Long Rip Cut

Sometimes frugal can be a good thing. Sometimes it just makes for a lot of work. The back pieces I'm going to use for this one has less figure in it than the other two pieces I have, but I wanted to give the Big Leaf a try, and the other ones are going for something else. Each half was fairly thick, so I decided to slice them on an angle and pull some ribs off them. I've done it before, with varying degrees of success. It always worked. Sometimes it looked really nasty until it finally cleaned up, and it always took way longer than I expected.

This time was no different.

My initial problem was that my Ryoba is way, way, way, to dull. It seems like it never did have the proper heat treatment. It didn't have the nice blue edge on it. The saw I used to use, a single edge, Japanese Kataha Noko Giri, called a Z ripping saw that has been relegated to trimming trees a couple years ago, and is ready to be tossed. It worked pretty good, but I bought the replacement blade, thinking it fit the handle I had, but it didn't, so I made up a handle for it, that worked, but wasn't great. So I started with the Ryoba anyway.

I tried to set the kerf wider (that always seems to be the thing that goes on these blades first) with a hammer and a chunk of metal. The teeth bent and didn't break, another clue the heat treat wasn't right. Then I filed it sharp. I went around the outside, so it would cut square, insy and outsy bulges are the hallmark of some of my other cuts, and then started cutting. To say it didn't work would be generous.

I wanted a good sharp sharp Z ripping saw. Can only get them by mail. Even the closest Woodcraft store is over 40 miles away, and they have a limited line of Japanese saws (although I haven't been in one since they bought out Japan Woodworker). We went ot the local (still 15 miles away Lowes and I bought a cheap hand saw. It's not a rip saw, they didn't even sell such a thing, but has a combo blade sharpened to cut forwards and backwards. I don't know about that. It seemed to cut best going forward. At least the teeth were hard and sharp. In an hour I finished up the one I was hacking on, Two hours later the other was done.

The biggest problem with the saw is it's width. The Z ripping saw has a .03" kerf. The Stanley measures .072 over the teeth. With the bouncing it does, it cuts at least .09" wide. That's 3 times the amount of wood to cut. That's 3 times the effort. That's 3 times the time. At least. The new saw is 15" long instead of 10" which is the only plus it has. Cutting the back is the hardest thing to do. I could have left it alone, but then I'd have to get the stock off by carving, or planing. At least the cut is done.

Anyone out there with a rip saw recommendation? Sure a band saw would work, but any hand saws that really get the job done?

Inevitable

Inevitable. That's the only thing I can say. You hear stories about it. People who cut the button off on the back right from the get go. Makers who fit and glue the bass bar on the wrong side (at least that's easily fixable). Apprentices (sure, it's ALWAYS the apprentice) who, while using a drill press to mark a safe depth to hog out the inside, drill a hole, or several all the way through! I'm glad I can't do that. I do the inside first. But I got the brilliant idea, especially since now I have a drill press where I didn't before, to do the drill press idea on the outside. Set the drill about 5mm up from a raised stop, and mark a safe height to hog the od to. It works fantastic, bang, zoom, and you're done.

I must be an apprentice. The drill press is not an expensive one, you could call it cheap, but it isn't really too cheap, but the locking mechanism for the stop isn't as solid as say a Bridgeport mill, something I have a lot of experience on. (notice the hemming and hawing and blame fixing on an inanimate object) I whacked several holes through before I noticed. Luckily it was only on one side. Unluckily I have to make another side, rough it out to match, and glue them together.

I was going along pretty fast. Doing the inside doesn't take more than an hour or so. At this point I'm just roughing it in. I still need to finish it up when I cut the outside profile in. I just like to have it about 4-5mm thick everywhere when I mark the profile on. Then I can set the edge height, cut the purfling grooves and install the purfling. Then I'm on to finishing everything up, and tuning.

I had one more chunk of spruce under the bench. I always have more back wood than spruce. I'll have to buy a bunch when I settle on what I'm using. This Sitka I bought from Bruce Harvey, at Orcas Island Tonewoods http://www.radiofreeolga.com/tonewoods/ was thick enough I figured if I cut it just right, I could get 3 halves out of it. But have you ever tried to cut a belly, or worse a back of a viola blank "JUST RIGHT" with a hand saw? Never quite comes out JUST RIGHT. I had one option, split it. The other piece seemed to be perfectly split, with no runout in either direction, so I had my hopes up. It split perfectly, right where I wanted it to. The new side matches the other side quite nicely, and has the same cool cross lines (what are those called?) and a bit of bear claw in the upper bout. Splitting it again I should be able to carve a 21-22mm (it measures 46mm at the thick end) high viola out of it. That would be a high one.

I now have a chance to see (hear?) how the halves sound before gluing them together. By the end of the week I should have them ready to glue together. I have to start working on roughing out the back. I have some big leaf maple from Bruce, and I've never tried big leaf before. I heard it is hard to bend. Is that true?

Well at least now I have the "inevitable" out of my system. I don't need anymore of them, regardless of what the word means.