Bow saw
Encyclopedia
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Bucksaw
A Bucksaw is a hand saw generally used to cut logs or firewood to length . It usually has a metal frame and a removable blade with coarse teeth held in tension by the frame. Lightweight portable or foldable models used for camping or back-packing are also available...
. It is a rough tool that can be used for cross-cutting branches (maybe up to 6 inches in diameter) down to size.
Traditionally, a bow saw is a woodworking
Woodworking
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...
tool used for straight or curved cuts. In European vocabulary it is synonymous with frame saw
Frame saw
Frame saw sometimes refers to a woodworker's bow saw.A frame saw is a type of rip saw. It consists of a relatively narrow and flexible blade held under tension within a rectangular frame...
. In English and American vocabulary it denotes a toothed blade suspended between two long narrow handles called "cheeks" that are supported and separated by a thin stretcher in the center of the handles, making a wide H shape (the cheeks form the uprights of the H, the stretcher the crossbar of the H). The blade is kept in tension with a turnbuckle
Turnbuckle
A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of ropes, cables, tie rods, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded eyelets, one screwed into each end of a small metal frame, one with a left-hand thread and the other with a...
or a twisted cord that runs parallel to the blade between the two cheeks but on the opposite side of the stretcher. If a cord is used, the cord is twisted with a toggle attached to one loop of the cord, adding tension. The toggle hits the stretcher, which keeps the cord from untwisting. A finer version of the saw uses a narrow blade (1/4" or less) with handles that allow the user to hold the saw and turn the blade. In this context it is also known as a turning saw.
The term 'bow saw' has also been applied to a type of chainsaw
Chainsaw
A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
with a large, circular guide bar.
The name 'swede saw' was probably attributed to the ovate metal tubular frame version invented in the 1920's by the Swedish company Sandvikens, and additional patents by two Swedish immigrants. The modern versions all share these common features.