success at last

[Yorkshire Sam]

After much practise I have finally (I think) got the hang of sharpening saws ... well rips at the moment. Did a saw yesterday and it just 'felt' right as I was doing it. A small dovetail saw too. Even thought of ways to improve my self made saw sharpening vice as I was doing it.
It didnt take me as long to pick it up as I had anticipated and the finished product was a dream to work with afterwards. At last I feel confident enough to attempt to tackle a cross cut saw next. Got a few car boot cheapies to practise on.

 

[Richard T]

=D>

I found it to be well worth the initial leap of faith and brain twisting as well as the first few cock ups. Gives one a tremendous feeling of ability and self sufficiency. Also opens up a whole new list of tools worth buying- nice old saws that are not sharp but plentiful and cheap.

 

[G S Haydon]

Well done Sam. I'm currently practicing with OK results, like Richard says it opens doors.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Nice one, Sam!

Couple of tips for anybody summoning up the courage to have a go. Firstly, it's not that hard, just needs a bit of knowledge and a bit of practice. Secondly, really good light is essential - full daylight or very good diffuse artificial light. Thirdly, use the file slowly - the file will just skate across the hard steel of a sawblade if used at the same speed that'll cut brass easily; a 6" file should take the better part of a full second on hard steel. Finally, take your time - a quick resharpen won't take long, but if done without care can introduce so many inequalities in tooth height that half of them do no cutting at all.

Just a tip on refurbishing vintage saws. Some of them have suffered some really poor sharpening in the past, and end up snaggle-toothed and rusty. I've found that it's best to reshape these in two or more goes - joint off the toothline straight, then reshape the teeth. You'll probably find that a combination of tooth size variability and gullet rust make it very difficult to get evenly-sized new teeth. So after the first pass, joint again, and reshape the large-and-small teeth to a more even size. It's easier to judge whether the file pressure needs to be straight down, or slightly towards toe or heel, when everything's clean and bright. Take your time, and assess each toothspace before you file it. This can need quite a bit of concentration - it's worth doing a few inches, then walking away and resting the eyes by staring into the distance for a few minutes, then coming back to the job and doing a few more inches, rather than losing concentration half way through and messing up the second half.

RichardT's right, though. If you're selective about finding saws with straight blades, there are some belting vintage ones about that just need a clean-up and proper sharpening. For the price of one decent new saw, you could put together a full kit of vintage ones.

 

[swb58]

Some of them have suffered some really poor sharpening in the past, and end up snaggle-toothed and rusty.

That well describes an old tenon saw that I've had for a while, I did the usual clean up and try it routine when I got it. But I've made an effort to use it over the last couple of weeks, filing, setting and fiddling about as I go, though at 14tpi it's hard to keep the concentration going from one end to the other . . . . good idea to take a break. It certainly cuts better than it used to and I'm surprised how much better it looks. A bit of honest work seems to put a better shine on a tool than anything else.

I think I've got to invest in a new file though. Any recommendations for a good 'un?

Cheers.

 

[inaspin]

Hi
Interesting thread this and if you don't mind I would like to seek some advice, I picked up an old ripper at the booty yesterday. I had purchased a few bits and bobs from the guy then picked up the saw to look at he said you can have that if you want it which was kind of him. Any way I though I can have this to practice on nothing to lose, and I don't think it is anything special no maker name to be seen, but all the teeth are there and look to be in very good condition it has not had a lot of use by the look of it.

Now the problem is that it is bent not badly but would be enough to bind in the cut, and what I was wondering is there a method for straightening it out. I have always been under the impression that if a saw was bent it is a throw away. it has quite a bit of surface rust on it and I would like to bring it back to life, but I am not into wasting my time on a lost cause.

Well done Sam for having a go and I am pleased it has worked out well for you.

Regards

Berns

 

[bugbear]

I have always been under the impression that if a saw was bent it is a throw away.

Overall bends aren't too bad, and can be removed by the (obvious) expedient of over-bending the other way.

Localised sharp kinks, OTOH, are deal breakers for me.

BugBear

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Now the problem is that it is bent not badly but would be enough to bind in the cut, and what I was wondering is there a method for straightening it out. I have always been under the impression that if a saw was bent it is a throw away. it has quite a bit of surface rust on it and I would like to bring it back to life, but I am not into wasting my time on a lost cause.

It can be done, but it would be wrong to say that it's easy.

Now I can't claim to be any sort of expert at this, having managed to more-or-less straighten out a sum total of four saws to date, but for what it's worth, here goes.

First, clean the blade of rust. It just needs to be clean at this point, not super-polished. Then try -

Method 1 - This only works on fairly modern saws made from slightly softer 0.8% carbon steel, but it may be worth a go. It worked for me on a Roberts and Lee Dorchester rip saw. Locate the exact point of bending of the kink using a wooden straightedge. Place the apex of the kink on a hardish wooden edge (bench edge will do) and using the balls of your thumbs about an inch on either side of the kink, press hard to 'overbend' in the opposite direction to the kink. Start fairly softly and rack up the pressure a bit at a time, until you find the exact pressure that works. If you end up applying so much pressure you just hurt your thumbs without making any impression on the kink, try method 2.

Method 2 - You need an anvil or an anvil substitute for this. Something flat and hard, supported so that it can take a fairly heavy blow without bouncing. You also need a heavy hammer with a slightly crowned face, smooth and polished and with the edges dressed round (any chips, roughness or edge sharpness could imprint on the sawblade). Determine where the apex of the kink is, and place the blade hollow side down on the anvil. Strike a couple of fairly heavy, dead blows on the apex of the kink (you don't want the hammer bouncing back - you want the neergy of the blow going into the sawblade). Check progress - if there is none, try again with slightly harder blows. Repeat, increasing weight of blow a bit at a time until the kink yields. Don't exceed this weight of blow - you could crack the sawblade, and that would only render it as scrap. Use just sufficient blows to dress out the kink.

If that works, you can then proceed to polish up the blade and refit the handle if you removed it, and then sharpen it. I didn't manage to get my saws absolutely dead flat, but I did get them within about 1/32" of flat, and that seems to be flat enough to work satisfactorily.

Good luck!

 

[inaspin]

Thanks BB & CC for your replies, I will have a go with it and see what I can do. As i said it was given to me so nothing lost if I beggar it up, can't get onto it for a while other more pressing things, but if I do have success I will post which method worked for me.

Berns