Historical information

A coopers turning or bow saw is a woodworking tool used for straight or curved cuts. A bow saw is a type of frame saw with a thin toothed blade that is held in tension by a frame with two long narrow handles called "cheeks" that are supported and separated by a thin stretcher in the center 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 that runs parallel to the blade between the two cheeks but on the opposite side of the stretcher.

Significance

An age old tool used for cutting timber for hundreds of years before the modern cross cut saws were invented. This design of saw was part of a Coopers tool kit and used in the production of making barrels. However this item at this time cannot be associated with an historical event, person or place, provenance is unknown, item assessed as a collection asset as it is believed to have been produced before 1950.

Physical description

Bow saw wooden handle with metal blade

Inscriptions & markings

None