Had to pick one up so I could make a mini buck saw as well!
I saw a 12" blade in Homebase yesterday. Had to pick one up so I could make a mini buck saw as well!
Beutiful entries from woodwalker and Jamie. Reckon there could be a couple of finalists there.
Would it be rude to ask what happened to the rest of the stool?
Red
Would it be rude to ask what happened to the rest of the stool?
Red
Well, I received a couple of requests for an improvised saw I decided today to try to make one. It is cheap and it means carrying the minimum of materials. Heres what I started with
1 SAK (with saw), a hank of field line, two key rings and a 24 saw blade. The plan in future will be to slide the saw blade into the pocket of my Bergan where the frame sits so no space overhead and a minimal weight implication
Well the first step was to get some wood for the frame. Out came the SAK saw blade (I could do all this with a belt knife but it would take a little longer). A couple of bits of hazel were quickly harvested. They were 1 ½ thick (and overdue for coppicing anyway).
Next step is to measure the saw blade against the thinnest piece. This piece will form the cross member. Its worth remembering that the saw blade will have a keyring through the holes and project beyond each upright. Measure it like that and assume the crosspiece needs to be 2 shorter than distance between the holes
Next I sawed a ring about ¼ of the way through the cross member. This ring is about ½ from the end of the cross member and all the way around it.
Then I used the main SAK blade to cut straight down through the limb to the saw cut.
Four of these cuts result in a square peg at the end of the cross member. I repeated this at the other end.
Next job was to make a socket for the peg to sit in. I decided to locate the socket about a quarter way down the uprights. I sawed about 1/3 of the way through the upright and then used the knife blade to carve out a square socket
The next job was to make slots for the saw blade to sit in. I sawed these but they could be sliced just as easily. Sawing them does avoid the tendency for the split to run however
The last step in making the three main pieces was to carve two notches to hold the tensioning cord
Lastly I need a bar to twist the tensioning cord. I split an off cut of hazel and drilled a hole using the awl on the SAK
Next step is to assemble the saw it went together fairly well (although I needed to trim the pegs to get a good fit)
A few final pictures of the saw assembled may help to explain what I did
The peg and socket joint
The tension cord notch
The tension bar
Its really not tricky to do, although it is hard to make one as tight as a workshop made take down saw. As in all things my next one will be quicker and better!
Not an entry - just responding to requests (and enjoying messing about )
Red
1 SAK (with saw), a hank of field line, two key rings and a 24 saw blade. The plan in future will be to slide the saw blade into the pocket of my Bergan where the frame sits so no space overhead and a minimal weight implication
Well the first step was to get some wood for the frame. Out came the SAK saw blade (I could do all this with a belt knife but it would take a little longer). A couple of bits of hazel were quickly harvested. They were 1 ½ thick (and overdue for coppicing anyway).
Next step is to measure the saw blade against the thinnest piece. This piece will form the cross member. Its worth remembering that the saw blade will have a keyring through the holes and project beyond each upright. Measure it like that and assume the crosspiece needs to be 2 shorter than distance between the holes
Next I sawed a ring about ¼ of the way through the cross member. This ring is about ½ from the end of the cross member and all the way around it.
Then I used the main SAK blade to cut straight down through the limb to the saw cut.
Four of these cuts result in a square peg at the end of the cross member. I repeated this at the other end.
Next job was to make a socket for the peg to sit in. I decided to locate the socket about a quarter way down the uprights. I sawed about 1/3 of the way through the upright and then used the knife blade to carve out a square socket
The next job was to make slots for the saw blade to sit in. I sawed these but they could be sliced just as easily. Sawing them does avoid the tendency for the split to run however
The last step in making the three main pieces was to carve two notches to hold the tensioning cord
Lastly I need a bar to twist the tensioning cord. I split an off cut of hazel and drilled a hole using the awl on the SAK
Next step is to assemble the saw it went together fairly well (although I needed to trim the pegs to get a good fit)
A few final pictures of the saw assembled may help to explain what I did
The peg and socket joint
The tension cord notch
The tension bar
Its really not tricky to do, although it is hard to make one as tight as a workshop made take down saw. As in all things my next one will be quicker and better!
Not an entry - just responding to requests (and enjoying messing about
)Red
I havnt had chance to get in the shed to make mine yet kids off school .
I am still optimistic i can make it by the close date though
kids off school .I am still optimistic i can make it by the close date though
