View source for Bow saw

{{Short description|Type of frame saw}}
{{Being merged|spacetype=|Bucksaw|Talk:Bucksaw#Proposed merge of Bow saw with Bucksaw|section=|inactive=|date=August 2023|nocat=|dir=from}}
[[File:Bow Saw (PSF).jpg|thumb|A modern bow saw]]
[[File:Sega a telaio.jpg|thumb|A traditional [[bucksaw]]]]
{{Commons category|Bow saws}}
A modern '''bow saw''' is a metal-framed [[crosscut saw]] in the shape of a bow with a coarse wide blade. This type of saw is also known as a '''Swede saw''', '''bushman saw''', '''Finn saw'''<ref>Sorden, L. G.. ''Lumberjack lingo'',. 1st ed. Spring Green, Wis.: Wisconsin House, 1969. 14.</ref> or '''[[bucksaw]]'''. It is a rough tool that can be used for cross-cutting branches or firewood, up to a log diameter of half the blade length, limited by the height of the frame above the blade. Bow saws are typically available with blades of 320mm, 535mm, 610mm, 750mm or 950mm lengths (14, 21, 24, 30 or 36 inches). The name 'Swede saw' probably derived from the ovate metal tubular frame version, invented in the 1920s by the Swedish company [[Sandvik|Sandvikens Jernverk]], and additional patents by two Swedish immigrants to the US. Modern versions all share those common features.

Traditionally, a '''bow saw''' is a [[woodworking]] tool used for straight or curved cuts. A bow saw is a type of [[frame saw]]. Its thin blade is held in tension by a 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]] 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 (physics)|tension]]. The toggle hits the stretcher, which keeps the cord from untwisting. A finer version of the saw uses a narrow blade of a {{convert|1/4|in|0}} 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]],<ref>Wood, Harry Einsley, and James Henry Smith. ''Prevocational and industrial arts'',. Chicago: Atkinson, Mentzer & company, 1919. 9. Print.</ref> which is larger than a [[coping saw|coping]] or [[fret saw]].

The bow saw was used both in [[History of China#Ancient China|ancient China]] and the [[Hellenistic period]], and developed from earlier saws.<ref name="Needham">{{cite book|author=Joseph Needham|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SeGyrCfYs2AC&pg=PA54|date=2 January 1965|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-05803-2|page=54|quote=In China, the saw achieved many subtle developments and a common form of it is the bow-saw... bow-saws were of course used also in Hellenistic times}}</ref>

The term 'bow saw' has also been applied to a type of [[chainsaw]] with a large, circular guide bar.

==See also==
* [[Hacksaw]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* <!-- Note: this link is to a commercial site and is provided for information, not to advertise the product that is described; if a more suitable link can be found, please replace this link.  However, the link shouldn't be considered link-spam at this point. User:Ceyockey --> [http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/know/bowsawdesign.html A tool company's article on bow saw design]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091027134536/http://geocities.com/plybench/bowsaw.html DIY bow saw design]
* [http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/wwbowsaw.html A 1920s bow saw design] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918231903/http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/wwbowsaw.html |date=2018-09-18 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110628075812/http://bushcraft.org.nz/profiles/blogs/bowsaw-tutorial A bushcraft bow saw tutorial]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3983/is_200606/ai_n16618987/ American Bucksaws Reference Publications]
* {{US Patent|1411590}}, Bow Saw

{{Forestry tools}}
{{Woodworking}}
{{Lumberjack sports}}

[[Category:Saws]]
[[Category:Woodworking hand tools]]
[[Category:Swedish inventions]]