Fret-Saw /Coping Saw

[Timberwolf]

For that, Tom, I’d recommend an Olsen coping saw along with the Olsen blades.  I find the medium blades are most versatile. (They also have coarse and fine.) It’s not an expensive saw, but it works well. Some like the Pegas blades. I’m not a fan of them, myself. Way too much set, and very “grabby” in my hands, anyway. But they’re still better than most of the blades you can get at the home center.

There are some good vintage coping saws out there, but most of your yard sale coping saws are junk. They won’t put enough tension on the blade. Same with most new, hardware store saws.

I think a fretsaw would be too delicate for the kid you describe. Once he masters the coping saw, maybe he’ll be ready for a fretsaw, if he’s interested in really fine work.

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I used my first coping saw when I was nine years old. Long before the Knew Concepts saw was available, so we all know they work...When I became interested in lapidary and jewelry making many years ago, I switched to a fret saw with a three inch throat. It was MUCH easier to control and I could tension the blade with an adjustment screw, much tighter than a coping saw with a six inch throat and no adjustment mechanism..Plus an assortment of blades were available for it...I can cut the waste out with a coping saw, but I can cut it out better, faster and more precisely with a fret saw with a three or four inch throat and a properly tensioned blade..And a new user will learn very quickly that they are designed to be used to cut on the PULL stroke...A blade is a thin wire...you can pull a thin wire, but you can't push it very well...

One of the problems in asking a question on a forum, is the members do not know how much you know on a subject..Their answers can reflect that and may seem rudimentary, but keep in mind that the written word is a very poor form of communication, but it's all we have..Most people are just trying to help.

[Handplanesandmore]

https://www.amazon.com/JSP-GERMAN-JEWELE...B06X9QT787

100+ users can't be wrong. :-)

Simon

[Derek Cohen]

https://www.amazon.com/JSP-GERMAN-JEWELE...B06X9QT787

100+ users can't be wrong. :-)

Simon

Simon, the issue with that fretsaw is that the blade is a fixed angle (square). You can twist the blade, ala Rob Cosman, but I never liked doing this. Plus the blades are a bugger to install!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Handplanesandmore]

Derek,

If you put a small magnet on one end first, the blade installation is easy peasy. Someone has also come up with a tip in one of the woodworking magazines of overcoming the twisting...I forgot what it was. If I can find that tip, I will post it here.

Simon

Edit: A quick Google search found this - https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techn...fret-saws/

The Cosman's link is dead, so I couldn't tell if his is the same trick that I vaguely recalled about the twisted blade.

[Greg Jones]

Here’s the YouTube link to how Rob Cosman sets up the fret saw for dovetail work.

https://youtu.be/KemaiUGmDo8

[tablesawtom]

Thank you for all the replies. I guess I am going to state that I am a big project person  again and all of my experience with coping ( cheap) saws left something to be desired. I was never interested enough to inquire into what a fret saw is. At least now I know.

I have had several people respond about the Olsen coping saw.  Bibliophile 13   responded beautifully to my statement on why  he thought it would be a good pick for My 13 year old grandson. In my way of thinking a person doesn't need a rase car to to learn how to drive with, but from experience, a car with a 5 speed in the floor manual transmission  isn't the best choice for a first time outing either. 
Anyway I am going to go with the Olsen. If I think that an upgrade is a good idea in the future then I will reconsider a Knew Concepts saw. It least We will have some experience with a coping saw.

On a different note, one responded that written words was a poor method of communication. To which I say, it is a very good way. It is only the fact that people can't or don't take the time to actually read what is written. 
Before I respond I read the post and every response. Then I decided whether to respond or not.  Please have the courtesy to read before responding, not knowing my skill level is not an excuse as some would say. And just because it is a forum don't use it as an excuse.

Tom

[Timberwolf]

Thank you for all the replies. I guess I am going to state that I am a big project person  again and all of my experience with coping ( cheap) saws left something to be desired. I was never interested enough to inquire into what a fret saw is. At least now I know.

