Comments on: Don’t Bring a Fretsaw to a Coping Saw Fight

By: Megan Fitzpatrick

Megan Fitzpatrick — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:48:48 +0000

Really? I have to spell coping with a K now?
(You can bet I’m looking forward to trying the saw!)

By: oldster

oldster — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:07:12 +0000

I hope to see many of you at the WIA Pasadena show, where I will be introducing my version of the Knew Concepts Koping Saw.
Some of the features:
weighs only 8 ounces.
3/16″ thick aluminum frame for a really strong frame.
Cam lever tension, as you CANNOT bend the frame to tension the blade.
8 indexed positions at 45 degrees with positive lock at both top and bottom.

I think that this addresses most of the complaints that have been fielded about coping saws.

Lee (the saw guy)

By: John Hutchinson

John Hutchinson — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 21:28:21 +0000

Jeeze, Megan. Tough crowd. At least you actually tried to make something rather than . . . Congratulations!

By: Wood Man Dan

Wood Man Dan — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:58:27 +0000

I would stick with the fretsaw. There are a number of scrollsaw blades made by Olsen and others that will cut through 1 1/2″ to 2″ wood very effectively.

By: tombuhl

tombuhl — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 16:10:50 +0000

I sure like my small Grammercy bow saw for such work. As Jonathan said, the handle is rather small for my mitts. No problem for most work, but casework exposes the problem. One can make their own handle, or for that matter your own bow saw. Grammercy has post of PDF plans on their web site.

Looking forward to upcoming Knew Concepts review. I use the bow saw for small pieces but perhaps a fretsaw could have a place in my arsenal. Much to be said though for having smaller set of quality tools…and knowing how they…and you work.

See ya in Pasadena

By: wrex

wrex — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 17:43:50 +0000

Thanks for the link! Bob Smalser’s my kind of woodworker — I’d never seen his work before.

The missing photos (and a bunch of other wonderful Smalser articles) are available at:

http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/bSmalser/art/copingSaw/copSaw1.asp

By: Megan Fitzpatrick

Megan Fitzpatrick — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:27:43 +0000

Yes – perhaps I should have driven out to work to get the absolutely gorgeous small bowsaw that Bill Anderson built for his article on making one in the shop (November 2011). But I’m stubborn…and I would have had to change out of my sweatpants.

By: pzgren

pzgren — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:40:51 +0000

I’ve tried several of the commercial coping saws, and found them all wanting. My solution was to make a bow saw sized to take coping saw blades. It works great, and, so far (3+ years of use), I have not had any of the problems encountered with the commercial coping saws. You might give it a try…..

By: AlanWS

AlanWS — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:23:28 +0000

You can use a coping saw blade in a small bow saw.

Bob Smalser’s tutorial on making these of a few years ago is now hard to find, but here’s a link to a copy that’s missing only a few photos:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?12368-A-Better-Coping-Saw

By: Glen Huey

Glen Huey — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:50:06 +0000

Megan, your dovetails look great and I appreciate your tails first effort, however, pins first rules. I thought we covered this. You must sit in on “The Mighty Dovetail” class during the 2012 Woodworking in America conference:)

Also, you have touched on a pet peeve of mine – I guess I should have stayed longer at the magazine. To try and square a box using a single clamp across the corners is not the way to work. In my opinion, this technique squares only the top edge of your box, and it could be that the remaining portion of the box continues to be out of square. A better method is to adjust your clamps to change the pressure – pull one end of the clamp (say the head) away from the end while you keep your clamp tight at the opposite end (or vice versa). This makes small changes in the squareness of your box that would be carried throughout the height of your work.