Can I first explain I've a lot of ambition creatively, but at school was pushed to drop techy subjects to concentrate on passing exams, then when I qualified as a Telecom Engineer, ended up in office/computer based jobs. Kind of like all the gear & no idea but more lots of ideas but not a clue.
So I'm breaking myself in gently at this DIY bushcraft making lark.
Got a big ambitious list of things I want to do though...
Anyway, first I made a birch walking stick, which is still in use, then I bought & cleaned up & put an edge on a camp axe tomahawk, then I built a collapsible bow saw out of pine - which was VERY rustic & fiddly (i.e. a bit of a mess - but it worked).
So I'd built up my confidence & was going to build a better bowsaw when I found the thread of Biker's with his variant on a collapsible bow saw. I made it out of a couple of offcuts of Elm from Lanarkshire Hardwoods http://www.lanarkshirehardwoods.co.uk/ who I'd heartily recommend - especially if you're looking for some extremely pretty burr wood...
I used t-nuts & M6 bolts to attach the blade, t-nuts & cut-off M6 bolts for the collapsible joints, with wing-nuts to secure them, and a piece of 8mm aluminum tube to reinforce the joint in the middle of the upright piece of wood. The 2 ends can be clamped together with the wing nuts when the saw is collapsed, making it a fairly compact bundle:
Someone on Biker's thread rightly mentioned the losability (if that's a word) of the wing nuts, so I've attached a couple of spares & a spare spanner from a dremel (fits the nuts holding the blade) using a split ring - until I make a carrying case for the saw with a pocket for them. (This was plan B, after burning out 3 drill bits drilling through 1 wing nut wing, I gave up on plan A).
I've used it to salvage half a dozen 3-4inch thick Laburnum logs from a neighbor's tree-trimming & that wood is SOLID - the saw cut it fine. The wood when seasoned should make some really nice knife scales/handles and with one bit a possible crook-handle. Next job will be cutting some hazel trunks to get a couple of potential one piece crooks - if I manage to make them I'll be plenty confident from then on -!!).
Other items shown are the camp axe (thanks to British Red for his how sharpen an axe thread), a MeettheGeeks Pirates Prybaaaarrrgh (see British Blades forum for details) which includes a file for any nasty dings on the axe, and a couple of FGYT's DFF friction folder blades. As my confidence grows (and bills for tools and materials grows even faster) I plan to make some nice horn handles for them.
Thanks for looking folks & a BIG THANKS to Biker for the inspiration!
So I'm breaking myself in gently at this DIY bushcraft making lark.
Got a big ambitious list of things I want to do though...
Anyway, first I made a birch walking stick, which is still in use, then I bought & cleaned up & put an edge on a camp axe tomahawk, then I built a collapsible bow saw out of pine - which was VERY rustic & fiddly (i.e. a bit of a mess - but it worked).
So I'd built up my confidence & was going to build a better bowsaw when I found the thread of Biker's with his variant on a collapsible bow saw. I made it out of a couple of offcuts of Elm from Lanarkshire Hardwoods http://www.lanarkshirehardwoods.co.uk/ who I'd heartily recommend - especially if you're looking for some extremely pretty burr wood...
I used t-nuts & M6 bolts to attach the blade, t-nuts & cut-off M6 bolts for the collapsible joints, with wing-nuts to secure them, and a piece of 8mm aluminum tube to reinforce the joint in the middle of the upright piece of wood. The 2 ends can be clamped together with the wing nuts when the saw is collapsed, making it a fairly compact bundle:
Someone on Biker's thread rightly mentioned the losability (if that's a word) of the wing nuts, so I've attached a couple of spares & a spare spanner from a dremel (fits the nuts holding the blade) using a split ring - until I make a carrying case for the saw with a pocket for them. (This was plan B, after burning out 3 drill bits drilling through 1 wing nut wing, I gave up on plan A).
I've used it to salvage half a dozen 3-4inch thick Laburnum logs from a neighbor's tree-trimming & that wood is SOLID - the saw cut it fine. The wood when seasoned should make some really nice knife scales/handles and with one bit a possible crook-handle. Next job will be cutting some hazel trunks to get a couple of potential one piece crooks - if I manage to make them I'll be plenty confident from then on -!!).
Other items shown are the camp axe (thanks to British Red for his how sharpen an axe thread), a MeettheGeeks Pirates Prybaaaarrrgh (see British Blades forum for details) which includes a file for any nasty dings on the axe, and a couple of FGYT's DFF friction folder blades. As my confidence grows (and bills for tools and materials grows even faster) I plan to make some nice horn handles for them.
Thanks for looking folks & a BIG THANKS to Biker for the inspiration!
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