Cutting an Outline
Cutting a wobble-free outline with a handsaw can be challenging if you’re just starting out. There are a couple of easy tricks, however, that you can incorporate into your shaping, which will make this step in the process much easier and the result much cleaner.
Firstly, use the narrower tip of the saw to cut more curved sections at the nose and tail of the outline. Hold the saw vertically here and use small, gentle strokes to get around the curve. Extending your arm and holding the saw away from the body will help you sight the saw’s angle and achieve a 90-degree cut.
Cutting the “straighter” sections of the outline is best accomplished by holding the saw at arm’s length and sighting down the length of the saw to better check your cutting angle. Using the full length of the saw in a more lateral cut will also help maintain a steady cut angle. Again, here the goal is to obtain a 90-degree cut and avoid any wobbles in the outline.
Give yourself a one eighth or quarter inch buffer if you’re just starting out. You will refine the outline with a planer, Surform and/or sanding block in the next step. These tools will help you adjust your cut angle in case mistakes were made in the sawing process.
Lastly, I always cut my outline from a flatly planed bottom. This gives me a good reference point from which I can gauge and measure my sawing. That said, it’s always a good idea to make sure that you carry out each step in the process to the best of you ability…to the utmost refinement. It makes the next steps that much easier!
Regarding tools? I have been usign a 26” Stanley Finetooth Handsaw for a while now. I love it! Its teeth cut a beautful line and the length makes the saw very stable.
If you’re just getting started, you will want to give yourself a little room between your outline and the saw. A little buffer that you can true up later with the planer and a sanding block. Also, notice the vertical orientation of the blade as I near the more curvacious end of the outline. Cutting with the narrower tip of the saw here really helps get around the curve.
I angle the saw more and use more of the bland when cutting the straighter, mid section of the outline.