I sharpened a Rip Saw recently

[xy mosian]

This saw has been in my posession for many years. I inherited it from my father, who was no woodworker and probably bought it to maintain his first house. That would be in 1946. I doubt it has been used very much and certainly not sharpened before. Unfortunately it is only 24", 600mm, long but nevetherless it will prove useful. The condition of the blade means I cannot see any etching but as the handle is rivetted I cannot imagine it is anything special. Anyway it is the coarsest pitch I have personally come across on a hand saw.
The file in the picture was used to sharpen the teeth although I did tickle up the points with a 'normal' saw file.
xy

 

[Corset]

That is very coarse. I bought a 4 pt thumb hole disston rip saw. It was quite sharp but the set is massive and ripping some pine was mental. The whole bench shook and its not light. It left a three mm kerf. The saw plate is very thick so they must be built for hard work!! Really physical to use. Owen

 

[GazPal]

That is very coarse. I bought a 4 pt thumb hole disston rip saw. It was quite sharp but the set is massive and ripping some pine was mental. The whole bench shook and its not light. It left a three mm kerf. The saw plate is very thick so they must be built for hard work!! Really physical to use. Owen

Set needs to be minimal on ye olde worlde D8's (And most well made taper ground saws) for ripping, so it may pay you to ease up on set next time she's sharpened. :wink: You could even reduce set by using the paper wrap on the blade in a bare faced metalwork vise or a woodwork vise with plated cheeks.

 

[Corset]

Its not been played with yet, by me anyway. My plan is to retooth it finer it with my retoother as i seem to use power tools less as i have a light sleeping 8 month old daughter. I will be practising a bit first with some saws that i picked up for a few quid. I have sharpened about 6 so far and its getting better. I find it very therapeutic . Am i odd?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I have (probably) the same saw- if the set is correct the cut isn't too much wider than the thickness of the blade.
I remember first using a rip- I was 15 (at school) and I had to book match american walnut for guitar backs!
Corset-am i odd?..............no. Positively weird.

 

[Dee J]

Rake on those teeth a bit unusual for a rip saw? Nearer crosscut tooth form isn't it?

Dee

 

[xy mosian]

Owen, I haven't used this in anger yet. I am expecting hard work, but if used with the victim, wood, horizontal and the saw approaching vertical then gravity should help. I hope. Therapy from saw sharpening and setting, I couldn't agree more. At least when the need for a sharp saw is not urgent.

GazPal, I assume the wide set would be useful for greener timber but then as it's only 24" long perhaps not very thick green timber. Strangely when I used the eclipse saw set a number of the teeth moved and then sprang back. Most of them required no change at all on the lowest setting. Reducing the set is a possibility I may use, we'll see. I'll measure the kerf later.

Dee, looking at the images I am inclined to see yout point. Personally I would have a little more rake on a cross cut saw. In this case I merely followed the rake I had in front of me. I wonder if this rake would be less aggressive than a fully upright one, taking some of the strain off the work.

xy

 

[pedder]

Its not been played with yet, by me anyway. My plan is to retooth it finer it with my retoother as i seem to use power tools less as i have a light sleeping 8 month old daughter. I will be practising a bit first with some saws that i picked up for a few quid. I have sharpened about 6 so far and its getting better. I find it very therapeutic . Am i odd?

Others do yoga, I sharpen saws.

I second the thought of too much rake for a ripper, but that is a matter of taste.

Cheers
Pedder