Build an Ultralight Portable Buck Saw
Intro: Build an Ultralight Portable Buck Saw
There are portable buck saws on the market, but they suffer from three problems: 1. They are too small for heavy work, with typically only a 12" blade. 2. They are too heavy. You might argue otherwise, but they are over 20 times heavier than what I'm about to describe. 3. They are too expensive, with good quality collapsible ones in the $30-$40 range.
In this instructable I'll describe a fully functional buck saw you can make out of materials found in the wilderness plus a few light items you need to bring with you.
STEP 1: Materials
Bring:
- 18" to 24" buck saw blade ($5 at most hardware stores)
- 2 large cotter pins
- 4ft of strong cordage
- 1 forked branch about the length of the saw blade and about 1" in diamter
- 2 straight branches about 12" long and about 1" in diameter
- 1 straight branch about 6" long and 1/2" in diameter
STEP 2: Assembling the Frame
Assemble the pieces on the ground in about the right orientation (as shown in the picture below). Wherever one piece of the frame mates with another, you should do some carving in order to make the pieces fit better so they won't slip once the frame is tensioned.
You may have to attempt installing the blade and tensioning the frame a few times, each time disassembling and carving away more material in different places to get everything to fit nicely.
To assemble the frame, insert the blade into the two slots you cut and insert the cotter pins through the holes in the blade to prevent the saw from sliding out of the slot. Place the forked piece in the middle and tie your cordage in a big loop joining the opposite ends of your 12" pieces as shown. Insert your 6" piece in the center of the loop and start twisting it up until you have applied tension to the blade. Trial and error will determine a good tension: tight enough to tension the blade and hold the saw together, but not so tight that you break your frame. Once the blade is tensioned, let your 6" piece rest against the forked branch to prevent the cordage from untwisting.
With a little practice, it takes about 20 minutes to build this saw from scratch, not including the time to find the appropriate materials.
It is a surprisingly effective saw capable of cutting down large trees if necessary. It is incredibly cheap. If you carry just the cordage, blade, and cotter pins it is incredibly light weight. It's one drawback is that you have to build the frame with materials on site. However, when materials are scarce, and you can afford the extra weight, you can carry your disassembled frame with you. It's still lighter and cheaper than most portable buck saws on the market.
This type of saw has been described in Northern Bushcraft by Mors Kochanski. I collect books related to extended survival and self sufficiency in the wilderness, and it's one of my favorites.
15 Comments
lumpsucker 13 years ago
selchiemaid 14 years ago
finfan7 15 years ago
iwilltry 15 years ago
AnarchistAsian 15 years ago
leebryuk 16 years ago
Artekus 15 years ago
I will definitely try, perhaps I'll be proven wrong :)
iwilltry 15 years ago
My experience is that saws and hatchets are things people bring camping only to impress their friends or to make obscenely large fires for no particular reason. I get by quite nicely with a sturdy full tang knife and an improvised mallet to hit it with. Till you've seen a knife used in this fashion you won't believe how infinitely more versatile it becomes.
I bring a saw blade along just in case I feel like practicing/demonstrating some knife-craft and bind-craft by building yet another saw frame, the construction of which is generally much more impressive and interesting than the cutting (and subsequent burning) of any wood.
yooper011 16 years ago
oakspoor 16 years ago
gmoon 16 years ago
Still, a nice build. Using a 'Spanish windlass' to tighten the frame is a nice touch.
iwilltry 16 years ago
gmoon 16 years ago
LinuxH4x0r 16 years ago
GorillazMiko 16 years ago