[Warning: this post takes a hard turn in the middle… it just happened. You have been warned.]
About a year ago I acquired an old bucksaw. I estimate it’s about 100 years old, though I can’t be sure. It has no particular value. (Old bucksaws aren’t rare and they’re functionally the same as a bow-saw which can be purchased new for $20 or less.). The one I had was rusted and unusable. Everyone hangs them on the wall as decoration.
I don’t roll that way.
I declared it worthy of restoration. After a few false starts where I over-analyzed the situation with saw-blades , I finally decided to punt: I swapped out an $11 replacement I got on Amazon. Voila, a saw that’s as good as new (if a bit heavy). Here’s the links:
- 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!
Before:
After:
The thing with a bucksaw is you might as well have a sawbuck. Yep, those are two words that legitimately mean two different things. (They were parsimonious with their vocabulary back then.)
A sawbuck holds the wood so you can efficiently use your bucksaw. This is the sawbuck I built:
The design and assembly is dirt simple. Though I did get the idea from here. I don’t think you need to drop $20 on a set of “plans” (I didn’t) but if you’re going to build a sawbuck, go ahead and click over there. They did a good job with the instructions and deserve as many hits as I can send their way.
As you can see, I used pressure treated green wood. I think this was unwise. It might make it last longer but it also made it heavier. If I did it again I’d use regular kiln dried studs and try to protect it by slapping on a coat of whatever paint I’ve got lying around (every garage has a couple cans of old house paint). Then it would be lighter but still rot resistant. Definitely treat it with something or it’ll be toast in a year or two.
All you need is a handful of studs, cut to length (with an angle on one end). It’s not rocket surgery.
If you don’t over-tighten the bolts it folds very nicely. Cool eh?
I tested it with my bucksaw and some cants from a sawmilling project. The saw chews though pole sized shit like it’s a light saber but the little stuff was half frozen and sloppy. Don’t do what I did. Don’t pile small stuff like this because it’s a hassle. The pieces shift to and fro and it binds the saw. I got the same effect when I tried my battery powered reciprocating saw (with a coarse blade I use for demolition). I’m sure a chainsaw would vaporize anything you put in the sawbuck, small diameter or not, but I’ve been having health issues and didn’t want to breathe two stroke chainsaw fumes in a cold garage. 
Of course the whole point was to fuel Betsy… my beloved stove. For heat (which is desperately needed) but also atmosphere… which is the soul of a good workshop.
My dog inspected the sawbuck and found it adequate. My dog is OPSEC with fur and hates cameras. There aren’t many photos of it.
After I got the fire going and took a photo with my dog, I thought long and hard. The last time I took an important photo of the dog was right here.
[Warning: if you don’t get dogs or don’t have one… just tune the fuck out right now. I’m serious. It’s OK to go now.]
It was right here… this place. Right in front of this very stove. Last year in late spring. I thought my dog was going to die. It seemed a certainty.
This month and indeed all of 2019 so far has been a bit rough, but the spring of 2018 was a whole different dimension of misfortune (and some poor planning on my part too!). The whole thing nearly killed me. There came a day when I was very ill and my dog, which is (in dog years) older than dirt, just couldn’t move. That was a hard cold morning. I wasn’t up to facing another death. Not that particular day. I would have been crushed.
It all led to right here, this very space, not a full year ago.
That same day was a moment of grace. My dog, which is a big deal to me, laid down to die… and didn’t.
There’s no other explanation. I was spared. Not the dog. Me. It was me that was spared. The dog is ready to go. It’s never been afraid of anything.
Actually, that’s a misstatement. The dog, like any being, is afraid of things. For example, as a puppy it feared the UPS truck like you couldn’t imagine. But it’s almost constitutionally unwilling to let fear affect it in any way at all. When it was a ragamuffin puppy it was more than willing, eager even, to go to the mat against a 12′ tall, five ton truck that scared it to death. Why? To defend… me. Because it had to be done. Because the dog was born to protect and anything less would be unthinkable. No hesitation. How many of us can claim the same bravery? All dogs are good but I’ve grown a deep respect for Great Pyrenees. They aren’t particularly bright, they’re too huge for convenience, and they shed on everything… but the chest of a Great Pyrenees holds the heart of a dragon.
I spend a lot of effort trying to be as good and worthy as my dog.
Long story short, the dog ain’t in pain but it’s not going to live forever. I’m sure when the time comes, it’ll simply drift off. It’s not one for dramatics. It’ll got for a walk where I can’t follow and that’ll be it.
Anyway it didn’t happen then and it hasn’t happened yet. I’m lucky. I was spared a loss at a time when I couldn’t handle it. I never stopped being thankful.
With that one photo, the day turned on a dime. It was time to honor my good friend. I set down all my tools and made sure the dog had a place of honor by the fire. For me, I mixed up a cup of hot cocoa that had more bourbon than cocoa. For the best dog in the world, I put down a cool whip dish of melted snow and a treat.
I sat there with my dog all afternoon; moving only to keep the fire going and heat more warm drinks. I burned up and wasted most of that pile of scrap cants. I was very cold out. I can barely keep the shop warm enough to work. But right at the fire… just within arms reach… it was perfect.
