I find something particularly satisfying about making my own tools and camp equipment in the woods. These can be as simple as the butterknife we make on the 24hr Family Survival Course or more complex such as a stool or table made during the Camp Furniture weekend on our 2-year Woodland Wayer Course. On a recent weekend course I was struggling to cut up a large log with a triangle bowsaw that was realistically too small for the job. Whilst cutting, slowly, I wondered about making a better saw that I could carry around with me. The ideal would be a portable Bucksaw which is a great tool but simple in design being made from little more than a few pieces of wood, some cordage and a saw blade. Not having made one before I decided to build a prototype at home to learn the process.
A Bucksaw itself is the precursor of the metal bow saw and has been around in one form or another for hundreds of years. The modern name ‘Bucksaw’ comes from the activity of cutting a tree into logs known as ‘bucks’ although it may also have come from the Dutch Zagg-boc or Sawbuck which was the traditional name for the Saw horse. Either way it has advantages over a small folding saw as they’re much more efficient for cutting larger items of wood, can be used by 2 people to reduce effort and a folding version is compact and lightweight.
The basic Bucksaw design has;
- Two vertical arms.
- A horizontal stretcher/spreader between them.
- Saw blade running between the arms.
- Cord or rope used to tension the frame.
- A toggle/stick to twist the cord and tension the blade.
I decided to use scrap materials rather than woodland materials to enable me to concentrate on the design and construction of the saw without worrying too much about having to find the natural materials. These pieces of reclaimed pallet wood were about the right size and although the quality of the wood wasn’t ideal, having multiple knots, it would be fine for prototype purposes.
Building the frame
I started off cutting the two vertical arms sizing them to be slightly more than half the length of the saw blade that would be stowed inside them. Cutting the slot for the blade stowage was tricky, a circular saw was not the ideal tool but it worked. This is one cut that I will probably struggle to do in the woods on version two but I’ll deal with that issue in the next article.
The next stage was to size the spreader bar, again based on the saw blade length, and cut the Tenon joints. Based on my research these needed to be rectangular to prevent the saw twisting around axis of the spreader bar. With the Tenons cut to size I marked out the matching Mortices, using a small chisel to excavate the Mortice joint.
To secure the blade I drilled the holes for the blade bolts and also the tensioning cord. It’s important to have the tension cord holes closer to the inside of the vertical arms to reduce the twisting force on the Mortice and Tenon joints. To make the saw comfortable to hold I shaped and sanded the vertical arms where my hands would naturally sit. I also removed some wood from the centre section of the spreader bar as it would be under tension so less material is needed but it also improves clearance over the wood being cut.
To add decoration I used a smaller gas burner to lightly char the wood, I’ve used this before on pallet wood projects and I know it works well without compromising the wood itself.
The final stage was a light coating of Tung Oil to protect the wood. Using a pair of small bolts and a length of paracord for the tension cord I assembled my Bucksaw and headed outside to try it out.
I tackled a few logs varying in size and it matched the capability of a modern bow saw. I did have to adjust the tension by adding extra turns to the paracord as the blade needs to be taut enough to resist twisting when in use but equally too much could damage the frame.
Lessons Identified
I’m happy with the size of the saw, it’s large enough to cut the sort of logs I use in the woods but compact enough than when packed away that it’s not too cumbersome. I am not convinced the wooden frame will last, the quality of the wood isn’t ideal, but I will be using it over a few weekends to test it out. The vertical arms are quite wide and for the next version I’ll reduce the size to make it easier to grip for extended periods. The cord tensioner is also too long and interfered with cutting.
This version proved that I could build a functional Bucksaw from scrap materials but the real Bushcraft challenge is to build one without starting with convenient lengths of planed wood. My next attempt will begin in the woodland using naturally available materials and seeing how much the design needs to adapt to what nature provides.