Baby Bow Saw – Wrapping It Up

I got the bow saw completed today. I still want to decorate it, but it's together and functional now.

First on today's menu was getting the arms shaped. They don't really need to be thinner, but making them a little thinner will make the saw more comfortable to use. I used a drawknife to get the other dimension thinned down and smoothed.

Shaping the arm of the bow saw with a drawknife

Both arms of the bow saw, with a very used-up pencil top of frame

With that done, I mixed up some epoxy and glued the pins into the handles.

Pins and handles in yellow clamps

Then some quick chamfering on the corners of the arms, mostly for comfort, but also to clean up a couple spots of tear-out where the grain wasn't cooperating with me.

Chamfering the arm with a carving knife

Then a coat of tung oil on the parts I had done.

The parts of the bow saw just after their first coat of tung oil

And I disassembled a paracord boot-lace to get one of the strands of nylon string out of it. That'll be the cord that tensions my bow-saw. And yes, I'll need to tie a knot better than a square knot.

Testing the string for tensioning the saw

Then I cut a toggle out of one of the citrus offcuts left over from turning the handles, and put a groove in it so the string wouldn't slip off it.

Filing a groove into the toggle

And I tried a little kolrosing on the side of the toggle. It looked pretty good, but my carving skills still need work.

Toggle with kolrosed design, with coffee grounds pretty much everywhere

And that sorta finishes the saw. Everything needs to cure, and I want to decorate the arms and cross-piece, but that'll be another day.

Assembled bow saw

Reverse view of assembled bow saw

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