Sometimes when camping using an axe is not always the best means of making smaller cuts of wood for the fire. One option is to just burn the longer pieces of lumber in half, but the other option is a buck saw. A gnarly looking saw that quickly eats wood with little effort. Now I know there are nice small collapsible bucksaws on the market, but in about a hour you could make your own. There are plans readily available on the internet, and can be easily made to fit any size of blade. When I made mine I chose a 24" blade, they average about $6. The wood I chose was Maple, strong, light and beautiful. I altered the plans below to fit the 24" blade and when taught provides decent tension on the blade and makes a sturdy saw. The tension is adjusted by the windlass, a string that you wind around a stick and gets held in place as it rests on the cross member. I first made a saw out of oak, unfortunately I wasn't able to get the tension I wanted on the blade do to the blade attachment holes being in the wrong place. I sacrificed this saw to experiment with what it needed to get that tension. After figuring out what I needed and remaking the maple one, I shaped and sanded to 400 grit. The saw then got a good soaking of Tung oil and let sat for 2 hours or so in the sun. The handles are buttery smooth and oh so pretty! So if you have a hour to spare and couple tools you can make yourself a awesome collapsible buck saw for about 16 bucks (if you don't have wood lying around). I will do a posting the carrying case when I complete it. Stay tuned!
Tools I used:
- Miter saw
- 1/4" wood chisel
- Drill w/ assorted drill bits
- Wooden mallet
- Rasp file
Other consumables and materials:
- 120, 150, 400 grit sandpaper
- Tung oil
- 550 Para-cord
- Brass machine screws, washers, and wing-nuts.
LINK TO THE SAW PLANS
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