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What saws were traditionally used for timber framing cuts in British practice? British-style backsaws don't seem to have cut depths any more than about 4", so how did they cut long tenons?

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    There'll be some regional variation in this but broadly speaking unbacked hand saws would have been the norm I think, what today would be called a panel sawsor just "hand saw" and sometimes a rip saw (the rule of thumb being that any saw not identified as such is sharpened for crosscutting). While backed saws could have been used where the cut allowed (and there were some in the past which could cut deeper than 4") it's not necessary to use a backed saw at all.
    – Graphus
    Commented Jun 13, 2017 at 19:33
  • Totally agree with Graphus. Also, might be a good idea to invest in some timber framing chisels. You can get these on eBay fairly cheaply.
    – Squatting Dog
    Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 2:06

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In the British tradition, such work would be done with a wooden bow saw (also called a buck saw). A nice feature of such a saw is the direction of the cut is nearly independent of where the handle is oriented, so you can cut a deep tenon as deep as you like, assuming the saw's frame is free to move. Such saws are in Europe in place of backed saw.

bow saw

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