Shannon Rogers over at Renaissance Woodworker made a statement that I've long felt was true but had never heard articulated. That saw skills were the foundational skill set of woodworking.
If you can saw to a line everything else is easy. We go on and on about sharpening, natural stones vs. man made, what steel is best HC vs. A2. Wood stock planes vs. metal and so on. Bottom line if you can saw, and any saw that is sharp will work from the cheapest to a fully blinged out Bad Axe, making joints is quick and easy. If you can not, well you are in for a lot of work that often does not turn out well.
Second only to credit rating. Natural stones AND man made. HC AND A2
ReplyDeleteAND White steel AND Blue Steel. Wood planes AND metal.
Welcome back.
Thanks Steve,
DeleteAmEx may be the most used tool in my shop :-).
ken
True, I "saw" it on Facebook :-)
ReplyDeleteBob, sipping coffee
Bob,
DeleteOne word groan....You are on a roll.
ken
The first thing you need to know is how to sharpen, that includes saws.
ReplyDeleteThe next thing you need to know is the properties of wood so you know which saw or tool to use, crosscut or rip? I would say that knowing how to chisel is probably more important than sawing as poor sawing can be remediated with good chiseling. Also the majority of woodworking tools are some form of chisel, a plane is a chisel in a holder to guide it, a saw is a row of chisels, an axe is a chisel with a sideways handle, even the abrasives in sand paper can be viewed as chisels. In the old days it was said the saws were for people that couldn't use a hatchet. I find it is best to use the tool for a job that is the easiest to sharpen. The ability to saw is important but I view the chisel as the gateway tool.