Lubrication of Saw Blades

[MCB]

Ladies & Gentlemen

Are there advantages in lubricating a hand saw blade?

If so, what lubricant is best, please?

Very many thanks for your help

MCB

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A bit of wax polish, candle wax or camellia oil maybe. Throwaway saws benefit from stripping the lacquer, a little paint stripper works wonders.

 

[Bod]

Old bit of candle.
Doesn't make a mess, either in keeping, or using.

Bod

 

[Bluekingfisher]

I apply wax paste with a scotch bright pad from time to time, lubs the blade, removes all the gunk to ensure the blade remains smooth and rust free. Be sure to keep away from the teeth with the pad though.

Good luck

David

 

[Eric The Viking]

+1 for candle wax, used sparingly.

I use it on plane soles too, and always have a scrap on the bench. It does depend on the kerf though - more useful when rip cutting, I find, and for saws with thin kerf compared to the thickness of the actual plate. For example I have one of these:

It's a flush-cutting saw, for trimming dowels, etc., and it's teeth are ony set on one side so it doesn't scuff the work*. The problem is that it also doesn't clear well. I think the ones with a rigid back are probably better. With this one it's terribly easy to get too aggressive, twist the blade slightly and... well you can guess. So I do wax the flush-cut side, just a little.

Wax can be quickly removed from the surface with a pad soaked in meths, and that only matters if it is a visible surface to take a finsh. In most cases the saw kerf means the amount of wax left on the stock is negligible, unless you're silly with the wax (same with planing).

E.

*That Crown Tools saw is a lovely little thing though. Ideally I'd like a handed pair, because you can't always get it where you want it to be (I'm not sure if mine differs from the ones on Amazon, but mine definitely has set on one side, the other is flush). I've made a small flat on one side of the handle so I can quickly see I have it right side up.

 

[ejtrent]

I get those sticks of beeswax from the local old timey hardware store, dont plane without it and its ideal for unbinding saws!

 

[D_W]

anything wax on saw blades. They heat up if they are in a slight bind, anyway.

beeswax or paraffin wax on plane soles.

I wax saw plates only when they are partially bound in a cut, but It seems to me that doing such a thing is good for rust prevention (so's using them in general).

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Ladies & Gentlemen

Are there advantages in lubricating a hand saw blade?

If so, what lubricant is best, please?

Very many thanks for your help

MCB

Candle wax works well. However, should you need to do so, check that the saw blade has enough set. That would be a frequent cause with backsaws.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Trafalgar]

Good point since there is nothing, per se, about a very thin kerf that lends accuracy to a cut or makes a cut easier as is often claimed (due to removing less material).

 

[D_W]

A thinner kerf saw makes a thinner kerf. That's about the only thing that can be said definitively. Cut speed depends on saw weight and filing geometry. The physical act of removing material from .02 or .03 inches is pretty difficult to differentiate.

That's presuming that some substantial amount of the time in the shop is spent pushing a saw back and forth, and it's not generally unless one is ripping rough lumber (and that's no task for a thin saw).

 

[Eric The Viking]

Good point since there is nothing, per se, about a very thin kerf that lends accuracy to a cut or makes a cut easier as is often claimed (due to removing less material).

I completely see your point, but there are other practical considerations: wider kerf = harder work, as you're physically cutting more material.

I'm not fit; I tire easily and my arm wobbles after a while. Yes, I know: exercise and improving my technique... but the less I have to apply effort and the easier the cut is physically, the better I concentrate and get it right.

My accuracy has noticeably improved now I use Japanese pull saws more, and I think that's down to the easier cut rather than the pull v. push thing, as I've been using properly set up traditional backsaws for nigh-on fifty years.

This has the potential to end up like a sharpening debate though - I'm not disagreeing, just sayin'.

E.

 

[Trafalgar]

I still rough rip by hand. I've set the saw minimally, and I've given it more set. There's just not an eye popping difference in effort between the two, maybe none once you're into it. It's another one of those things that sounds and looks good on paper (and seems to make logical sense) but fails to translate to the actual work in any meaningful way.

A little candle does help a bit but unfortunately does not stay for very long on a saw engaged in this sort of work. One does appreciate the breather afforded by stopping to apply more however.