Rip saw, Japanese style

The Bodgers Ball was a bit challenging for me this year. The wind. The wind would not stop, and I had to lower my stall so that it would not blow away. So I do not have much to report, but I did manage to take a few minutes of video of Roy sawing with a Japanese  rip saw. This is the only Japanese tool that I have lusted over. I made a decision years ago to mainly use only western style tools. It partly comes down to money, but also because of the tradition I work in. I have access to lots of second hand western tools and no oriental ones.
I want to make one of these saws because it is used by one person, and it is a cool looking saw. I do have an old crosscut saw lined up to repurposed. Watch this space, but it could take a long time. Lots of other money earning stuff to do in the mean time.

The Art of Broken Pieces

This film came up in my blog feed and I had to share it. It is about the traditional Japanese art of repairing broken objects.
 If you want to know more about Japanese and Korean craft then The Unknown Craftsman, an insight into Japanese beauty, is a fascinating and worthwhile read. It is always good to have our ideas and beliefs challenged.

What is it, the answer.

A jointer for saws, both workshop and two person cross cut saws. This is a jointer that will joint straight panel and tenon saws as well as saws with a crown or curved edge. I have been doing a fair bit of saw sharpening recently and thought I could make a simple jig to fulfil both types of jointed edge.

Having a jig to bend the file so that a curved edge can be jointed make life so much easier. I would not be without one especially when renovating crowned cross cuts.

The bottom screw as it tightens bends the file to the desired curve.

Time to skin a tree

The sap is rising and the trees are coming into leaf. So if you have a tree or stick in the woods that the bark needs to come off it is time to begin thinking about it. The texture and shapes of skinned wood is wonderful and I often make shrink pots at this time of year so that I can, just, slip the bark off.

I have been told stories of bark peelers skinning big oak trees, climbing right up into the crown. The tree would be left standing until the winter months to be felled for timber. What a sight that must have been.

You can also ring cut a willow stick and pull the bark off as a tube to make whistles.

Go on, bring your inner wood butcher out, and skin a tree.

Any idea what this used for?

I am great one for making jigs. In the long run they save so much time and  enable the job to be done to a higher standard.

Who knows what it is? Answers over the weekend or sometime soon.