Bow/frame saw vs regular hand saw

[Dan T Jones]

Going down the non-electric road I wondered if you all could give me some guidance as to why some folks go with regular hand saws vs going with the bow/frame saws.

Do you all have both or is it better to stick with one type?

Thanks for the great help.
Dan

[Patrick Chase]

Going down the non-electric road I wondered if you all could give me some guidance as to why some folks go with regular hand saws vs going with the bow/frame saws.

Do you all have both or is it better to stick with one type?

Thanks for the great help.
Dan

I have both and don't find it hard to switch back and forth.

The tension saws (frame, bow) do very well in applications that favor a thin and therefore flexible blade for whatever reason, for example veneer cutting on the large end, and fret and coping work on the small end. George posted a video of himself and a colleague using a framesaw for veneer cutting a couple weeks ago.

For more routine work preference traditionally breaks along English/American (backsaws, panel saws, etc) vs Continental (bowsaws) lines.

[Paul Sidener]

Going down the non-electric road I wondered if you all could give me some guidance as to why some folks go with regular hand saws vs going with the bow/frame saws.

Do you all have both or is it better to stick with one type?

Thanks for the great help.
Dan

The bow saw and frame saw do two different jobs. Depending on the type of work you do, you may want both.

[Randy Karst]

The bow saw and frame saw do two different jobs. Depending on the type of work you do, you may want both.

+1 on Paul's advice/

[Luke Dupont]

The bow saw and frame saw do two different jobs. Depending on the type of work you do, you may want both.

It may be helpful to disambiguate, since many refer to bow saws as both "bow" and "frame" saws interchangeably, whether or not this is correct.

Paul, in this case, is referring to both bow saws (a blade, tensioned underneath a single stretcher by a string and toggle), and frame saws for long rips/resawing (a blade mounted inbetween two stretchers, and oriented at 90 degrees to the frame. No string/toggle).

Both are great. I tend to find that I can cut more squarely with a tenon saw, but I think that is due in part to the blades on my bow saws being too narrow and having too much set.

[lowell holmes]

It may be helpful to disambiguate, since many refer to bow saws as both "bow" and "frame" saws interchangeably, whether or not this is correct.


I tend to find that I can cut more squarely with a tenon saw, but I think that is due in part to the blades on my bow saws being too narrow and having too much set.

As is the case most of the time.

[Kirby Krieger]

Going down the non-electric road I wondered if you all could give me some guidance as to why some folks go with regular hand saws vs going with the bow/frame saws.
Dan

Totally personal choice. Try both. Try Japanese style pull saws. Within each, there are many specific saws. These specifics — teeth filing, blade thickness and depth — determine the suitability of the saw to the task much more than how the blade is connected to your body.

[Jerry Olexa]

My practical side says : Bows for flexible work, the other for mostly straight....