Period saws

[Indianabugles]

I was recently given these and wondered how close they are to 19th century felling saws. It would be nice to be able to use one to cut wood at an event, or at least store them in stores, pioneer corp somewhere rather than rely on precut wood. I know they need new handles and may need sharpening, the second is not a job I can do myself, but I wondered if anyone knew how close, or far away. they were from Civil War era saws.

[Tyler Underwood]

Re: Period saws

Christian, I would try and find a copy of Dictionary of American Hand Tools.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Period saws

Those are nice! The plain tooth pattern with a wide blade (top two) are typical of the era. The M tooth pattern may be too--that would be the only thing you'd need to check. Google "E. M. Boynton." He was patenting some tooth variations postwar.

Also, I'm not sure when narrower felling saws came in, but these wide ones are the most typical saws of the era, and something a little harder to find in antique and junk shops. Felling by axe was just giving way in popularity to felling by saw in the mid-19th century, and I suspect that the narrow saws rose in popularity when people started using saws predominantly for felling and wanted something that was less apt to get pinched.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[Ronnie Tucker]

Re: Period saws

just this morning i looked up how to file a crosscut saw there is is some of your answers you are seeking.

[Indianabugles]

Re: Period saws

I found much the same on crosscut, now I know what they are called, Thanx Mr Tucker.
I did suspect that the straight cust would be fine and the M Cut Probably so but on further reading it would appear all are good to go after an overhaul.
Not bad for nothing other than a cheeky ask as to if I could have them me thinks.
Thanx for the feedback Gents.
I think there maybe some shovels up there too.

[Marine Mike]

Re: Period saws

They may have also been used for bucking the bole into saw logs.

[Indianabugles]

Re: Period saws

Please expound on that Mike as this is all new to me.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Period saws

By the way, did a bit more looking, and the bottom saw isn't really an M tooth (I misspoke), it's something similar but different called a "Great American tooth" (third one down in the drawing at the link. Can't find a specific date, though the snippet view of this book seems to indicate it was a Disston invention, maybe in the 1870s?

Please expound on that Mike as this is all new to me.

Yes, I'd expect they'd be more typically used for bucking, or cutting the main trunk into usable sections, or cutting large house timbers to length, though there were smaller one-man timber saws for that. Most of what we think of as handsaws today are finishing saws, and there were a variety of sizes for rough cutting in the period. Was needing to cut a larger-than-usual board at a recent event, can't remember exactly what for, and was trying to do it with a smaller saw we were using for other carpentry work. A fellow happened to walk by with a one-man timber saw with teeth approximately the size of yours, and I begged to use it for a second and had the board cut in no time. Edited to add: A shameless plug for the Independence Village events, where that kind of thing happens.

I'm not particularly good with an axe for felling (never mastered that horizontal swing), so I try to avoid actually doing it when portraying anyone who would have been experienced at that, since it would be obvious to anyone watching. Not sure how familiar you are with two-man saws. Do you know the pull-only rule? Each person only pulls toward themselves, and just goes with the motion when the other person is pulling it away from them, without helping by pushing. Otherwise the saw blade can buckle and jam.

Edited to add: Just occurred to me (forgive me if I'm being too elementary), the opposite of a cross-cut saw, like these, is a ripsaw. Cross-cut saws are designed to cut across the grain, while rip-saws cut along the grain, such as when making boards. Almost all rip-sawing was done by machine by the 1860s, but a few of the old pit saws might still be around on the far frontiers. They had much coarser teeth. Ripsawing is slower than splitting, so the average person who needed wood divided roughly along the grain would just split it, and only use a saw, or axe, to cut across the grain.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[Marine Mike]

Re: Period saws

In answer to Indiana Bugle and echo Trent.
The bole is the whole tree trunk. A saw log is a chunk of that bole cut to a specific length to minimize waste and work needed to turn it to lumber. Horse or oxen would have been used during the 1860's to drag the log to the pit, mill or gathering point for a log raft. I don't have any way to guage the age of your saws but there are tool collector clubs all over the country and you should be able to find some knowledgable experts in your area.
It's difficult to call them felling saws as again what might have worked as a felling saw in your area would have been to small in mine. Most of the big timber in my area was felled by axe while standing on springboards until chain saws became practical. The springboards allowed the faller(s) a place to stand above the swell of the tree and may have been used 3 to 6 feet above the forest floor. The swell was avoided as it caused needless work during the falling and at the mill.
The two types of saws are cross-cut and rip. Cross-cut cuts at the outside edges and has a visible V when siting down the teeth and used for cutting across the grain. The Rip are chisle shaped and cutting with the grain. A cross-cut can be used for ripping but is not the most efficient for that cut. Cross-cut and rip saws vary from backed dove-tail saws up to timber.
The 'M' pattern mentioned by Trent will have a combination of teeth. The leading and trailing teeth for the pattern will have set and are the cross-cut teeth. The set would have been wide as green wood swells enough to close the gap and put terrific drag on the blade. The ones in between are chisled shaped rakers for clearing the chips. The 'M' sets are seperated by gullets to allow the waste to be gathered and pushed out of the cut.
These saws would have been highly polished and oiled again to minimize the work of using the misery whip. Oils were various depending on time but animal based oil and coal oil have been mentioned. I would just get them slicked up as best you could before using.
Axes were also varied and many becoming specializd as the circular saw changes the dementioning of timber and railroads promote the shipping of lumber. So I can't tell when a felling axe, bucker's axe and a swamping axe became known destinctions.

[Ronnie Tucker]

Re: Period saws

i have been in the log woods off and on all my life. i was not familiar with the term bole.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Period saws

i have been in the log woods off and on all my life. i was not familiar with the term bole.

It was also something I hadn't heard, except to mean a swelling on the trunk like this. I'd looked it up, though, and sure enough it's a common enough word, and period as well: "The principal objects of pruning, are to procure a good bole or trunk for timber..." (1834).

I wonder what areas or backgrounds use boll/bole (saw it spelled both ways) for the trunk and which for the swelling on the trunk? When the trunk is called the bole, what is the swelling called? Etymologically, they're apparently both from the same origin, meaning round, the round straight part of the trunk or the round swelling.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[Marine Mike]

Re: Period saws

I suspect that bole is used more by the buyer or manager then by loggers today. I've heard it used but it was by a manager of a private forest for a major timber company in the description of a sale. In the woods, you're making logs.