Historical information

Traditionally, a bow saw is a woodworking tool used for straight or curved cuts. A bow saw is a type of frame saw. Its thin blade is held in tension by a frame. In English and American vocabulary it denotes a toothed blade suspended between two long narrow handles called "cheeks" that are supported and separated by a thin stretcher in the centre of the handles, making a wide H shape (the cheeks form the uprights of the H, the stretcher the crossbar of the H). The blade is kept in tension with a turnbuckle or a twisted cord that runs parallel to the blade between the two cheeks but on the opposite side of the stretcher. If a cord is used, the cord is twisted with a toggle attached to one loop of the cord, adding tension. The toggle hits the stretcher, which keeps the cord from untwisting. A finer version of the saw uses a narrow blade (1/4" or less) with handles that allow the user to hold the saw and turn the blade. In this context it is also known as a turning saw[2] which is larger than a coping saw.

Significance

Early settlers in Moorabbin Shire had to be self reliant and made their own clothes, tools and equipment as they established their market gardens and farms.

Physical description

A wooden Bow saw with tensioning string, toggle and blade