I have had several people respond about the Olsen coping saw.  Bibliophile 13   responded beautifully to my statement on why  he thought it would be a good pick for My 13 year old grandson. In my way of thinking a person doesn't need a rase car to to learn how to drive with, but from experience, a car with a 5 speed in the floor manual transmission  isn't the best choice for a first time outing either. 
Anyway I am going to go with the Olsen. If I think that an upgrade is a good idea in the future then I will reconsider a Knew Concepts saw. It least We will have some experience with a coping saw.

On a different note, one responded that written words was a poor method of communication. To which I say, it is a very good way. It is only the fact that people can't or don't take the time to actually read what is written. 
Before I respond I read the post and every response. Then I decided whether to respond or not.  Please have the courtesy to read before responding, not knowing my skill level is not an excuse as some would say. And just because it is a forum don't use it as an excuse.

Tom

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On a different note, one responded that written words was a poor method of communication. To which I say, it is a very good way. It is only the fact that people can't or don't take the time to actually read what is written.


Here's an example of what I am talking about..read this sentence aloud and tell me what I said...........

I didn't say Tom stole the money...

[Handplanesandmore]

Sometimes words alone are good enough, sometimes not so even if written well.

When words alone fail, pictures can help greatly. But I always remember the advice from one master writer: If something is misinterpreted or misunderstood, the fault lies with the writer, not with the reader.

Anyone who disagrees with such advice, tell me how you loved the last user manual you read.

Simon

[Timberwolf]

Sometimes words alone are good enough, sometimes not so even if written well.

When words alone fail, pictures can help greatly. But I always remember the advice from one master writer: If something is misinterpreted or misunderstood, the fault lies with the writer, not with the reader.

Anyone who disagrees with such advice, tell me how you loved the last user manual you read.

Simon

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Hmmm...tell that to the SCOTUS.. they read the identical laws and almost never agree 100%....and they are presumed by many to be among the most intelligent people in the world.....and even capable of sorting out specks from black pepper......

[TraditionalToolworks]

For years, in the waste area of both pins and tails, I generally make a non-critical cut to the baseline, sometimes two, in a V-shape.  This permits me to start my coping saw very close to the baseline.  My coping saw?  A pair of Olson's that "Tools for Working Wood" sells, with Pegasus blade.  Why two saws?  One is always set with the blade canted to the left and the other canted to the right.  The Olson saws are about $15 each and permit easy tensioning to your liking.

I use one of these I bought from TFWW about 10 years ago, and I have blades I got from him also. I have some thin fret saw blades that will work in a coping saw, they have pins, but they break easy. Can't remember where I got them. I bend the blades like Cosman recommends.

Price is relative, but what you pay for in a modern bridge frame and/or titanium saw is the stiffness and quality connectors. The Blue Spuce looks like nice hardware, and I noted that Derek re-handled a couple of his KC saws, Blue Spuce make really nice handles, at least my dovetail chisels are. That could be a consideration. Sure, you can make a new handle...mine won't be as nice as Blue Spruce handles though...
There is a huge difference in price, and quite honestly the 3" KC fret saw is quite a bargain.  That would handle just about all the dovetails I cut, up to 8/4 material, and more often than not I'm using 4/4 when I'm dovetailing. The Blue Spruce looks like it could be a premium tool, and the adjusters look nicer. For those who have a taste for quality tools, the Blue Spruce is worth checking out, IMO. I have a vast array of tools from higher end premium tools to old Stanley beater planes. They all work well, and no craftsman should ever blame his tools. It is entirely possible to do amazing work with inexpensive tools.

I've used the KC saws and they are nice. Probably hard to beat the value on these. I haven't used the Blue Spruce saw, but knowing his other tools I have confidence that his saw is a high end quality tool.
 I like that bi-direction connector Dave used, allows angle and tension.