By: Scott K

Neverland Ballroom 3 months ago on Wordpress

Don’t forget that you can make music with a handsaw:

http://www.musical-saw.com/tutorial.htm

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Your Mantelligence Briefing for November 5th | Just A Guy Thing 3 months ago on Wordpress

[...] Toolmanship: How to Use a Handsaw [Art of Manliness] [...]

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scottbridwell 3 months ago on Twitter

Men always remember "if the women can't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy" http://ping.fm/hu5f3

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sean 3 months ago on Wordpress

Scott K.

I’ve bought a dozuki from Lee Valley (I actually live down the road from one *gloat*) and while the cut is superb, I find the blade to be brittle and needs frequent replacement. Furthermore, Japaness saws are tricky to sharpen, which brings me to Scott’s question…

Sharpening a Western style panel saw (basically a saw with a big blade, like a rip, crosscut , backsaw, dovetail saw, etc) is relatively easy, but meticulous and it takes time. However, since I use mainly handtools, and own a few of my grandfather’s old Disstons, it is a skill that is necessary to keep the saws operating.well. You need a few specialty tools, which at the very least include a good flat file, a small triangular cross section file, a good vice and a saw set. The size of the triangular file is determined by the size of the teeth of your saw, which are measured in TPI (Teeth per inch). Make sure you have the right size file for your saw. If you have multiple saws with varying TPI you will need several sharpening files. You must have good lighting. It would be helpful if you had a saw vice which is a longer jawed vice designed specifically for holding saws while being sharpened. This way you won’t have to keep opening the vise and moving the saw. I built my own for this. They aren’t hard to build. It would be a wonderful luxury if you also had a large table mounted magnifying glass on an adjustable neck that you could move over the saw and keep an eye on the teeth as you sharpen them, I don’t have one. I also use a black magic marker when sharpening.

First is to check the saw for straightness, corect any bends, and get rid of any rust on the saw. The next thing I do is secure the saw in a vice, teeth facing upwards. I then use the marker to darken all the teeth. Next I joint the teeth, which is to simply run the flat file perpendicularly across the tops to the teeth. This will flatten the tops of the teeth, producing a little flat shiny spot on the top of the teeth. The main function of jointing is to make sure all the teeth are the same length. A few strokes is usually suffficient.

Now you get the triangular file and begin the actual sharpening of the teeth. This is the guts of the operation, and how it is done depends on what kind of saw you are sharpening. The main difficulty is holding the file at the correct angle for your saw. If your saw has been sharpened well previously, the teeth themselves are a fair guide, but this isn’t always a given. Many modern saws have been stamped out with the wrong setting for the teeth, and the teeth will be need to be ground in correctly during sharpening.

When sharpening, give each tooth a stroke or two with the triangular file. Your aim is to make about half the shiny spot left from the jointing to disappear. Since you will be stroking the other half as you sharpen the next tooth, you don’t try and remove the entire shiny spot in one pass. You want to be careful and even here. The end result should be that each tooth is sharp and the same length. Having a bunch of sharp teeth of varying lengths will be of no use to you. Take your time, and feel free to go back over the saw again if necessary. For a rip saw you can do every tooth in one pass, although it is not recommended. For a crosscut you will have to do every other tooth in your first pass, then reverse the saw in the vice and sharpen the rest. You should find that the original darkening of the teeth is helpful in keeping track of where you’ve been so far in your sharpening. Also, rotate the triangular file from time to time as its faces wear out from the sharpening.

When the primary sharpening is done you will find that the edges of the teeth will have a little metal burr along the sides. This must be sanded or filed off, otherwise the saw may wander in its cut. Getting rid of the burr can be done by taking the flat file and hlding it flush against the side of the blade and running it back and forth a few times.

The last things to do is set the teeth. In setting the teeth (using the saw set) you are bending teh teeth outwards slightly. This is so the kerf (the part of the wood destroyed by the stroke of the saw) will be slightly wider than the saw blade itself, thus reducing friction and binding.

That’s basically it. You’re ready to cut.

One last caveat: You need to remember that the tools you use to sharpen your other tools need as much care as the cutting tools themselves. Your files will not last forever and will need replacement. I get about two or three sharpenings out of my triangular files. After that I need a new one.

Hope that was helpful. ... See all content Hide content

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Scott 3 months ago on Wordpress

Any pointers on sharpening a saw. This far my approach has been to buy a new one.

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Isi 3 months ago on Wordpress

Good topic. I have been teaching my boys to saw recently. They love it because they get to play with one of the tools otherwise reserved for dad. I have been trying to teach them the principle (or what I know of them) around hand tools – this keeps them hands on and whether they know it or not, they are learning something that hopefully they will remember.

Interesting though. I never understood the difference between a ripsaw and a crosscut saw – i had always assumed them to be the same thing just referred to differently.

I still love my power tools though !!! ... See all content Hide content

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Ron 3 months, 1 week ago on Wordpress

Lie-Nielsen makes some excellent hand saws. For anyone who has ever struggled with hand sawing wood, a Lie-Nielsen saw is simple unbelieveable! Go slow, and concentrate on keeping the blade perpendicular to the wood. A good quality saw will cut the wood for you much faster than trying to force the saw through the wood.

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Bruce Williamson 3 months, 1 week ago on Wordpress

I use my power tools for everything except:

*coping

*the occasional times when I would end up with the extra bit of kerf from a circular saw

*cutting plastic

Bruce

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beautyO7 3 months, 1 week ago on Twitter

Toolmanship: How to Use a Handsaw | The Art of Manliness: Run your thumb lightly over the teeth. If they're.. http://bit.ly/3qutj0

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Scott K 3 months, 1 week ago on Wordpress

No mention of Japanese saws? My Ryoba is that best saw I ever bought.

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RitualMensGroom 3 months, 1 week ago on Twitter

Toolmanship: How to Use a Handsaw:

Share Today we return to our monthly series called Toolmanship. The goal of.. http://bit.ly/23OkAf

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