What’s up with this saw? It’s got to be 60 yrs old, inherited from my dad, and hardly ever used since I’ve had it, because it DOESN’T cut. In viewing several YouTube sharpening videos it seems all the teeth are supposed to be the same height. But every other tooth on this seem to be consistently shorter. Is this supposed to be this way or just badly sharpened lo some many, many years ago? It’s 12 tpi and 26″ long.
Do I need to file all the teeth to the same height and then go about sharpening?
thanks,
hal
Replies
Hal,
From the picture, it looks like it is filed cross-cut. CC filing can give the appearance of every other tooth being short. To test the tooth height, take a flat mill file to the tops of the teeth, keeping the file perpendicular to the plate. Run the file a few strokes from heel to toe. The tops of the teeth will begin to show a flat rather than a point. Check to see if most of the teeth tips are getting filed. If they are, you don't need to file them too much more, unless you're changing the pitch of the saw or they are badly damaged. From the picture, they do not look too bad, with respect to the tooth shape. If most of them are not showing a bit of a flat, keep filing until they do. The teeth do need to be all of the same height. No need to drive yourself crazy, or take the teeth completely off, just to sharpen your saw. If a tooth or two doesn't show a flat - no worries. Subsequent sharpening will catch them up to the others.
I am not a professional saw sharpener, nor did I play one on TV. I sharpen my own saws and have since dad taught me how when I was a wee one. I'm sure there are other folks here who can elaborate more on this.
It's impossible to say from that picture, but in a crosscut blade, every other tooth can appear lower on one side due to rake, fleam, and slope. So the height might not necessarily be off.
Yes, you generally want to joint the teeth when sharpening, to make sure they are the correct height.
There is a learning curve to sharpening saws. For your first time, have it professionally sharpened. Then you'll know how it's supposed to look, and cut.
Hi Hal. I agree with planewood1 that this saw is filed for crosscutting. You are correct that the teeth should all be the same height. If, as you say, it is not cutting at all, it is likely that it has not been sharpened at all correctly. One of the common results of mis-sharpening is "big tooth little tooth syndrome." Bob Rozaieski has some great You Tube videos on saw sharpening. I would start with his one on reshaping teeth (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPOHWfcEJeI) where he describes your issue right at the beginning of the presentation. You can springboard from there to his other videos if so motivated.
Two of my favorite handsaws are vintage Disstons that have required a bit of work to get teeth reshaped and sharp. And like planewood1 says, you can get them cutting sweetly without every tooth being perfect. Have fun!
Mark over at Bad Axe Tool Works is all things Disston. He can prolly help you out or as John C2 suggested, have your saw professionally sharpened.
http://badaxetoolworks.com/
I have a bunch of old Disston saws. I have a vice made to hold a saw, a file rig that mounts against the sides of the of the saw blade to keep it flat and a tooth setting tool that is adjustable depending on the number of teeth per inch. The proper set is important. It either won't cut no matter how sharp or if it does it won't cut straight if not set correctly.. You level the top ,file the teeth sharp and then set the angle. I find that one tends to ( or I tend) to file more on one side then the other. Left handed right handed kind of thing. I have, maybe once a decade or so, taken a saw to the saw works to give me a start over.
The guys before me said it all about your saw and sharpening, but I have one point to add if you want to pay someone to sharpen it. You may have to search to find a guy to sharpen it. I found a guy at a woodworking school who did it for me. Another option is sometimes Woodcraft stores (or a different woodworkers' store in your area) have a relationship to a sharpener. My experience is the cost is not terribly high.
Wow all, Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I was so surprised to get a bunch of replies so quickly.
In my studying I did watch one of Bob Rozaieski vids, but I think that one was taking the teeth out altogether and starting over. I may do that with another old crosscut saw that doesn't work and convert it to ripping. But I'll definitely check out the one you linked to here.
And I will check out having it professionally sharpened but am inclined to give it a go. I made a saw clamp after watching a few videos but thought I ought to have you guys look at this blade before I launched into fixing it.
Again, much thanks.
hal
A warning: if the teeth are uneven in height, and you have it professionally sharpened, it will only come back right if they hand file it. A filing machine will duplicate what is there with sharp points on the (uneven height) teeth. Check with your sharpener to find out how he will get it right (or not...)
Unless you are unusually lucky to have a convenient, competent hand saw sharpener, you need to learn to do it yourself.
Joint the teeth with a flat file. You can use a block of wood held against one half of the file to keep the file perpendicular to the saw. If the teeth are of significantly different height, sharpen the teeth to a more even height by differential pressure and amount of filing. You will file half the gullets from one side and half from the other side. The gullets you will file are the ones where the front of the tooth you are filing is set toward you, and the back of the other tooth you are filing is set away from you. You want the file at a 60º angle to the saw for a cross-cut saw.
Once you have the teeth all the same height and properly shaped, you now set them. I don't know of any easy way to set them except with a saw set. You can't accurately set the saw until the teeth are all the same height, but if the saw is wonky to start with, the teeth may be slightly uneven heights again, as one side may have already been more set than the other. So you re-joint the teeth (which should be extremely slight) and, using the skills you have just developed by practice, sharpen the saw again (which will seem quick by comparison to the first time.)
I have a 7 point Disston, which is a coarser cut. When freshly sharpened, I cut thru an oak 2x4 in seven strokes. Full disclosure: it was in a vise, so I could use both hands on the saw. However, the 7 strokes included the starting stroke. I built my 900 sq. ft. house without on-site electricity, so used a handsaw (or 3) for all the cutting. I used recycled tongue and groove flooring laid diagonally as my subfloor, and trimmed the entire perimeter by hand. Cut all the studs, rafters, floor joists, etc. It's not that much slower than with an electric saw, as only a small percentage of the time is spent in the actual cutting. Of course, if you are gang-cutting studs with a circular saw, and nailing with an air nailer, it can go a bit faster...
Let me know if I can be of any further help
Harvey
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