Saw for wood shafts

[Berube]

Hi I would like to start doing my own wood shafts.
What kind of saw do you use.
Thanks to all in advance.

[Don Armstrong]

I use to use a miter box and saw but now I just mark and use which ever saw I find first.I just put them in the vice to cut. Don

[4runr]

I use a "Sticshooter" knife. Place the shaft on the workbench top, push down hard on the knife at your mark, roll the shaft and snap off the cutoff. Easy and clean.

[longstiks]

A knife like Kenny said works good for soft woods but for hardwoods I like to use a hack saw with fine teeth.
Denny

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Fine teeth are a must!

[centaur]

I use a tubing cutter, and have for years. It works great.

[GMASIUK]

I use a miter box with a fine tooth back saw. It works great.

[JRY309]

I use my Martin arrow saw,not sure if they still sell them.It's similar to a miter box but has an adjustable stop block for repeatable length cuts.

[Rob DiStefano]

no need to get fancy, just mark the shaft for the length plus 3/4"-1" to allow for the point taper and "roll cut" with a sharp knife.  you don't cut all the way through, just give it a heavy score then snap off the excess.

 

[Green]

One of the new plastic miter boxes with the lockdown cams and a fine tooth spined saw.  You can lock in 1/2 doz. shafts at a time and cut in seconds.  The box has a lip on it that fits over the edge of the bench and gives you a no-slide setup.  The miter box w/cams was like $7 at Ace Hardware.

[jamesh76]

I use a set of tree pruners.

[shikari]

go buy a fine tooth japanese style saw,you will never buy another hand saw again.

[Bjorn]

I use a 10" chop saw and cut a dozen in one go.

[NoCams]

shikari is right.... the japanese style saws cut on the, " pull ", unlike our hacksaws that cut on the , "push ", which can cause splintering. A coping saw that is used for trim cutting cuts on the, "pull", as well so any trim carpenters on here can use them for double duty after work.

However, Green's idea above on the $7 miter box from Ace Hdw sounds good too.....

[eagleone]

same as green- cheapo plastic miter box and cheapo fine tooth hacksaw

[bow'narrow]

I'm with Rob.  Have been making wooden arrows since the 50's. I've always roll cut.  Fast.   Never lost a shaft.  Only takes a moment to learn how much pressure and desirable depth.  Ready to taper after the cut.

[frank bullitt]

Like jamesh76, use the pruners.

Also have used the knife, and saw, but pruners work fine! Especially on hardwood shafts, like ramin.

[Slewfoot62]

xacto mini saw from hobby shop - extremly sharp.

[Buckhorn47]

I'm another one in favour of a simple knife to score the wood by rolling back and forth under the blade until deep enough to simply snap off. That end then becomes the point end ready for tapering. Harder woods will take more pressure and rolling - cedar not so much.

[Jim now in Kentucky]

Rolling under a knife makes a cut as good as you can get. It'a also the way that's been used for centuries.

Only in the last 75 years or so have marketers convinced people that nothing is any good unless it's expensive or new.

Only possible advantage to any of the saws mentioned above is the miter box would be faster. You could save maybe five minutes on a dozen shafts. Is that worth about 8 bucks and the space to store it? Not to me. I carry a pocket knife all the time.

For the record, a Japanese pull saw just makes splinters on the pull side instead of the push side. Is that an advantage?

I say keep your kit small--use a knife.