Sawing hardwood by hand...

[Jellybeancrisps]

I have some modern Ash (furniture) legs I want to cut into a nicer shape. They're 5 inches square & 3ft long. I want to cut through the wood at approx. 45 degrees to the grain. I don't have a strong shoulder as I injured it once. How hard will it be to make these cuts compared to cutting regular soft pine? I'll be doing it by hand. Any sawing advice welcome!

It would depend upon your technique and the saw you choose. To be honest I would advise you against this. Cutting by hand (accuratley) is a skill, also even a skilled person would expect to have to clean up a sawn edge with a plane. The chances are you will have a pile of fire wood on your hands. If I were doing similar at home I'd remove the legs, use a modified fence on a table saw and ideally a surface planer (though a smoothing plane would do) and finally sand out the last working marks.

Also if it's modern furnature is it actually Ash or something else veneered? 125mm x 125mm Ash would be quite expensive material. If it's solsid its also 50/50 if the legs splay within a few weeks of cutting.