FenceFurniture
Established Member
Cheers Carl and Coley. Ealy on in the research my partner and I went out for dinner and she actually said it was boring and she wasn't interested! Can you believe THAT??!! :roll:
SAW FILES TESTS - 23 files tested by 3 experienced filers
- Thread starter FenceFurniture
- Start date
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woodbrains
Established Member
Hello,
This is absolutely brilliant! Not being an expert saw sharpener, it was beyond my knowledge and experience, as to what makes a good saw file. I always just bought the best known brand and thought it would do the job. But I suppose in the same way that the quality of wood working tools from well known brands was gradually diminished until they were virtually unusable, it is the same with saw files. Now we can buy excellent tools again, because some toolmakers listened to woodworkers, let us hope the same happens with saw files. This research is too good not to act on. I only hope something gets done soon; I have a load of saws I have wanted to sharpen for months, but have held off doing anything about it while this research has been going on. I can't buy good files till someone makes them! ARRGH!
Mike.
This is absolutely brilliant! Not being an expert saw sharpener, it was beyond my knowledge and experience, as to what makes a good saw file. I always just bought the best known brand and thought it would do the job. But I suppose in the same way that the quality of wood working tools from well known brands was gradually diminished until they were virtually unusable, it is the same with saw files. Now we can buy excellent tools again, because some toolmakers listened to woodworkers, let us hope the same happens with saw files. This research is too good not to act on. I only hope something gets done soon; I have a load of saws I have wanted to sharpen for months, but have held off doing anything about it while this research has been going on. I can't buy good files till someone makes them! ARRGH!
Mike.
FenceFurniture
Established Member
Thank you chaps - it's almost been a pleasure (except for one other forum - Gawd blimey).
I have now turned the report into a PDF, and this has several advantages:
1. better resolution pics
2. can be enlarged as much as you like
3. better organisation, and all in one piece.
Unfortunately though, I can't upload it here, as PDFs are not a valid extension. So, could somebody who is NOT a member of the Australian Forum (which absolutely rocks for functionality and generosity of spirit , btw) try to download it from the following link and tell me if it's possible please?
http://www.woodworkforums.com/f152/saw-sharpening-files-101-a-171926/#post1683198
If that works then I'll edit this post to make it fairly bold and brassy
so it sticks out like wotsits.
I have now turned the report into a PDF, and this has several advantages:
1. better resolution pics
2. can be enlarged as much as you like
3. better organisation, and all in one piece.
Unfortunately though, I can't upload it here, as PDFs are not a valid extension. So, could somebody who is NOT a member of the Australian Forum (which absolutely rocks for functionality and generosity of spirit , btw) try to download it from the following link and tell me if it's possible please?
http://www.woodworkforums.com/f152/saw-sharpening-files-101-a-171926/#post1683198
If that works then I'll edit this post to make it fairly bold and brassy
so it sticks out like wotsits.
thick_mike
Wood Shortener
I thought citric acid was used as an attempt to sharpen a blunt file. Maybe a way to prolong the usefulness of a good old file?
thick_mike
Wood Shortener
FenceFurniture":uncrcpgi said:Thank you chaps - it's almost been a pleasure (except for one other forum - Gawd blimey).
I have now turned the report into a PDF, and this has several advantages:
1. better resolution pics
2. can be enlarged as much as you like
3. better organisation, and all in one piece.
Unfortunately though, I can't upload it here, as PDFs are not a valid extension. So, could somebody who is NOT a member of the Australian Forum (which absolutely rocks for functionality and generosity of spirit , btw) try to download it from the following link and tell me if it's possible please?
http://www.woodworkforums.com/f152/saw-sharpening-files-101-a-171926/#post1683198
If that works then I'll edit this post to make it fairly bold and brassy
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thick_mike
Wood Shortener
Great work by the way...I like the scientific approach. I will show it to my Year 9 students as an example of design of experiments!