I have a shitty old chair I keep for just these moments and it was a good time to use it. The dog likes the fire. We two sat by the fire and we rested. It’s not going to be much longer. The stove is going to last (it’s older than me). The saw isn’t going anywhere (it’s older than me and the dog and my truck all rolled up in one). But the dog’s clock is ticking. So I paid attention to it.
Last year I was given a reprieve. There won’t be a second one. I try to make sure to appreciate every moment. It’s hard to remember but for once I got the universe’s clue. I remembered. I didn’t get shit done all afternoon because I was petting my dog and doing nothing else. It was a good day. 
A.C.
P.S. In case you’re wondering the story is here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 3.5, and Part 4. This is last year’s photo:
I see the sawbuck folks also had the solution to your fire starting issue the other week as well:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/621603727/campfire-can-fire-starter-kit-build-the?ref=shop_home_active_3
Did you partake?
Nope. Haven’t had any issues since my one “adventure”.
Dusty in here…
Nice sawbuck and woodstove – and a wonderful tale about a fantastic dog. I’m a Kuvasz guy, but the Great Pyr’s and Kuvasz are very similar. Your line about, ” the chest of a Great Pyrenees holds the heart of a dragon”, says captures their spirit perfectly. It reminded me of the very first time I met my first Kuvasz puppy at 8 weeks of age. Picked him up in his crate at the airport. Peering through the holes in the crate was a roly, poly white fluff ball. Opened the crate to let him out – and he came out – growling and ready to attack the huge stranger that was intruding in his domain. The heart of a dragon. Hope that you and your Chief of Security have as many good days as possible ahead.
Thanks. Never heard of a Kuvasz. I’ll have to check it out.
There are a number of breeds that are Big White Flock Guards:
Great Pyrenees, Hungarian Kuvasz, Komondor (Hungary), Polish Tatra, Slovakian Cuvac, Italian Maremma, Turkish Akbash,. All bred to do the same job and all remarkably similar – one can only speculate at how these dogs spread across Europe many, many years ago and remained, for the most part, nearly identical.
Ah, d@mmit Mr C!! you brought a tear to my eye with that some how.
What is it about dogs that they just give give so selflessly? They will protect us from anything; UPS trucks, squirrels, mail dropping through the slot and even animals much bigger then themselves. Better Half was walking our German Pointer one day and a neighbors German Sheppard got away from her and came straight at them. The Sheppard is larger than average, probably 40-50 pounds heavier than our pointers 55pounds. Our pointer stepped right up. The other owner apparently just stared as our dog was being mauled, had it not been for a passing motorist who stepped in and separated them we most likely would have lost our dog that day. Better Half was tangled up in the leash and struggling to separate them.
No Sir, I dont understand people who dont like dogs.
Enjoy yours while he is here, I’ll drink a dram-O-the Glenlivet to both of them tonight.
Thanks.
i prefer and spend way more time with dogs than people. there’s just something right with that..
thanks for starting my day with good thoughts of good friends, past & present.
Wasn’t sure at first read if your title meant a $10 saw blade or the rack- figured it would be a good read either way. I was right. Then the dog part… Damn, sawdust in the air. Thank you for sharing, AC.
Been snowing for 15 hours here…
I’m not sure anyone has used “sawbuck” to mean a $10 bill since life was in black and white and “surfing the internet” was called “get the to a library”. Shame because it’s great slang.
I’ve used “sawbuck” to mean a ten-spot for years. Also, “fin” to mean a five. Must be a Chicago thing.
Sawbuck sounds like cowboy times and I like it. I’ve never heard a “fin” for a fiver. That’s gotta’ be a Chicago thing.
I’ve read both “fin” for a fiver and “sawbuck” for a ten (and double-sawbuck for a twenty), but never actually heard the words used as such. Pity, they have more character than numbers.
I’ve already put “sawbuck” in a future post draft… I’m going to start using the word even in nobody else knows what I’m talking about.
With respect to the below (above? dunno how it will format) comments: I am NOT from Chicago!
AC: Joel at Joel’s Gulch used the phrase “rustling handshake” and I had to ask him the meaning. I thought he was stealing cattle in a friendly fashion. Turns out it’s folding money changing hands.
A bucksaw i already have as a back up should the chainsaw fail to start. The sawbuck, well that’s a different matter. Making a sawbuck is a project that I keep meaning to do but somehow never get around to.
Thanks for posting the pics of your dog. When I started reading about last year’s close call, I was sure your post would end badly. I forced myself to carry on reading and I’m glad that things turned out OK. I hope your your furry friend is around for a long, long time.
I wanted the sawbuck to facilitat cutting smallwood for my cooking woodstove (“Betsy”). I’ve learehnd that a kitchen stove wants differnet wood than a big heating stove.
I’m thankful for every day with my dog. The time will come but it’s not here yet. Trying to mentally prepare.
I read a story about G_d and an angel having a conversation about how people have screwed up the planet, and G_d said he would have destroyed it a long time ago except for the dogs
I can see that. Dogs are awesome.
Dogs are family. Anyone that doesn’t understand that shouldn’t have a dog.