“Won't it take up too much time, fixing the apparatus to one tree after another?”
“Part of the time will be made up by easier work. No need to keep stopping for breath.”
“Why not?”
“Because the lateral pressure's effected by the spring. It's just that pressure that makes the hardest work.”
“And what about the rest of the time?”
“I'm going to discard this screw-on arrangement and have a clamp instead, that can be pressed down by the foot. A clamp with teeth to give a better grip, and adjustable to any sized timber.”
I showed him a drawing of this clamp arrangement; I had not had time to make the thing itself.
The Captain took a turn at the saw himself, noticing carefully the amount of force required. He said:
“It's a question whether it won't be too heavy, pulling a saw twice the width of an ordinary woodcutting saw.”
“Ay,” agreed Falkenberg; “it looks that way.”