FenceFurniture
Established Member
Thicky, that is the general use for CA (apart from soft drinks and rust removal of course). We had a thread on that function about a year ago. My thoughts vacillated a bit between the two schools of thought, as more experiments were done.thick_mike":2aoztyqy said:
In the end, I say don't be a scab, and go and buy a new file which will KILL the old one, CA treated or not. I equated it as trying to get one last board out of the 240 grit, when you know you really need to break out a new sheet. Just get on with it, and all that.
Btw, you might be a good candidate for this: do you know what a pillow case is in Greek?
And another thing, every country has one or two of these, but this gal takes the cake (well worth a look and a laugh)
https://www.tntmagazine.com/news/australia-news/video-one-nation-candidate-stephanie-banister-says-shes-not-opposed-to-islam-as-a-country
We call people like this "bogans", and other things involving lots of "f"s. Can you believe that she was going to run in our Federal Election which is in a month? Since her big moment, when she "made the news" thinking it was her launch to stardom, she's been pilloried around the globe - went viral apparently.
FenceFurniture
Established Member
thick_mike":38nmih6w said:Got this message...
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Bugrit. Ok, two options:
everybody has to join the Aussie forum :mrgreen:
or if someone has a blog that they'd like to load it to (I can email it to you) and we can put a link in here. It's 3.45mb of PDF
FenceFurniture
Established Member
I didn't think of that. I have one myself, but is there a time limit?ColeyS1":30oj5lg4 said:
FenceFurniture
Established Member
Apparently not, so that's what I'll do. Probably not until tomorrow morning (midnight today your time, and after we've got a lead of 70 or 80 :lol: )FenceFurniture":3o9mnfoc said:
thick_mike
Wood Shortener
FenceFurniture":1870wh92 said:
?????????μαξιλαροθήκη
That went straight over my head!!
FenceFurniture
Established Member
thick_mike":156sai7e said:FenceFurniture":156sai7e said:
?????????μαξιλαροθήκη
That went straight over my head!!
You didn't look at the latin alphabet translation: maxilaro-thiki (hammer) (no :roflmao2: smilie here)
toysandboats
Established Member
I'd like to offer my thanks for your excellent work.
I do a very limited amount of saw sharpening and bought 3 different makes of file and was surprised by the variation in success - or lack of it..
Having read your report, I now understand my poor success rate.
All the files were poor from your results despite being reputable names - until now.
Bahco and Vallorbe , I'm saddened to find are not necessarily trustworthy.
Well done and I hope other manufacturers follow Bahco's lead.
David
I do a very limited amount of saw sharpening and bought 3 different makes of file and was surprised by the variation in success - or lack of it..
Having read your report, I now understand my poor success rate.
All the files were poor from your results despite being reputable names - until now.
Bahco and Vallorbe , I'm saddened to find are not necessarily trustworthy.
Well done and I hope other manufacturers follow Bahco's lead.
David
cagenuts
Established Member
FenceFurniture
Established Member
Test Report uploaded to Dropbox:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/29981076/SAW FILE TEST RESULTS.pdf
It's a PDF with higher resolution images, and can be easily enlarged for inspection of detail.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/29981076/SAW FILE TEST RESULTS.pdf
It's a PDF with higher resolution images, and can be easily enlarged for inspection of detail.
I know this thread is 6yr old now but I still found it invaluable and an amazing effort and professionalism from all concerned. Cannot thank you enough =D>
I have quite a few old saws I believe that need restoration and sharpening. There are definitely Nicholson and a few of them. A bunch of files were with them. The more I delve into exactly what I got for my 20 quid the more it looks as if I did damn well a Stanley no.4 was my main reason for buying. Now I'm off to sort out my files.
Great thread.
I have quite a few old saws I believe that need restoration and sharpening. There are definitely Nicholson and a few of them. A bunch of files were with them. The more I delve into exactly what I got for my 20 quid the more it looks as if I did damn well a Stanley no.4 was my main reason for buying. Now I'm off to sort out my files.
Great thread.
