RWW 141 The Neanderthal’s Apprentice

I may be a hand tool woodworker, but I still have band saw in my shop and it actually gets some use. There are times when the band saw can speed things up and add some accuracy when I don’t feel my hand sawing skills are up to the task and this is why the band saw is often called the “Neanderthal’s apprentice”. In this case, I’m building a frame for a Roubo frame saw and the 8/4 Poplar combine with a 50″ plus rip cut seems like a good excuse to use the band saw.

In Hand Tool School Semester 4 we will be taking a close look at resawing by hand. As a precursor to that lesson, we will build this Roubo Frame saw using a great hardware kit made by a local blacksmith. It should be a lot of fun!

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While editing this video I starting doubting why I even bothered with the band saw. I’m pretty sure I could have ripped this board faster by hand and gotten some exercise to boot. With a frame resaw in the works and a more robust frame saw for curves on the drawing board, I wonder how long it will be before I fire my “apprentice”. What do you use your band saw for that you could not live without?

Update

Apparently only 10 months as I just sold the bandsaw. My Roubo Frame saw has made it obsolete. Yes I know how ironic that statement is.