# one man pit saw/large rip saw?



## arigold

Of course, a one-man pit saw doesn't make sense but the gist of it is that I'm looking to get some boards out of a 12" diameter 5' long deodar cedar log. Since a froe isn't an option, I thought I'd try a saw. I actually went at it with the biggest stanley I found in the hardware store but it's taking twice as long as forever - I think because the teeth are too little.

I'm confused because in my research I've found huge two man pit saws and, of course, the smaller very popular ones (like the stanley) tho I haven't found any in between. How come there are huge two man cross cut saws and one man cross cut saws but not rip saws?

I haven't tried it but would a one man cross cut saw do the trick? I kind of doubt it, but truth be told this is my first time around and I really don't know much.

Any ideas?

Thanks a bazillion,

Ari


----------



## joesbucketorust

I have one of those 6' long 2-man saws laying out behind the shop, too far gone to save but I figured I'd find a use for it some day. I've also got a 3' long one-man version with the exact same tooth configuration. It's like 2" to a tooth, each tooth is doubled like an upside down M. The teeth look a lot more like the teeth on a tree saw then they do on a handsaw. I think when the teeth get that big, and they are sharp, there is no such thing as a crosscut or rip - it's just cut.
EDIT: Before I even posted I remembered this site sells saws:
http://www.crosscutsaw.com/1.html
The name says crosscut, the saws cut either way. I have one like in the pic, but mine has less handle and more rust. A lot more rust.


----------



## sawdustfactory

I had a catalog not too long ago that had them too. Can't for the life of remember which one, maybe Highland woodworking?

Here is a link:
http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/Log-and-Timber-Saws/products/308/


----------



## Jim West Pa

*They are out there Ari.*

Problem tho is that thay are bot up by crafters who paint them and then sell them for much more.
Spring'll soon be here and the yard sales and fleach rackets will be upon us.:yes:


----------



## arigold

*still looking*

Thanks for all the posts! I've been looking around and researching and this may be the best thing out there:

http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/One-Man-Crosscut-Log-Timber-Saw-30-USA/productinfo/889-0030/

I called them up and had a nice long chat with someone at customer support (Eric - he's the tops) and he said that if he had to try with something, he'd try that one. Trick is, he said that the teeth - while not the cut & rake type - are still crosscut and not for ripping.

Basically, I'd need a 6 foot pit saw shrunken to 3' or shorter. And nothing like that exists. Which I find hard to believe but believable nonetheless. Am I the only person who wants to pay money for a saw that will let me rip boards out of non-huge logs?

Here's a more pointed question: has anyone had experience ripping boards from logs with a crosscut saw? Either something with teeth like the link above or even something like this:

http://www.traditionalwoodworker.co...andle-Made-in-Germany/productinfo/501-108808/

or this:

http://www.traditionalwoodworker.co...-Handle-Made-in-Germany/productinfo/501-0980/

Hmmm...

(and thanks again!)


----------



## joesbucketorust

That second link is kind of like my 1-man saw. You're cutting green wood, it is nothing like cutting a kiln dried board. That saw will do the job, anything with big fat teeth like that will do the job. The borg sells cheap bowsaws with big alligator teeth - if you could find a way to turn the blade sideways to get the clearance then even those saws would work.


----------



## user27606

....


----------



## arigold

thanks for the info - have you ripped saws with a "cross-cut" saw like that 2nd one? did it work ok?

truth be told, i'm not doing hundreds of boards or even dozens. in fact, a couple should be fine.. heck, i'd even do it with the 26" hardware store stanley but i honestly think it'd take 12 hours which is silly.


----------



## user27606

.....


----------



## cabinetman

arigold said:


> thanks for the info - have you ripped saws with a "cross-cut" saw like that 2nd one? did it work ok?


A rip saw has a more aggressive tooth design than a crosscut design, and will cut faster, but not necessarily smoother.










 







.


----------



## woodnthings

*E Bay has many antique saws*

Most are for bucking/cross cutting, but that may work albeit more slowly than a rip saw. :blink: bill

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=2+man+saw&_frs=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m359


----------



## amckenzie4

Thinking about it, I'm sure I saw a single-handle cut-and-rake saw at the flea market last summer. Roughly 3' blade, enormous teeth, and big raking hooks between the teeth. It didn't seem useful to me personally, so I didn't look at it for brand or price information, but they're out there.


