pdp1 on mon 25 jul 11
Hi Wes,
You can go onto ebay and search for 'Saw Sets', and find huge numbers of
them.
They are an item which remains abundant, if having about zero market value
or market presence, and, hence, tend to be very inexpensive, even for the
nicest and best designs of the old examples.
However, a Saw Set might not have been what you needed to solve the
'pulling' problem...though it would prove useful if you got into correct Sa=
w
Sharpening and regulating.
If your Hand Saw had crossed a Nail or some other foreign or hard-enough
object on the left side, dulling the Teeth on some length of the left side,
the Saw could then 'pull' to the right where the Teeth points are still
sharp.
Re-Sharpening the Saw ( which should include Jointing the Teeth first -
making them all the same height and dead 'flat' along their points or along
their then slightly trunkated points, ) would likely solve the trouble,
even if not re-setting the teeth ( Setting the Teeth being what one does
with the Saw Set, after Sharpening, which is positioning their Points
slightly outward by slightly bending them at their lower area above their
Base, to widen the Kerf they will then cut, so it is however much wider tha=
n
the thickness of the Saw Blade along it's bottom chord ).
Probably not many people remain in this World who correctly Hand Sharpen
Hand Saws, but, it can be learned, and practiced, and, if one used Hand Saw=
s
much in one's Work, one would do best to learn it.
Saw Sharpening Services using automatic Machines to do it, can do a
good-enough job, but the only few times I tried them, they screwed things u=
p
and I never went back, and, that was in the 1970s, whereupon I decided to
begin doing it myself, and, soon I got pretty good at it, and enjoyed the
process as well.
Of course some Saws are not intended to have any 'Set' at all, just as some
Saws are not intended to have any 'Crown' ( slight curve to their overall
length along the bottom chord ) and this is one area where Saw Sharpening
Shops tend to listen badly and then to screw up with.
A well sharpened Hand Saw is a joy to use and is very effecient.
How much 'Set' the Saw shall have, depends on the kind or condition of Wood=
s
one intends to use it for.
Dry 'Seasoned' Woods d not require that the Saw has much Set at all.
Wet or Green or damp and Gummy Woods, would require more Set.
etc.
I do not think I have even seen one correctly sharpened and truely 'Sharp'
Hand Saw in the last fourty years anywhere, other than those I had
sharpened.
I have certainly never seen one ( '1' ) among any
Artisans/Carpenters/Contractors or supposed Cabinet Makers I was around in
that time.
Factory 'new' Saws one sees in stores or elsewhere are never Sharpened very
well, and, will never Cut very well as-is, unless one starts fresh and
undertakes the sequence of procedures to rectify their conditiuon and to
sharpen them correctly so they may cut well...and even then, likely their
Steel is poor and was elected for easiest management in the manufacturing
process, and they will not hold their Sharpening long anyway.
Like so much else, Old Saws, made by Companys who knew what they were doing
and who aimed to please discerning and experienced Customers by actually
offering a fine Product...are 'Best'.
That era ended quite a long time ago..!
Phil
Lv
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wes Rolley"
> Mel's comments on tools and smiths and Phil reminded me of a frustrating
> excursion I had recently. I had a hand saw that pulled a bit to one
> side as I cut. So, I needed to set the kerf. Now, I remember a tool
> that my dad used to do just that. So, I went to all of the local big
> box stores like Home Depot and I did not find a single person who knew
> what I was talking about.
>
> Then, I went through the list of local, still keep going, hardware
> store. As I ran through nearly that group, I found one man who knew
> what tool you use to set the kerf. However, we haven't carried one for
> about 10 years. When blades start to go, people just buy a new one...
> or a new saw.
>
> Of course, we live in a world of finite resources and at some point, our
> throw away culture will come to an end.
Wes Rolley on mon 25 jul 11
Mel's comments on tools and smiths and Phil reminded me of a frustrating
excursion I had recently. I had a hand saw that pulled a bit to one
side as I cut. So, I needed to set the kerf. Now, I remember a tool
that my dad used to do just that. So, I went to all of the local big
box stores like Home Depot and I did not find a single person who knew
what I was talking about.
Then, I went through the list of local, still keep going, hardware
store. As I ran through nearly that group, I found one man who knew
what tool you use to set the kerf. However, we haven't carried one for
about 10 years. When blades start to go, people just buy a new one...
or a new saw.
Of course, we live in a world of finite resources and at some point, our
throw away culture will come to an end.
WJ Seidl on tue 26 jul 11
Wes:
I'm out of town today. Give me a day to get back home and I'll look up
the mfgr of mine.
I bought it from Harbor Freight some years ago, know exactly where it is
in the tool chest.
I've only used it a couple times for handsaws, but wouldn't be without
it...just because.
Yes, they're hard to find these days, but they still make them. Chinese
I believe.
Best,
Wayne Seidl
On 7/25/2011 6:49 PM, Wes Rolley wrote:
> Mel's comments on tools and smiths and Phil reminded me of a frustrating
> excursion I had recently. I had a hand saw that pulled a bit to one
> side as I cut. So, I needed to set the kerf. Now, I remember a tool
> that my dad used to do just that. So, I went to all of the local big
> box stores like Home Depot and I did not find a single person who knew
> what I was talking about.
>
> Then, I went through the list of local, still keep going, hardware
> store. As I ran through nearly that group, I found one man who knew
> what tool you use to set the kerf. However, we haven't carried one for
> about 10 years. When blades start to go, people just buy a new one...
> or a new saw.
>
> Of course, we live in a world of finite resources and at some point, our
> throw away culture will come to an end.
>
James Freeman on tue 26 jul 11
On Mon, Jul 25, 2011 at 11:49 PM, pdp1 wrote:
If your Hand Saw had crossed a Nail or some other foreign or hard-enough
object on the left side, dulling the Teeth on some length of the left side,
the Saw could then 'pull' to the right where the Teeth points are still
sharp.
When I was building my house, I asked the log crew how they cut rounded
copes into the butt ends, or arched doorways. They said that they keep a
pair of chains that are intentionally dulled on one side, but sharp on the
other. With those chains installed, the saw automatically cuts on a curve.
All the best.
...James
James Freeman
"...outsider artists, caught in the bog of their own consciousness, too
preciously idiosyncratic to be taken seriously."
"All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should
not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed."
-Michel de Montaigne
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/resources
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