Hand saw filing

[John Wilson]

I have sharpened a few cross cut saws with moderate success. I was reviewing this link

I note that it is stressed that one should always apply the bevel angle c.c.w. with the saw handle to the right so that you are filing towards the toe of the saw. Lee in his sharpening book does not explain it explicitly but a photograph on page 151 indicates the opposite.

Take the case of a crosscut saw where the heel (grip) is to your right. Do I file a gullet with a tooth set away to the left and towards you to the right with the file handle oriented 15 deg (say) left a la Lee, or do I file the adjacent gullet with the tooth set away to the right with the file handle oriented to the right so I am filing towards the toe? In both cases the file handle is dropped 15 deg so that the gullet angle is maintained.

Any one have any comments?

TIA John.

[Greg G]

......

I don't have the brain capacity at this moment to decipher all the directions and position of your query, but I can offer my $.02.

The bevel of the tooth goes towards the center line of the blade. I have never noticed that the direction of the stroke of the file made any difference in the quality of the resulting saw cut, but I don't cut dovetails with them.

The tooth set is important - a hand operated tooth setter is quite handy and inexpensive - sort of...

Greg G.

[rich]

John,

I got a $5.00 saw from an antique store, and sharpened it myself. Used 2 boards to make small file marks to keep the angle the same, tried to duplicate the bevel, etc. It worked! But I then took it to Rockler, where they sharpened it for about $12.00 and a couple of weeks. Conclusion: The professional can do a better job than me. But I would consider touching it up a tad, once or twice, before I take it in again.

And I ended up with an experienced looking saw for $17.00, that is useful. That is cool.

[AAvK]

Yeah, that IS cool! I have bought several nice hand saws from thrift shops. Atkins, Disston and some nice old no-namers. I cleaned the blades well and had them sharpened at the local saw business for $8.50 to $11, depending on the type. Great way to go. One needs new teeth, and that costs $17. But, I do intend to get into learning sharpening because it takes a week to two to get them back, they send them out of town to "Daily saw service".

[Australopithecus scobis]

In my experience so far, filing with the set makes a smoother cut and causes less screeching. E.g., handle to the right:

\ toe v ^ v\^ v ^ handle \ Put a very little english on the ^ tooth. Make and use the little jigs which help you hold the file at the correct angles. It's a satisfying skill to develop. My local Rockler doesn't do handsaws.

I have one eBay Warren&Ted that I haven't been able to sharpen: The teeth were badly recut, apparently by someone who used a shrinkage rule, if that. The miserable thang has a non-integer number of teeth per inch. I have to recut all the teeth. Made a paper strip with tick marks in Adobe Illustrator. Measured the first dozen or so teeth, made the ticks in AI, then duped to make enough to do the length of the saw. Turns out that the strip gets out of phase with the saw teeth! The strip is locally accurate when aligned at any chosen spot, but inaccurate a couple of inches away, either side. Weird.