Thread: How did they rip scale stock before bandsaws existed?

OK, just for grins I bought a Japanese style saw to try. Awesome! I cut a piece of crab apple branch & it was like cutting a piece of cheese! If you get a big saw, it WANTS to cut in a plane. This is my first attempt, never having even held a Japanese saw before. I smoothed it out a bit using a Stanley pocket plane (which others have accurately derided as the Bic lighter of planes, but it's good enough). The slabs need to be thinned more & smoothed, but hey, I'm a satisfied customer.

Bugger, I'm going to have to get me a japanese saw now......much cheaper than a bandsaw.

yeah,

they dont have to be cheaper.

what cha makin' Johnny

I'm going to make some scales. I have a little razor that's too small for me. I'll rehandle it & probably sell. Until now I've been dependent on serendipity for my scale stock (e.g. an ex-co-worker of mine who was a woodworker would give me the thin strips he used to rip off to square up his stock). Now I can just go out into the woods, find a stick I like & slice it.

Of course I could just buy thin-sliced lumber from exoticwoods.com but I get a kick out of being able to do a lot with a little, and to be able to do it myself. Maybe I'll even give away some of my excess lumber right here on the forum.