How to Saw Straight with a Handsaw | Paul Sellers
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- Ever wondered how to saw straight? Paul shows in detail how to cut an accurate and straight saw cut.
This provides some skills you will need to challenge yourselves to bigger and better projects. Using a handsaw to may prove harder than you think but with these tips and tricks, you will be able to saw straight and accurately.
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The best man I have ever seen with a handsaw was my late father. His cuts were laser straight. Ironically he had one arm but always found a way to hold the wood steady with a foot. Incredible skill, I miss him RIP.
That's amazing
Mmmmmm deer feet
My son's cop out for DIY, is that he has part of his arm missing, I will show him this to clear that excuse :)
@@raymondo199blackberry2 He'll kick you with one although he's all the way up there you know?
I have no arms and cut straighter
Thanks so very much, Paul. I followed your instructions and resawed an 18 inch piece of poplar with my Grandfather's 100 year old Disston D-8 that I had restored and sharpened (your videos also). Then I planed the pieces flat with his Stanley planes (again, your videos) and made a box for the picnic table. I never knew my grandfather as he died when I was about six months old. However through restoring and using his tools, I feel like I have come to know him better. Thank you for showing me the way.
Bob Brewer that's the most moving woodworking story I've ever encountered
Many people don't even realize sawing is a skill, let alone understand how much skill is involved. You have made a great service to the new woodworking generation with your saw videos.
Whether I'm using a wood saw or hacksaw, I often seem to cut straighter with less important jobs than with ones where the cutting is quite important. Thanks for your techniques.
Go loose! 😄😊🌎✨
Instantly liked and subscribed. I can recognize a good teacher when I see one.
same!
I love this username
You are definitely correct. Paul is my go to guy when I want to know what to do with wood. He is so calming and makes things simple to understand while at the same time covering some very technical tasks. When I'm stressed over a subject I can always count on him giving me a calm approach to what I'm trying to learn. And he does it without making people feel stupid. He is the best woodworking teacher I've ever seen.
Thanks Paul, my father was a carpenter before he became a civil engineer and he taught me how to use hand tools. The saw is my arch nemesis and my father always tease me and challenge me to make a straight cut. My cuts were always swervy.
Same here. I'm good with most tools and I don't seem to have too much problem with a tenon saw but I'm really not very good with a rip saw.
I could watch Paul saw, plain or chisel wood all day long. I would love to work alongside him for the day. I love wood. Magical.
Thank you for the great video. I'm living on a remote island in Cambodia and a friend just came to visit from the UK. I had them bring a mitre box with saw and an adjustable straight edge like you used (as I can't get stuff like that here, or even a plane - I made one using your recessed plane video.)
I'm about to start making wooden toys for the local kids to show a better way than plastic junk they get where the heads and wheels fall off the dolls and cars within an hour and they end up rubbish on a beach. There's not a straight piece of wood to be found in the entire country, yet. :D
All your videos combined will help me in this task.
Wow... Cambodia, huh...
Okay, I don't know how much help this will be, but it's a nice little trick I use when I'm "off in the boonies" and worried about a square... Old timers (who taught me) call it the "3, 4, 5 trick"
Basically, when you use a carpentry square to make two straight lines (hopefully square) you mark the "origin" where they connect with a small tick-mark. Then measure along one of the lines for "three units" and make a mark. Then measure and mark "four units" along the other, and make a mark. From the "three unit" mark to the "four unit" mark should be "five units" as exactly precise as you're measuring and marking... AND that means the lines are square... no need for a machine-striaght board or plywood or anything to test the square...
AND it doesn't matter what "units" you're using. It works as well in metric as in "Imperial"... AND you can even multiply the measurements AS LONG as you multiply all three by the same number.
SO... 3,4,5 works, 6,8,10 works, 12,16,20 works... and so on.
That's useful, because larger squares and longer lines tend to be easier to make more precisely... but you need something to check.
Another neat trick, using a straight edge, you can make a line any length... Mark two spots where ever you wish along the line.
Find a string that's more than halfway as long as the distance between the two points, and tie it to your pencil and a peg or nail (nail like objects work too)... Set the peg to one mark, and stretch the string tight so you draw a wide arc between the two marks with your pencil (essentially improvising a geometric compass)... AND repeat this step from the other point.
Optimally, you want both arcs to cross over each other at the ends.
Next, take that straight edge and make a line that exactly connects the two places where the arcs crossed over, AND the original line.
