Another striking difference between the tools of the Japanese and European carpenters is the large saws they use for rip sawing the beams, that is cutting along rather than across the grain. In a previous post I showed pictures of the most common Japanese saw for this purpose, which is a remarkable-looking tool:
The saw most often used by the European carpenters for this job is a two-man saw like this, although sizes and designs do vary greatly:
In both cases they often use a long, thin wooden wedge to keep the cut open and prevent the blade from becoming trapped as they work:
There are also a huge variety of cross cut saws too...
Omg I love those saws! Seems like a new world of tools for me who live i Sweden. Are there any books about japanese hand tools written in English that you can recommend?
Posted by: Jonas | 25 March 2010 at 04:19 PM
Yes - "Japanese woodworking tools: their tradition, spirit and use" by Toshio Odate [ISBN 0-85442-075-4] which is a lovely book written by a Japanese craftsman who now lives and works in the USA.
Posted by: Nicola Wood | 25 March 2010 at 04:50 PM
I just bought a maebiki nokogiri on eBay, I'm very excited to try it! It'll have to be shipped from Japan and then I'll have to make a handle for it. I've been ripping green applewood into small boards with a one-man timber crosscut saw (you can see on my blog). It's a lot of work, so I'm very interested in comparing the difference. I'm going to have to buy Odate's book. I have a 4 ft. log of 18" diameter walnut that's been waiting patiently in my yard to be turned into boards (if the bugs haven't gotten to it).
And I see you are Robin's wife, a pole lathe is on my list of things to build!
Posted by: Steve Branam | 04 April 2010 at 04:53 AM