Easy enough with just a bit of hazel and a SAK too
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. Here’s what I started with
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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
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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).
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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
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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.
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Then I used the main SAK blade to cut straight down through the limb to the saw cut.
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Four of these cuts result in a square “peg” at the end of the cross member. I repeated this at the other end.
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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
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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
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The last step in making the three main pieces was to carve two notches to hold the tensioning cord
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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
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Next step is to assemble the saw – it went together fairly well (although I needed to trim the pegs to get a good fit)
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A few final pictures of the saw assembled may help to explain what I did
The peg and socket joint
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The tension cord notch
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The tension bar
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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!
Red