Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Sawing with the mule saw

50% of the future hide glue does not always want to enter the trailer. A friend of my wife spent a couple of hours one Sunday afternoon, trying to persuade it to go in. This friend also has got hide glue in the rough and a small riding court. My wife asked if I could make bench for her to place at her riding court as an appreciation of her time spent with the pony.

I have settled for a shaker like design which I have always wanted to try anyway.

This also presented an opportunity to try and use the mule saw for something useful. The top of the bench will be made out of a single board of larch (what a surprise), and the rest of the bench will also be made out of larch. This is actually a good choice since the bench will be positioned outside permanently.

I have been testing the mule saw the last week, and it is working better and better. I can still improve on my sharpening of the blade, but all in all it is working as it should. I made some nice boards out of elm that were 16" wide. At that width and the current shape of the teeth of the blade, I need to go really slow. The lowest speed is about 4" per minute, so the saw is not fast at all. But on the other hand, the boards look very nice after sawing, and I don't have to make a living out of it. So being slow is OK.

The mule saw in action on a trunk of larch.
at

8 comments:

  1. Brian EveMay 29, 2013 at 2:17 PM

    What is it Ron Herman says?

    "Slow is steady, and steady is fast."

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 29, 2013 at 6:26 PM

    Is this the same Elm you made your wizards wand from?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jonas JensenMay 30, 2013 at 7:45 AM

    I like the slow is steady. That could be my new mantra.

    Bill, don't tell anybody that elm is the preferred wood for wands because the price will go sky high. But actually this elm is not from the same tree. This one I cut down about a month ago. Now I need to find a good project in a couple of years when the wood is dry enough.. But remember that slow is steady and steady is fast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brian EveMay 30, 2013 at 11:02 PM

      My music teacher used to say that the fastest way to fast is slow.

      Delete
  4. SnakeyeMay 30, 2013 at 10:11 PM

    Ah Elm... my favorite wood to work. I wish I lived on your property!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jonas JensenMay 31, 2013 at 12:29 AM

      If you ever come to Denmark we can make some nice boards for you. By the way. I can't post a comment on your blog for some reason? I wanted to praise the work you have done on the bow saw. It is looking really good.

      Delete
    2. Brian EveMay 31, 2013 at 7:24 AM

      I had the same problem. The bow saw looks fantastic!

      Delete
    3. SnakeyeMay 31, 2013 at 8:11 AM

      I have no clue why it defaulted to "off" on that post... fixed now. Thanks for the catch you two!

      Delete