Old Timey Saw Blade: Part 6: SUCCESS!

For reasons that make perfect sense to me (and probably only to me) I’ve been trying to get a 70 year old (or more!) bucksaw back in working order:

• Old Timey Saw Blade
• Old Timey Saw Blade: Part 2
• Old Timey Saw Blade: Part 3
• Old Timey Saw Blade: Part 4
• Old Timey Saw Blade: Part 5
• Old Timey Saw Blade: Part 6: SUCCESS!

As with all things Curmudgeon, it was harder than it looked. After careful research I found out it’s more or less impossible to buy a new version of the old blade. I didn’t want to spend 40 (or triple that!) man hours learning how to sharpen a decrepit saw so I went with a compromise. I installed a perfectly good but far less macho modern bow saw blade. [Note for the pedantics among us, there is a “bucksaw” (or buck saw) and there’s a “bow saw”. The two are functionally identical but built differently. Also, for the sake of linguistic awesomeness I’ll note that I need a “saw buck” for my “buck saw”. And yes, I’m the kind of guy that will eventually build one if only ’cause it sounds cool.]

Step 1: Amazon you crazy bitch, I love you like a drunk loves his liquor. I know you’re a corporate monopoly but I love ‘ya just the same. Also, UPS is my BFF but would you quit punching holes in my boxes?

Step 2: Bubble wrap for saw blades? Something tells me I’m an outlier in a world meant for shipping iPads and Siris.

Step 3: I was absolutely expecting this thing to be rusted all to hell. Before I even tried it, I gathered a can of WD40 and a few pliers. To my shock and amazement it loosened by hand. Also to my surprise, the pins that I expected to be irreplaceable and hard to remove simply dropped to the floor. Gravity gets all the press but tension is an impressive force too. Step 4: The old blade was super huge and that’s why I wanted to keep it. The teeth are identical on the new one except there are 4 cutters per raker instead of 2. Both are bi-directional. This is how saws are made in San Francisco. Just kidding! It means the saw will cut forward and backward; it’s meant for chewing roughly through a lot of wood, not finishing the tenon on your fine furniture project.Step 5: I tested it out, whacking several chunks of scrap hardwood and also some firewood into small pieces. (It was cold out and Betsy needed food.) It works just fine. My only complaint is that the heavier bucksaw can twist the puny blade more than a lighter bowsaw. Then again the heavier bucksaw frame is a little more aggressive for just tearing wood fiber. I give it a solid B+. Not bad for $11 (link). Also, I feel satisfied because my saw hanging on the wall is totally functional… not just decoration. It’s never a bad thing when you’ve learned about and preserved a fading skill or technology. I call it a win!