----------



## user27606

sorry


----------



## user27606

*my kindergarden class experience*

sorry sorry


----------



## firemedic

arigold said:


> thanks for the info - have you ripped saws with a "cross-cut" saw like that 2nd one? did it work ok?
> 
> truth be told, i'm not doing hundreds of boards or even dozens. in fact, a couple should be fine.. heck, i'd even do it with the 26" hardware store stanley but i honestly think it'd take 12 hours which is silly.


Cross cut saws have teeth designed to slice grain cleanly where as a rip saws tooth design is more like chisels designed to remove long grain. A cross cut saw will rip, but slowly where as a rip saw will make very rough cross cuts. 

Ole Roy did a show on this... I'll see if I can dig up which episode it was and post a link tomorrow.

~tom "Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence - it's a lack of know-how"


----------



## user27606

....


----------



## user27606

holly crap sorry those pics were on wrong thread.


----------



## firemedic

I still think a bow saw is your best bet. Check this link out. You could always build the saw and buy only the blade from them.

http://www.adriatools.com/ece/saws/bowsaw.html

I should note that have not purchased anything from them but the prices look reasonable.

~tom "Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence - it's a lack of know-how"


----------



## Billy De

Ari I don`t know if this will be any help to you but I can remember using a frame saw to rip timber,cant Call to mind the teeth configuration on it.

I wanted to show you a pic and when I went looking was amazed how often a bow saw was being called a frame saw.

Any way found an excellent site where the guy made one and then used it,the one I used was built with mortice and tenons and could be broken down when not being used.

IDK whether I would look forward to tackling a 12" log with one?

Any way here is the link. 

http://www.hyperkitten.com/woodworking/frame_saw.php


----------



## BWSmith

You might try contacting any lumber mills in your area.They 
"may" have sections of blades from big bandmill....that are trashed.They might have/sell you what you need.Obviously this isn't the whole saw.....there would be some fabrication on your part.

If you search around the net,theres some pretty good info on not only "pitsaws",but also how they transitioned into gangsaws.Especially look into the somewhat short-lived time of water power'd,industrial period here in the US.Steam and round blades kinda put pitsaws to bed......but not intirely.Good luck,BW


----------



## firemedic

BW, that's a great idea! I wonder if the style of blade would be efficient for hand cutting...

I'll grab one next time I'm at the mill, I've got to play with this idea!

~tom "Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence - it's a lack of know-how"


----------



## BWSmith

Well Tom,we're lucky(or cursed?)to have a Physics brainchild/geek engineer here at the ranch......am sure he could thinktank on the subject and come up with a few notions.......



Me,on the otherhand.....would simply compare what was being purveyed "back in the day",temper'd(ha) with whats commercially availible today on the cheap....devided by...."dang,wonder if that would work".All calcs done in less time than it takes to write.


To really get interested in any project....and would almost say this as a universal truth....there needs to be reward.It can be intrinsic for some,others may be extrinsic?Whatever.......I'd have to have a pretty good reason to be building a pit saw....much more than,just to see if I could do it?Water power'd?Yeah that might get it started....


----------



## BlackSeranna

*Found a good rip saw*

It was recommended by youtube user David W

http://www.blackburntools.com/new-tools/new-saws-and-related/roubo-frame-saw-kit/index.html

And here's David W's channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCswplWFmxpdxvepK7zDpcow

I found Woodworking Talk because I was trying to figure out what to do with some straight logs that had been felled by a hundred-year-old cabin we purchased. Don't have the equipment or money to haul them to a saw mill.


----------



## hwebb99

BlackSeranna said:


> It was recommended by youtube user David W http://www.blackburntools.com/new-tools/new-saws-and-related/roubo-frame-saw-kit/index.html And here's David W's channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCswplWFmxpdxvepK7zDpcow I found Woodworking Talk because I was trying to figure out what to do with some straight logs that had been felled by a hundred-year-old cabin we purchased. Don't have the equipment or money to haul them to a saw mill.


 This is a 7 year old thread you brought back from the dead, and the op is long gone. I'd recommend a chainsaw Alaskan mill for the op's task. If you actually have any good timber you could get someone with a portable saw mill to bring it to the site.


----------



## arigold

Actually, what with the email reminder, the op is right here 

Wow that frame saw looks pretty fantastic! I'da thought that the teeth would be bigger but it sure seems to get the job done.

At this point - years later - I still have those deodar cedar logs. What with two young children and everything else I dunno when I'll get to 'em but at this point, time-wise, I'm pretty sure I'll just do what hwebb99 suggested and take a chainsaw to 'em. I bought a big one-man crosscut saw (good ol' ebay) with a fairly plain tooth pattern that I was hoping to turn into a rip saw but again, time got the better of me.


----------

