Which hand saw

[Hoyt]

I need to saw my stock down lengthwise..rip it..and my old hand saw bout killed me today and only got maybe three inches along on one side.
I'm headin out in the morning to get a cheap one if I can find it..don't want to put much into it cause I'm thinking about a bandsaw..don't have the money now. My question is..will that agressive rip saw blade work or will it be to rough with 1/8" margin along the barrel. I see a bunch of Stanly hand saws at Lowes for $20 and under..think one of them will do?
Thanks for any info.

 

[sledgemeister]

I ripsaw wouldnt leave you much margin for error.
A band saw would be the best option as long as it has a deep enough throat and is of a decent quality, the ones that you can generally buy through a hardware store or "home depot's" as you guys call em are generally not. Blades are too narrow and have too much give.
My advice is try to find a work shop or tradesman in your area with a decent set up and slip them a couple $$ or a few beers to do the job for you.

 

[marmot]

I've had good success ripping stuff, mainly pine, poplar and some cherry, with the Stanly "aggressive tooth" pattern... but... I haven't tried a long piece of hardwood with one - It'll do it I'm sure, but pack lunch for the trip, 'cuz it'll take a while! It does leave a rough surface, so be careful with your 1/8".

If you are close enough to a woodworking store, or want to order one, the Japanese pull saws with a ripping blade can be had for about $25 at places like Woodworkers supply, and once you get the hang of cutting only on the pull it is amazing how fast they will rip a piece of wood; they leave a smoother surface also.

Now for the confessional: I gave up and got a bandsaw after having a friend with a bandsaw rip in 10 minutes what it would have taken me all day to do by hand... perhaps a cabinet shop or the like would do it for you for a few bucks.

M

 

[scott k]

The stanly saws work good for what you want to do. You might to take it out in cunks to make that concave cut though. Thats how I cut mine.
You could also use a coping saw.
Lehigh...

 

[rich pierce]

I cut an entire stock using the traditional frame saw from Woodcraft. I bought 2 blades, one narrow and one wide. The wide one tracks nice and does not wander. The narrow one follows curves. I can cut a 3" blank at about a foot per 8 minutes and stay on track. Need a helper on the other side of the blank keeping you straight. I kept the stock vertical while cutting.

 

[more powder]

I went to the pawn shop and found a real sharp hand saw for $16 worked good,till i run in to the stright edge on the bottom side couple times.

 

[Hoyt]

I went down to Lowe's this morning at about 8:00 bout 5 minutes from here. Got one right at $20 with rapid cut blade. I'm just finished cutting both sides from muzzle to locks. The next time I'm either going to have a band saw, one of them Woodcraft frame saws or go down to the vocational school and see if I can talk somebody into sawing it.`I dread cutting for butt plate.
Think I'll just rasp under the forearm instead of sawing.

 

[BLAHMAN]

I got one of thos "rapid cut" saws from one of those big box stores (think it was Home Disaster), that saw sure did cut! Went and cut into my finger! YIKES!

Now I'm scarred for life!

 

[lanedh]

Since I make my stocks from planks and not precarved, there is a lot of wood to remove. Where necessary, I take the blank to a power plane and remove as much as possible to the working dimensions (also good for making square and true 90 degree corners.)I don't use a saw at all except to remove the really gross areas (under the forestock and between the breech and heel of butt). Everything else is done with rasps and chisels. Microplanes are good for removing a lot of material is a short time yet leave a relatively smooth surface.