1. The second line EXACTLY crosses the first EXACTLY half way between the two chosen points. If you managed the string-compass trick and kept it precise to both marks, this is perfect every time.
2. The two straight lines are EXACTLY 90 degrees (square) to each other. It's only as exact and precise as you are, and practice makes perfect and then easy... BUT this is the kind of nifty stuff that lets you layout perfectly square corners, and to bisect linear measurements exactly WITHOUT expensive and difficult to find measurement devices.
SO if you can find material enough to fit your needs, you can also build some of your own metrics, tools, and utensils for further advancing your work. Good luck and HAVE FUN... ;o)
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 Thank you so much. I have a lot to try there. That's great help. As well as making small things like toys, and today working on a nesting box, we have made all our own shelves and some tables etc. That's going to be a big help.
The quality of tools here is pretty low, for example the chisels I bought start to rust five minutes after sharpening them so we keep them dabbed with used motor oil, and the saw too. Next home made tool will be a mallet following Peter's method after having watched a few videos. I have a piece of beach found rosewood that looks like a smaller version of mjolnir and should look nice when done.
@@rojodiver3344 You're certainly welcome... and I might (as you get time of course) recommend some work around string and knots... Maybe take a look at Essential Craftsman (channel on YT, too) and his video about "pro tips with string" (I think?)
The really neat part about string in your "essential measuring kit" is that you can scale up or down with it handily. Some of the knots take a bit of practice, but most are really easy and quick, too... The ancients did A LOT with the stuff for layouts and surveying.
I don't know that rusting in five minutes is necessarily a "quality" problem so much as a "salty air island" situation... Salt (sea water) eats EVERYTHING... (ex-Navy... so used to it)...
Old cooking oil can be slathered on them too... AND you can "force a patina" on most steel without too much trouble by slathering in mustard, ketchup, or most "vinegar-ish" sauces... The sticky nature of the sauce or condiment holds the vinegar to the steel... AND acetic acid in the vinegar forms an acetate coloring the metal dark gray or black...
If you can find it, phosphoric acid creates a somewhat more durable "phosphate" that resists weather and even helps against mechanical ablating (beating against wood and stuff)...
BUT in Cambodia, you may be lucky to find citric... even if you just stick them into old fruits for an hour or so... It's the acid-wash you want... and "red rust" is the bad stuff you're trying to avoid.
Hoping you all the best out there... I just try to offer what I can. ;o)
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 I have to thank you once again. You're brilliant. I have more research to do now. Cheers.
@@rojodiver3344 Always welcome... Best of luck!
;o)
I've always appreciated the realness of your videos and your teachings. The encouragement you offer is so valuable.
Useful info. A "simple" straight cut with a hand saw for beginners like me is actually quite difficult. Thanks
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills!! Never get to old to learn!! I'm 82 and still learning!😊😊
Having watched many of your videos, Paul, as in this one, a key to success seems to be the regular reversal of the workpiece to cut from each side in turn. I know that for me, anyway, the tendency to try to bash on without 'wasting time' reversing the workpiece is why what often seems OK from the front is revealed as way off line at the back when the cut is finished. This does not apply only to sawing, but to other cutting actions, where taking 'the long way round' produces accurate results that make the time spent repositioning the workpiece well worth the effort.
Are you in the USA?
I could never cut a straight line for anywhere near that distance before. Using this technique works great!
Yeah, a few simple sounding tips can go a long way. The one that really helped me the most is when I heard Paul say to align your whole arm and body to the cut you're making, before that I never really thought much about my position behind the saw and was undoubtedly causing it to wander in the cut as a result.
I think the problem most beginners have is a lack of carpenter's vise. It's common for experts to forget that beginners don't have the tools that they see as basic. I have a saw, a few chissels, and a yard-sale plane, and I struggle through my hobby happily. But... The cost of a work bench AND a vice is so difficult to approach for most entry level hobbyists.
I've always thought it was impossible with a handsaw, and without a guide until one day I started to get it right! This video helps me perfect my technique thanks!
Paul because of you I have lost my technique of cuting wedge free-handed
Best comment here. Over many folks head though :(
Hahahaha
ballzack57 true
@@ballzack57It went over my head, I must confess (his technique was wrong perhaps???)
What is wedge? 🙂🌎
So one of the biggest problems I had when doing cuts like this was finishing my cuts. I would cut parallel to my bench as you did when you started. But then when I got to the bottom of the cut the vice was clamping against my cut and it was very difficult to finish.
