My old saws

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Steve1066

Established Member
Joined
12 Jul 2013
Messages
159
Reaction score
0
Location
Bexhill
Ok so I got two old spear and Jackson saws one tenon and one skew back universal. And I would like to use them. I think for the first time. Hard point saw were king when I was given them back in 1991.
So can you recommend a good file and setting tool please.

Many thanks Steve
 
Workshop Heaven (for one) sell saw files and setting tools - size etc depends on what TPI etc?

Rod
 
Harbo":2g3a4yir said:
Workshop Heaven (for one) sell saw files and setting tools - size etc depends on what TPI etc?

Rod

Thanks for the reply .dut I was looking for a good brand of file rather than a shop.
 
WH sell Bahco and Ellipse saw setters are often on the bay.
There was a thread on here and a petition for the saw file manufacturers to up their quality control etc as on test most were found lacking.
I don't know if it did any good?

Rod
 
I'd also consider getting hold of something to practice on before turning my attention to the old faithfuls.

An old tenon saw with bent blade and poor teeth will be a good place to start, nothing to lose and you should end up with a decent third saw for not a lot.
 
The generally accepted 'best' sawfiles are new old stock ones obtained from Ebay, but they're pricey. The volume of demand for new sawfiles having dropped in the last decade or so, and the trend for offshoring manufacture, has resulted in many of the old firms dropping their file manufacture or subcontracting it to countries with cheaper labour, and quality has suffered as a result. There was a move a few months ago to persuade one of the remaining European manufacturers of high quality rasps to develop a range of sawfiles, and I gather that efforts continue with this, though no files are yet available to purchase.

In the meantine, Bahco seem to be about the best bet, but don't be too surprised to get the odd duff one.

For sawsets, the best bet for larger sawteeth is the old Eclipse 77 (the brass one), which turns up regularly on Ebay for about £5 - £10 plus postage. They are excellent tools, but have one drawback - they're too coarse to set smaller teeth on such tools as dovetail and fine tenon saws. There are a couple of ways to get round this. The first is to buy the Somax clone of the Eclipse 77, of which there are two versions, one for large teeth and one for small. Workshop Heaven and Axminster (and possibly others) stock them. The other option is to buy a second Eclipse 77, strip it down and grind the hammer part of the mechanism to about half it's width, reassemble, and use the tool with the anvil at it's minimum set position.

A very good source of information on saw sharpening and setting is the Youtube video 'Sharpening Western Saws' by BritAndy (Andy Lovelock). It's over two hours long, but it's a very clear and comprehensive step-by-step guide to the tools and techniques needed to sharpen rip and cross-cut teeth, to completely refurbish basket-case saws, and the filing angles for different saw duties. Highly recommended, and worth watching more than once.
 
Back
Top