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Folding Buck Saw

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Made this folding buck saw out of walnut for my brother-in-law. Another is on the way for me. 24" Fiskars blade from Lowes.
 

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I made a couple last year. I couldn't find a quality blade locally, just the big box store junk. Ended up getting a few blades shipped from England cheaper than shipped from the other side of Canada.
 
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I ended up giving that first bucksaw to my brother in law and I finally got around to building another for myself. For this one I decided to copy the threaded rod design used in the commercially sold Fast Buck Saw and Schmidt Pack Saw designs (the threaded rod is simply a modern adaption of the turnbuckle design that was used on buck saws for decades before Fast or Schmidt were in business). If something goes wrong with the threaded rod, a piece of cord and a stick will make a windlass that will do the same job.

The other thing I liked about the Fast Buck Saw version was the way they added tenons to the top of the stretcher to hold all the pieces together when the saw is folded. The 4 small holes in the stretcher are there to attach shock cord loops (shock cord on its way) that keep it all together.

I will replace the plastic wing nuts (as shown) with metal ones when I can get back to the hardware store. I will also probably replace the all-thread steel rod with an un-threaded aluminum rod and just cut some threads in the last couple of inches.

Looking forward to getting out and using this in camp!

The wood is walnut (scrap I had) and the finish is pure tung oil. Feels great in the hand!
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Very nice work, is there a drawing for that somewhere?

Brian

Cruiser: The basic dimensions were taken out of Gil Gilpatrick's Building Outdoor Gear book, but I modified them on the fly to copy the features I liked of the Schmidt Pack Saw (the notches at the end of the upright arms) and the Fast Buck Saw (the groove in the stretcher to store the threaded rod and the tenons on the top of the stretcher that mate with the mortises on the upright arms when the saw is folded and which keep everything tight together when the saw is folded).

My advice, having built three (two for brother-in-laws and now this one) is you should start by sourcing the blade you are going to use because all the dimensions will need to be adjusted to that. My saw blade is a Fiskars 24" bow saw blade (which isn't actually 24") that is available at big box-type hardware stores and/or internet.
 
Nicely done!

I made a 21 inch (24 inches would not fit in our trip box) bucksaw last year using Gilpatrick's plans from hickory flooring scraps. I was skeptical the cord would provide sufficient tension but it turned out to be fine. I can not detect any difference in use from a conventional saw. I think a sharp blade and light pressure are the key to cutting efficiently.

I used a rasp and sandpaper to shape finger grooves in one handle. It was a fun, easy customization.
 

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I had a Pelkey saw like Jamies from 2017. Worked well but finding a stick that would not snap and was the correct length was a problem It had no tensioning wood as Jamies did. Now I use a Bob Dustrude saw.
 
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