Don't get too thrown by this study. At the time, it was presented on several other forums, and while it's excellently done, the motive behind it seemed (and I've taken some heat from the original poster) to lack clarity that there was a relationship with liogier, and hopes of gaining consulting fees or something related to distribution of files (which never really materialized).
The poster is in australia where options are understandably more limited, but one has to be realistic about the size of the market buying taper saw files - it's tiny, it's not going to grow (giant companies like williams and cooper are never going to cater to hobbyists who buy a pack of files and complain that they want their money back or some other nonsense), and in the united states, where we were exhorted to "sign a petition", the simple truth is for folks who can tolerate a 10-pack of files (something that's wise to get if you use a specific size often), bahco files are superb in the sizes available, have been consistent both in availability and quality- and there's no real crisis here.
It's a shame that our domestic brand (nicholson) went into the toilet, but their files from mexico are now passable here and sometimes available for $3 each.
Beware of too-specific studies such as this decrying the horrible situation we're in as there is no such thing in the US and europe as it goes to sharpening saws.
All that said, if you got several quality files for 20 quid, you're already on the mark just for that. If you got a bunch of tools along with them, then you're way past it.
The hype with saw files has gone bonkers because of a few makers and saw restorers who want to pummel the public with complaints that they can't recut a set of teeth with a single file. It's not an issue for us as users - if you use saws, you will get to a point (hopefully) where it's clear to you that often and less intensive sharpening is better policy - especially if you're doing rough work with saws, too - ripping lumber, resawing, etc, and in that case, you'll secure a supply of files - perhaps a dozen of a given size, and you may get ten resharpenings out of a single file and wonder what all of the hype is about. For more than a century, tooth cutting has been done by machines, not by files.
I am a top offender in talking about topical sharpening stuff, but just like files - when it gets to the point that someone is partisan and tells you that "all of the good options are gone and we have a crisis of incapable gizmos", watch your wallet. You'll still likely be able to find packs of old files faster than you can use them, and you don't need a new $10 a file option among those that are already there.
The poster is in australia where options are understandably more limited, but one has to be realistic about the size of the market buying taper saw files - it's tiny, it's not going to grow (giant companies like williams and cooper are never going to cater to hobbyists who buy a pack of files and complain that they want their money back or some other nonsense), and in the united states, where we were exhorted to "sign a petition", the simple truth is for folks who can tolerate a 10-pack of files (something that's wise to get if you use a specific size often), bahco files are superb in the sizes available, have been consistent both in availability and quality- and there's no real crisis here.
It's a shame that our domestic brand (nicholson) went into the toilet, but their files from mexico are now passable here and sometimes available for $3 each.
Beware of too-specific studies such as this decrying the horrible situation we're in as there is no such thing in the US and europe as it goes to sharpening saws.
All that said, if you got several quality files for 20 quid, you're already on the mark just for that. If you got a bunch of tools along with them, then you're way past it.
The hype with saw files has gone bonkers because of a few makers and saw restorers who want to pummel the public with complaints that they can't recut a set of teeth with a single file. It's not an issue for us as users - if you use saws, you will get to a point (hopefully) where it's clear to you that often and less intensive sharpening is better policy - especially if you're doing rough work with saws, too - ripping lumber, resawing, etc, and in that case, you'll secure a supply of files - perhaps a dozen of a given size, and you may get ten resharpenings out of a single file and wonder what all of the hype is about. For more than a century, tooth cutting has been done by machines, not by files.
I am a top offender in talking about topical sharpening stuff, but just like files - when it gets to the point that someone is partisan and tells you that "all of the good options are gone and we have a crisis of incapable gizmos", watch your wallet. You'll still likely be able to find packs of old files faster than you can use them, and you don't need a new $10 a file option among those that are already there.
Some much-needed clarity there D_W, thanks for that.
Plus in the UK perhaps more than anywhere else (excepting the NE over there) secondhand files are available in abundance. Add to that that most files can be brought back to a usable state at least once by acid sharpening, and often more than once, and the situation isn't dire at all despite how few options there are for buying new.D_W":rr8cyoa9 said:
