dovetail saw

[marcros]

I have just received a Pax dovetail saw that i bought of eBay. I needs to be sharpened and set, which the seller did tell me.

I have to confess that I cant quite focus on the teeth and tell how they are filed. If it is a crosscut saw, is it possible to change this to a rip one?

Sorry to sound ignorant, but what purpose does a crosscut dovetail saw, or is it a generic term for a fine toothed saw with a full handle (as opposed to a gents saw)?

 

[Paul Chapman]

Very easy to convert a cross-cut saw to a rip-cut - just file the teeth straight across.

There is no point in having cross-cut teeth on a dovetail saw because in cutting dovetails you saw along the grain.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Richard T]

It's quite possible to file a CC saw to rip - in fact it's the easier way round.

I don't think there is much point (that I can think of) for a CC DT saw ... ??

(Paul's beat me to it ...)

 

[matthewwh]

Dovetail saws always used to be crosscut, smoother cutting action, cleaner finish, speed difference is minimal at 20 tpi and the smoothness increases control and therefore accuracy, which is generally a higher priority than speed.

That said the prevailing 'dovetailing is a ripping operation therefore a rip saw is the appropriate tool' has more momentum than any one man can argue against, so if you prefer a rip filed saw, please ignore the above.

Putting the cat amongst the pigeons - done!

 

[GazPal]

My preference is rip for tenons and cross-cut for dovetails and other cross grain cuts.

 

[pedder]

If it is a crosscut saw, is it possible to change this to a rip one?

Hi Marcos,

Yes that would be easy. At least on a 20 tpi saw, on wich there is not much metal to be remowd to change from rip to cross cut..

Sorry to sound ignorant, but what purpose does a crosscut dovetail saw, or is it a generic term for a fine toothed saw with a full handle (as opposed to a gents saw)?

I'm not the biggest saw names historian, but I allway thought the terms

dovetail saw
carcass saw
sash saw
tenon saw

are older than the idea of putting fleam to a saw tooth and therefore create a tooth that we view to be crosscut.
In the german saw tradition a cross cut saw has a relaxed rake, but a 0° fleam like any rip cut saw. (This is why I think english saws were superior, BTW.)

Theses terms were ment to describe the lentgh and the pitch of a saw.

I think, that a rip cutting saw is smoother and cleaner on rip cuts than any saw with a noticeable amount of fleam (<5°).

Cheers
Pedder