What you did was flip the wood so it wasn't pressing on the cut. I saw that and felt like an idiot for not thinking of something so simple.
lol
Thanks for this. I want to do a few woodworking projects, but I don't trust myself to use power tools safely nor do I have the space to operate bigger equipment. Naturally this leaves using a hand saw but I'm hopeless with them. I'll pick up a vice and give this a try.
Thanks Paul. I've learned how to saw mostly from you and your videos and Kevin Drake from Glen Drake tools. The two key things that helped me were
1. When you say saw to the line, what I found that meant was that I focused on where the bottom of the saw was cutting and looking and focusing one the the line that is no more than about an 1/8" to 1/4" below the saw.
2. Not to over tense my hand. I found that as I was learning, if I was drifting in the cut I would go to a death grip and the drift would only get worse. Keeping my hand relaxed on the saw and letting the tool do the work really helped.
It didn't take me that long to learn how to saw straight. Maybe about 100 to 150 hours of working at the bench and I could saw straight. Of those hours it was maybe 20% spent actually sawing.
Thanks Paul. I’m always grateful for your insight and tutelage.
I believe sawing is an art and the first skill to master in our craft. You’re a great teacher. Practical and applicable for anyone.
I like your perspective.
There's much good advice here. I was pleased that Mr. Sellers made a point of saying that in fact the problem MAY be your saw. In addition to the basics--sharpness, even set and jointing--there are several other factors that could be mentioned, but I will just mention two that seem appropriate to the level Mr. Sellers is aiming at here. One is that if your teeth are set too wide and your kerf is therefore too wide your saw can wobble in the cut or simply lean to one side. Mr. Sellers points out that the walls of the cut are your guide, so if your saw is not being held upright by the walls, but leaning to one side or the other, you'll get drift. The other point is one my father told me over and over as I was learning (I'm 74--we really did use handsaws back then) ; "let the saw do the work." He meant, don't force it; there's no way it's going to be effortless. But being relaxed and focusing on guiding the saw rather than forcing it is very helpful. If your saw is sharp, the weight of the saw itself should be enough; you don't need to bear down, just move it back and forth. I don't know if it's true, but I've felt that pushing too hard against resistance will bend the saw a bit and cause drift. One other thing. Perhaps for purposes of demonstration, so the camera could take in what the saw was doing, Mr. Sellers was cutting at heights and angles I would find very uncomfortable. As he said, aligning your body correctly is very important--you are part of the "set up." Especially for anyone without Mr. Seller's skill and experience, I would think finding what is comfortable is a big step toward successful sawing.
I could always use another refresher on the basics!
Good to see ya again.
Thank you for making this video it was very helpful!
I was always afraid to cut long lines, and when I get off course I'd always try to twist the saw instead. Will have to try bending method. I use a Japanese saw by the way (and love it). I love tips and tricks all the way down to very basic things, always great things to learn. Thanks Paul,
Thank you, Paul for a knowledge that's worth fatherly advice cuz I never had one beside me.
Thank you... you made that look easy. I could not even have cut straight across the grain on that piece of wood.
My grandfather also taught me to cut perpendicular to the wood, to watch the reflection on the saw blade. Hand sawing is a dying art. Glad your trying to keep it alive.
This was incredibly usefull. It sounds very simple, but this is exactly what stops me to do carpentry. I feel stupid and bad each time I want to work on wood (I am a young piano technician). Thank you so much for this input Paul. See I am always between "Don't ask for help, learn everything yourself" and "ask someone to take care of you like a mother". This video is the exact between: you show, now it's up to me to make it happen, and practice.
So nice to hear a lovely soft Midlands(?) accent on one of these videos. Thanks!
Thank you for covering this. It's one of the simple things they completely overlook in many D&T classes, along with laying your index finger along the saw to guide the cut & keep your arm in line. Back at school they taught me how to use an engineering lathe but not how to use a saw. Ridiculous.
Remember that the D&T teachers often only went to teacher's training college or uni straight from school and usually have no relationship with working in the field of industry or craft beyond that so you can't really expect too much in terms of practical ability or experience.
Thank you Sir, I wish someone had taught me this 45 years ago. Going to try it out tomorrow ☺
Thanks & hello from Plano, Illinois
Good to see all my hours at the snooker table weren't wasted. Practising how to move the wrist in a straight line while staying in line with the elbow and shoulder. Do carpenters make good billiard-players as well as billiard-tables?
