Bow saw from old bandsaw blades

[wood carver 2]

Here are some pictures of a small bow saw I made using a broken bandsaw blade.



In the middle picture, I took the saw apart to show how it goes together. The blade holders are just dowels with a saw cut in the ends that the blade fits into. Drill a small hole through the dowel and the blade and secure the blade with a bit of wire. The dowel fits into a hole drilled through the saw frame and a block or a larger dowel is drilled and glued over the end to hold it in place. Do not glue the blade holder assembly to the saw frame as you can turn the blade to cut sideways or at any angle.
The blocks attached to the dowels are not handles to hold the saw with. They just keep the blade in place. Tension from the twisted string keeps everything tight, but will let you turn the blade if you want to. You hold the saw by the frame.
The stretcher is mortised into the saw frames and again, do not glue it in. Below is a close up showing the mortise and tenon.

Make sure to use a mortise and tenon and not a dowel in a hole, otherwise the saw will twist around when you use it.
To put it together, push the blade holders through the frames, fit the blade into the slots in the blade holder dowels and secure with wires, then put the stretcher into it's mortises. Make a loop of strong string and using the flat piece of wood, twist it tight. You can use wire and a turn buckle as a tensioner if you like.
The saw in the pictures is a small one with only about 7 inches of blade. They can be made as big as you want and with any size blade you need, according to what you will be using it for. The throat depth between the blade and the stretcher can be pretty much anything you want as well. Just make sure that there is enough leverage at the top of the frame to properly tension it for use. When you are done cutting, release a bit of tension before you put it away.
I hope that I explained this clearly. If anyone has questions, you can PM me.
Dave.

[soy]

Awesome!!!! I'll take one  

[Roy from Pa]

Very nice, Dave.
I'll take one too...  

[George Tsoukalas]

Neat idea! Jawge

[jess stuart]

What a great idea and saw.  Thank you for sharing with us.

[Buemaker]

Great idea. Remember those saws from school days.

[LESKEN2011]

A man of many talents!!

[macbow]

Thanks for posting this.
I have to make one to use up my old blades.

[wood carver 2]

I'm happy to share, especially on this site. I've learned a lot here.
The nice thing about these saws is they can work where other saws can't. I was making a rocking horse ( really a zebra ) for my niece when she was a baby and there was one cut that I just couldn't make with my bandsaw, so I spent an hour building a 3 foot bow saw that could reach the spot I needed to work in. Job done.
Anyway, they also look cool hanging in the shop.      
Dave.

[critman]

Super idea. I'll start mine tomorrow.