Saw Sharpening - A newbies experience

[dickster2112]

I have just sharpened my first handsaw - an old Spear and Jackson 23" 7 tpi. rip.

I have been doing some test cuts and am not that impressed with the rate of cut. Does anyone have any guidelines on what one can expect from this type of saw? I have been testing in 1" pine and it seems to travel about 5 or 6 mm per stroke, which seems a bit slow.
Am I expecting too much or have I not sharpened it well enough?

I would appreciate any comments on others experiences.

Ric

 

[Jacob]

23" is too short and 7 tpi is too fine for a typical rip saw. It'd cut slow even if sharpened perfectly. I'd do it as a cross cut. If that didn't cut well it'd be your sharpening at fault.

 

[bosshogg]

Having done the sharpening yourself you'll have an idea at what angles (fleam, pitch and rake) that your saw is at. It may help answer your question, if you post these up, also a photo would help.
7 tpi, is perhaps a little bit fine for for ripping, but not unheard of, by the way how well did the saw cut prior to you sharpening it?...bosshogg

 

[Richard T]

How steep did you leave the angle of the front of each tooth? You can leave a very steep attack on ripping teeth - I now sharpen both my 6 tpi and 4 tpi to 0/180 degrees. That's vertical to the saw. Some people prefer a little less aggression as they are hard to start ... I've found that starting takes a lot less time than the rest of the cut and making a clean start is not that hard with a bit of practice anyway.

 

[Jacob]

... I now sharpen both my 6 tpi and 4 tpi to 0/180 degrees. That's vertical to the saw. ...

Isn't that 90º?

 

[Richard T]

Hmmmm .. 90 to a line drawn along the saw, 0/180 to a line drawn through the saw ... I s'pose it depends which way up you are.
It's another point I find easier about filing rip - with the saw horizontally level in the vice, the back face of the file is always vertical and I don't have to keep an other, specific angle in mind. Straight across and vertical back face.

 

[dickster2112]

Thanks all for replies.

I have just mearsured and found the saw is actually 26"

I filed at 8 degree rake ( or 98 depending which way up your head is screwed on) and obviously zero fleam.

Maybe I should use zero rake, or maybe turn it into a xcut, I really need a big fast rip though.

I tried submitting a couple of photos but the system wouldn't let me for some reason
Ric

 

[Jacob]

If sharp may be not enough effort going in? Ripping is quite energetic - as much force and speed as you can put into it. And not very precise; you expect to cut well off the line and plane the edge afterwards.

 

[dickster2112]

Thanks all for replies.

I have just mearsured and found the saw is actually 26"

I filed at 8 degree rake ( or 98 depending which way up your head is screwed on) and obviously zero fleam.

Maybe I should use zero rake, or maybe turn it into a xcut, I really need a big fast rip though.

I tried submitting a couple of photos but the system wouldn't let me for some reason
Ric

Sussed it, here they are

 

[Max Power]

Your teeth look nearer crosscut shaped than rip. Even with a perfectly sharpened rip saw its hardly the most efficient of operations, unless you need the exercise you should get a powersaw

 

[dickster2112]

unless you need the exercise you should get a powersaw

I like the exercise (hammer)
______________ :? ____________

 

[Max Power]

Youll have arms like Popeye in no time :mrgreen:

 

[JeremyM]

You have not shown the filed faces in this photo but what strikes me is the large amount of set this means a lot of wood is being ripped hence a slower cut. Measure it by planing a veneer to fit the kerf and see how wide it is compared to the blade thickness.

Jeremy

 

[bosshogg]

I agree this looks more like a crosscut profile rather than a rip saw, also the set seems a bit high on the tooth. Teeth of a rip saw should present an almost straight edge to the wood, setting the tooth as low i.e. near the gullet gives this rather than setting near the top. hear's a PDF http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/Saw Sharpening.pdf that may help you both, understand and learn the necessities for well shaped saw teeth...bosshogg

I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.
Albert Einstein (hammer)

 

[dickster2112]

I agree this looks more like a crosscut profile rather than a rip saw, also the set seems a bit high on the tooth.

OK I'll come clean - I was rushing the whole setting the teeth thing. I found myself with a few minutes between doing the usual fatherly chores, you know the sort of stuff. I had been aching to do this for ages and grabbed my chance.

I agree I probably put too much set on. Hell, I did put too much set on but there we are. I didn't realize the setting point on a rip was supposed to be near the gullet. I'm not even sure I have that option with my standard setter.
But I did only put 8deg rake on honest.

Thanks for the link, very useful.

Ric