I’ve been wanting to get myself a musical saw for some time now, but was always reluctant to shell out the 100 bones that most websites were asking for musical saw packages (see: here and here). After some Google sleuthing I found this here website that explains step by step how to make the bow and everything for cheap cheap! I think I just found my next summer project. :D
Yuppie music catalogs would have you believe that you can only play
music on professional, $50+ musical saws. This is simply not the case. My
very favorite saw is a $6 - red plastic handled “Vermont-American”
off-the-shelf general purpose saw. In general, just about any
straight-backed saw (not curved, like the old-time saws were) will work
just fine. Some have a slightly better range than others (you ought to
see the stares I get from store clerks when I start tapping and bending
their saws to determine range!) In other words - experiment!A super-simple, but perfectly satisfactory bow can be made in a half hour
or so out of a yardstick (or other similar strip of wood), some 8 Lb
nylon fishline & a few dabs of Elmer’s glue.