Best video ever for cutting straight.
Thank you Paul. All always good to remember how to do it well. I tried to cut a 3/16. Pine. Went well for beginning but everything went crazy after 4”. Will do it again now. Cheers.
I haven't used a panel saw in decades, although not too long ago I bought three old saws at a flea market with the intention of refurbishing them. I have saw files and a saw set and I'm in the process of making a saw vise. One problem I had in the past was my saw would frequently vibrate while sawing. Having watched many of your videos I think that my problem was two-fold: a very dull saw (never sharpened after it left the factory) and improper body posture. I didn't know about aligning my upper body with the saw so I was probably shifted a little too far over in order to better see the line I was sawing too. I also frequently would drift away from the line and have to do corrections like you demonstrated to get back on the line. I'll probably refer back to this video after refurbishing my saws. Thank you Paul.
Setting the teeth a hair bit “too much” helped me avoid that same issue.
I personally had to learn with too much set...and as I got better “more familiar with the correct rhythm” I was able to start setting the teeth not only correctly...but slightly shy “where I prefer it now”
If you don’t want to put more set on the saw then paste wax would probably help with the same issue.
Thanks, i've done a couple of bad cuts for a bench, but i think i've got i now. Learning from mistakes.
Excellent video. Good technique in the video and some good points in the comments. To build some confidence buy or borrow a saw you know is set and sharpened correctly. Then try the techniques Paul illustrates in the video. Suddenly you’ll feel and see how it’s done. Thanks Paul!
Found my new favourite woodworker!!! Awesome video thank you
Awesome teacher. I even cut a bagel 🥯 perfectly.
I’d love it if you could comment on the correct amount of clamping pressure when glueing. Such a simple thing, yet...only experience tells you what’s what. Which is where you come in!
Just perfect and exactly what I needed to clear some thoughts and concerns about what I was doing. Very well, thank you.
Thanks Paul for sharing your knowledge so generously!
Awesome tips . Thank you
This video actually was very insightful and philosophical. I subbed as soon as the video was done!
Excellent explanation. This exactly the cut i need to make for garden furniture slats. New subscriber. Cheers.
Thanks for doing this! I’ve needed this skill for so long. I get tired of having to use the machine. I don’t like using machines to saw. They frighten me because almost everyone I or my dad know has gotten their finger in the blade. I always just let my dad do the cutting on a machine, but now, if-no, when-I master this skill, I will no longer need machines.
Also, would it be a possibility for you to upload a video on sharpening brace ‘n’ bits? We have some really old ones that are really dull and I’ll be needing them one of these days. I also have the brace, but I bought it old and rusty and I need to rebuild it.
Thank you Paul. This was very informative
Thank You Paul!!! I have been having a heck of a time. 😃👍😎
very helpful. im 68 and no one has ever shown me how to properly use a handsaw. I use a pull saw, generally because all my push saws are dull and in terrible shape.
I've found that the set of the teeth influence the straightness of a cut more than anything else. Teeth on a mitre saw that aren't set right will cause the blade to cut to one side, binding the blade in the cut the deeper you go. I've found that a quick swipe with a diamond file, maybe one or two strokes only, can solve many problems. Great video sir, as always.
Putting up wooden baby gates. I work late at night. Hand saw is the only option for me. Thank you sir
Wow! Never heard of this technique! Thank you Paul.
Paul, I noticed that your pencil slipped off your square a couple times when you were making the pencil line. When I was an apprentice an old-timer suggested that a small nick on the end of the square blade with a triangle file will provide a secure place for your pencil to stay while sliding down the board. That was 55 years ago.
This is enormously helpful. Thanks, Paul!
Heck , i can't even cut straight with a circular saw ....lol!! I follow the line , make sure the wood isn't binding ,but yet there seems to be tension on the blade .
Mostly it will be tension in the wood that tries to force the saw away from its path because it is force dried which always causes the tension in the grain.
Informative, thank you.
Damn!! You are awesome. Thank you. I'm learning so much.
Thanks for sharing. Good, clear instructions. This should help all new to wood work.
Another excellent video from Paul!
Great Mr. Sellers! Wish you had shown us the split.
Basic sawing tech everyone should learn. Great tips!
Actually I have problems rip cutting tenons. I haven't really mastered the technique. On the other hand I amaze myself with the accuracy of my crosscuts. I learned cross cutting from Paul. But for some reason good rip cuts elude me.
