Ben Bullock wrote:
I'm trying to learn rip sawing with a hand saw. I took a few photos, and I'd
appreciate any input.

http://flickr.com/photos/bnz/sets/72157594441220214/

Thanks!

One trick I use for crosscut and ripsawing with my Japanese saws is
that I "precut" to the line. That is, just after I start the cut I
will lower the saw so that the teeth are almost parallel to the board's
surface and make a controlled, shallow cut right at the line. I might
make the shallow "precut" a couple of inches long, and maybe an eighth
of an inch deep. I then raise the saw and continue cutting more
aggressively. The precut portion then tends to keep the saw in line.
Alternately precutting and deep-cutting I can proceed down the board
and keep the cut right at the line.

Another very important item to consider, and you are probably already
doing it, is to eliminate chatter. Chatter slows down your cutting
considerably, and can even result in bent saw teeth if you are cutting
very aggressively. It's especially difficult to keep large pieces of
plywood stable while sawing, because plywood is less stiff than solid
wood, in general. One thing I do is to clamp my heaviest handscrews in
various places around the edge of the board I'm cutting in order to
reduce the chatter. The inertia in the handscrews reduces the
vibration frequency and magnitude in the board while I'm sawing and
results in faster, more accurate sawing.