Hand rip saw (something's wrong)

[Fromey]

A while back I purchased a Lynx handsaw (rip cut, 22" long, 4.5 tpi) from Thomas Flinn & Co. Just the basic beech handle, not the more expensive walnut handle.

It's a nice looking saw and the tapered ground saw plate is very noticeable and satisfying to see.

They are advertised as, "precisely set and sharpened", so I expected this bit of Sheffield steel/manufacturing to work very well. I also knew that rip sawing is never going to be easy and that you will always break a sweat after a while, so I don't think I have unrealistic expectations of hot knives and butter.

However, I think there's something wrong with the saw as sawing with it is no picnic :? I think I've got a reasonable sawing technique, and I've used the saw on a number of pieces of wood so far (mainly cherry). However, the saw constantly sticks/catches. Bees wax on the saw plate helps a bit, but not that much. In addition, and this really has me suspicious, after I've sawn down a few few inches and established a good kerf, I find I can't get the saw plate all the way through the kerf and thus do full-length sawing. About 3/4 of the way along the plate, it jams as if the set is too much there. I've looked down the teeth and can't by eye notice a difference in the saw set other than the last tooth before the handle is way out.

Did I buy a dud? Is this actually normal and I just don't have the muscle? Are you supposed to rip saw only in one direction to the grain like planing?

I have a new snazzy HD camcorder, so I might try a Youtube video this weekend to show better what the problem is.

 

[Pvt_Ryan]

If it is sticking when you have the blade completely covered by the wood stick something in the top to wedge the wood apart slightly.

 

[AndyT]

Agree w Pvt_Ryan - the most likely problem will be in the wood - you will sometimes need a wedge if you are sawing something that wants to move a bit. Like having a riving knife on a table saw.

Unlikely to be not enough set on a new saw, and if one bit of the blade has extra set, it will widen the kerf, not stick in it.

The saw should feel dangerously sharp on its points if you (carefully) feel it with your hand, sharp enough to snatch at the skin a bit.

 

[pedder]

Hi,

You should check the set with a calliper. Just measure over three or more teeth. If the setting is different you can reduce the high points with a sharpening stone (i.e. shapton 1000). If the setting is more than half of the blade's thickness, it is to much in my opinion. 0,2mm is enough setting for a beginners panel saw for dry wood.

The few new saws from sheffield, that I've seen, had a very large setting (some had 2x blade thickness). Reducing the set improoved all of theese saws dramatically. But I certainly can not speek for your saw.

Cheers
Pedder

 

[MIGNAL]

Good replies.
Many years ago I bought the taper ground Pax rip saw. It cut with absolute ease. Pity it got stolen a couple of years after I'd bought it. :evil:
Not too long ago I bought a large Gents saw, specifically for cutting shallow Guitar fret slots. It isn't badged as being a Flynn saw but I'm pretty sure it is. It was near useless. Unfortunately I had not read other peoples thoughts on that particular saw. Not many have a good word to say about it. In an act of desperation (I didn't have a lot to lose) I decided to have a go at resharpening it. Actually, a 'touch up' of the teeth would describe it better. It now cuts incredibly well. Sometimes they just don't come out of the factory as sharp as they should be.

 

[Jacob]

I bought a Sheffield made DT saw from WH. I imagined it might be sharp but it wasn't. Free file (good quality!) included! At that price it should have been sharpened. Otherwise the saw is perfectly OK but not special - equivalent to the old Spear & Jackson or Footprint saws, perhaps not quite as nicely made . I'd still prefer it to one of those poncy american jobs.
Blunt saws is a UK suppliers tradition. It was always traditional to sharpen your own, but bl@@dy stupid in todays market.

 

[Plumberpete]

I bought a few saws from Thomas Flinn including a Pax Tenon saw with 12 tpi cross cut configuration and a Pax Dovetail saw with 20 tpi rip, both with the elm pistol grip handle and I found both to be well sharpened and remarkably easy to use on the timber I've been sawing (mostly well seasoned oak, ash and elm). The only thing I would say is the handles aren't rounded all that well (a stint on a sander wouldn't go amiss) but hey, a few callouses never did anyone any harm!

 

[Richard T]

When I look at new saws in shops (and I don't mean hard points) they don't look like they've been touched by a saw file, they look like they have been left as mechanically cut. Though I don't know how this is done - I imagine a profiled wheel? Dunno. But they certainly look nothing like any saw that I have sharpened - bristling with shiny, flat faces all the way along.

Fromey, how is the sawdust? When ripping straight along the grain (long grain, not end grain) you should be getting little curls - like what you'd expect if you stroked it with a row of tiny chisels - which is what the teeth of a rip saw should emulate.

Would photos be possible?

 

[bugbear]

Either the wood is flexing and closing the kerf, or the saw isn't making a wide enough kerf. Can you try ripping a piece of scrap plywood or MDF (which won't move AFAIK) so you know which?

BugBear

 

[Fromey]

Thanks for the answers.

Firstly, yes, I am using a wedge once the plate gets low enough down in the kerf.

The teeth feel rather sharp to me (I certainly wouldn't want to jag my hand on it!). The forward slope of each gullet shows a striped pattern which I envisage is consistent with the initial pressing of the steel, while the backward slope of the gullet is freshly filed.

If memory serves me correctly the saw dust looks like saw dust with a bit of the curly stuff noticeable, but not a huge amount.

I measured the set with some dial vernier callipers (I'd forgotten I had them so it was a nice surprise!) If I've done this correctly, the results confirm that the set increases along the plate. It starts off at 0.0035" and ends up at 0.0055" (I've measured the distance between the outside edges of two teeth, subtracted the width of the plate as measured just below the teeth and then halved the resultant value to get the amount one tooth bends out from the outside edge of the plate).

Thus, I now more certain that the problems I am getting is because the set is not consistent along the length of the plate. Now my question is, what should it be? The higher or lower value given above or a different one? The next question is whether I should use the old Marples saw setting pliers I have (rusted and much used) or get myself a new and hopefully more precise one.

 

[MIGNAL]

The lower figure sounds more like something you would find on a small dovetail saw.
Don't know about the Marples. I use a Somax. The good news is that you don't have 20 TPI to deal with. Should be a breeze!