The saw I am using here is a 24" Spear & Jackson I use all the time. It's sharpened to a rip cut and costs around £20. It is resharpenable and holds a good edge...as good as any premium saw at 5 - 10 times the cost.
Paul, would you escalate this approach to saw a 200 x 22 x 13 cm piece of oak? I want two pieces of 200 x 11 x 13
Thank you Sir.🎉
Paul I appreciate your videos making woodworking looks so easy for beginners like me. My only issue is i have absolutely no space for a bench and only have a foldable one like you used in your work bench videos. I'm gonna try making the 3 legged stool, any tips for using one of those foldable benches?
Another excellent tip and encouragement helping us to perfect our skills
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for making and uploading this video. I look forward to trying this method as I consistently cut at an angle. I have a lazy eye and my glasses have a prism to correct this, and I’ve always blamed this on my cuts being so inconsistent. I use pull saws mainly for my DIY. Would be great to finally feel I can accomplish straight consistent cuts without machinery to assist me. Really looking forward to trying this! Got to remember the first ten strokes are paramount 👍🏻
wish i had a full woodworking shop to work with.
He makes using a saw look so easy
my main hobby is wood, i dont have much use of my left arm,and i dont have power tools and i am learning this stuff all over again after 7 brain aneurysms, these tips are helping me so much , thank you paul !
Thank you nice technique and lesson.
Very good thankyou!
Back in school I couldn’t saw straight, so the teacher told my parents that otherwise I’m doing fine, but don’t expect me to become a carpenter. I’m sure it was a joke, but it hurt my dad since he was a genius with wood working and worked for a company that dealt with wood. Too bad the teacher or my dad didn’t just show me how to saw straight. So here I am, 30 years later, learning it on CZcams. In case I learn this, I’d love to show them, but they have both passed on a long time ago.
I only came because this looks extremely satisfying.
Love that chair in the background!
So that's why the saw is bendy!! I always wondered!
I find extending the index finger makes a huge difference at the start. Also body alignment
Thank you for the instruction video
amazing
Man, I sometimes have a hard time cutting straight with a table saw! Hahah, great tip, I'll definitely try this!
super helpful video, chair is coming along nicely as well
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
erm, 4 mins in I`ve decided I`m not gonna watch this all the way through but, (& I never thought I`d EVER pull Paul up on any subject)! Index finger Paul!! Body position relative to the timber!!?? Straight arm & clear elbow movement-THEN start to cut!?
Thanks a million Paul!
Always a pleasure!
Great tip for a common problem... for me anyway. Ty.
Wonderful
Always wondered how to do this. Thank you
Thank you for sharing these techniques, you've helped me a lot. I still need a ton of practice though :)
The most valuable thing in this channel is to find a disinterested helping hand
One of the most important things is having the teeth of the saw set correctly? In the city I live closest to, a great tool shop recently closed. It had been in existence for almost 100 years and at one time employed 11 saw doctors. So, every carpenter from miles around brought their handsaws to be sharpened regularly. When the modern, almost disposable saw was invented, they lost so many clients. Online shopping was the reason the shop had to close as they simply couldn't compete.
Very helpful and I learned something new! Thank you!
As always - amazing video. Thank You for Your work
Thankyou for the helpful advice I always learn a lot from you I have always struggled with straight cuts .I have tried sharpening my saws and still cut crooked I think it may be the set in the teeth as well.Also wondering if you could get another camera in closer and direct to the line would be very helpful to see exactly what you are doing.
Beautiful chair Paul!! ...waiting for the project!!!!
Thats a great video apart from the fact that most people starting out cannot afford a decent panel saw with sharp correctly set teeth.. I went to screwfix and bought an irwin saw.. I cannot cut a straight line at all.. Nomatter how many times i watch this oiling the blade everything paul has said but without a decent saw i got no chance.. And i cant afford £100 just for a saw.. I wish i could. Paul please give some advice as i bet im not the only one without the financial means to buy what you have.
Your judgement is probably clouded.It's funny as this saw costs about the price of a meal out or 5 cups of coffee here in the UK. Sorry, no sympathy for this as the saw costs under £18 on Amazon right now.
So many subtle tactics in less than ten minutes, first 10 strokes, body alignment, lubricate the saw, hold both ends to correct the path, be aware of knots and changes in grain… thanks!
Any tips on cutting angles? I've never seen hand sawing without getting parallel cuts.