are there any good saw resources?

[nimmaj]

Having now got a good understanding and some success planing, i need to learn to saw! However it seems to me that there is less information out there about this. Have i just been looking in the wrong place?

I found this interesting: http://www.vintagesaws.com/library/primer/sharp.html

...and Chris Schwarz's http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/bl ... o+Saw.aspx was pretty useful.

I'm after two different things really:

1/. Tips on using saws
2/. Information on how to sharpen saws and how the teeth work

Regarding 1, there's some stuff out there but it's scattered around. In a post on dovetails, BugBear recommended a dovetail book that had some useful information about sawing that i found really helpful and immediately helped me to improve dovetail practice cuts. The other bits of information i've picked up have been very scattered around.

Regarding 2, I've been trying to resaw ash quickly by hand and have found all the saws i've got really frustrating to use. I made a frame saw and have ended up with a 5tpi blade that's pretty sharp but is bouncing more than cutting. Adding weight to the saw helps. I've a japanese rip saw that is faster than anything else (i suspect because of how narrow the kerf is) but it's useless in ash and anyway not big enough. I'm tempted to try and meet halfway between the japanese saw and the 5tpi rip blade by resharpening the rip blade but need to find out a lot more about how teeth actually cut first, i suspect!

Sorry for another rambling mail! All thoughts appreciated!

Ben

 

[pedder]

Hi Ben,

a good point to start is bugbear's page.


Cheers Pedder

 

[nimmaj]

Hello - thanks for that. Rather embarrassingly i had been there before but must have missed the books at the top. They're perfect for the sharpening thing and will give me something to read!

Anyone got any ideas on links to tips on actually sawing?

Many thanks,

Ben

PS Glad BugBear's a vi man ;-) I wonder how many woodworkers are developers?

 

[bugbear]

PS Glad BugBear's a vi man ;-) I wonder how many woodworkers are developers?

Of the total of woodworkers - not many.

Of woodworkers on internet forums - several.

It's a self selecting sample.

BugBear (comp sci, maths, etc)

 

[dunbarhamlin]

Pah! vi is the work of the devil.

Beyond reading matter you already have access to via BB's site, try toolemera for Grimshaw and Holly - not exactly light bedtime reading, but good fun nonetheless.
Tom Law has a short DVD on Saw Sharpening, which depending on your learning style will either be a great start or nigh on useless.
For me, in essence it amounted to, "this isn't rocket science - just do it." Which was actually helpful. Beyond that of coarse, unless spelled out, the subtleties are likely to be missed unless you already know what to look for.

IIRC Chris Schwarz covers hand saw use in one of his DVDs.
But, if possible, the ideal would be to find a mentor or tutor. I spent a couple of days with Rob (woodbloke) and one issue he helped me with was my stance when sawing - not something I'd have been able to work out myself.

What thickness of stock are you trying to resaw? If thin, then 5 tpi might be coarser than ideal. The other thought, though I haven't used a frame saw, is that there might be a tension issue. Are you using it on the pull stroke?

Cheers
Steve

 

[bugbear]

Beyond reading matter you already have access to via BB's site, try toolemera for Grimshaw and Holly - not exactly light bedtime reading, but good fun nonetheless.

My page links to Holly, Hodgson and Grimshaw, as well as several (later) pamphlets from the various saw makers.

Many of these are (of course) hosted at toolemera.

BugBear

 

[dunbarhamlin]

Oops - sorry BB. A while since I've looked at it.
Cheers
Steve

 

[nimmaj]

Thanks guys - most helpful as ever.

Steve - the stuff i was trying to resaw was around 40x18x4 cm ish. I've been pottering down the tpi scale trying to find something that doesn't take 20 mins to go through the above and doesn't sacrifice too much wood.

Tension's an interesting point - i'll go and have a play with that. The frame saw's just knocked up out of pine, however, and doesn't weigh much. I bunged an ash plank on it the other day and it performed a little better. Interestingly the teeth seem to be symmetrical so it ought to cut in both directions - i can only get it to cut in one at the moment. Also the kerf was massive so i spent some time bashing it with a hammer trying to get the massive teeth back in line - removing less wood seems to have helped.

Tried some insane japanese saw from axminster, too. Think it was the beam saw. But that has far too big a kerf and it's hard to control.

The japanese rip saw has a v. different rip profile to the western saws i've got. It's also got the narrowest kerf which is what i think makes it the fastest saw - atleast in sycamore - it doesn't seem interested in the ash.

Think i'd better go and buy a sack full of files!

Thanks again,

Ben

PS Interesting point about tutoring - that's definitely something i need to think about.