Alf
Established Member
This is partial follow-up to the Big Bash, and partially to do with Philly's blog. Not long ago there was a thread on WoodNet about buying and learning to sharpen old saws with lots of advice about what a good idea it was. For some reason The Muse struck in a big way, despite WN's lousy little text window, and I penned the following. I actually printed it out and had it with me at the Big Bash as a Dire Warning, but I judging by one or two recent comments and/or purchases I neglected to make sure everyone read it. I'm not usually one for cross-posting, but I feel bound to point out that this warning was out there and available all along, so it's not my fault. You were warned. You just hadn't read the warning... 
So you want to get into using old saws...?
Speaking as someone with, erm, a "few" old saws 'cos they're so cheap, I have to say DON'T DO IT!
You start with one beater rip because everyone tells you that it's easy to learn to sharpen them and large teeth are the way to start. Now I don't know how it is in your neck of the woods, but rip saws are usually in the best shape 'cos no-one was mad enough to rip saw anything by hand if they could possibly help it.
You make or buy a vice (vise, guys), you track down a source for saw files (easier for you fellas in North America), you rip open you hand jointing the teeth down (might just be me, that one... ), you make little blocks for rake angle as per Mr Taran's advice, you buy every saw set you see not knowing which one will work best for which tooth size. Two or three months later, you're ready to start.
So you sharpen the saw and lo', 'tis true, it's easier than it looks. Your sawing arm feels like it's going to drop off if you don't stop saying "Hey, come and look at this" and demonstrating how fast it is to everyone who comes to the house, but it's all Good. That's when the rot sets in.
You start buying up virtually every saw you see 'cos they SO DARN CHEAP. But how many rip saws are you really going to need? Exactly. So you start buying handsaws, and what the heck, the joinery saws are the ones I'm going to use most so I'll get those too, you think.
So you have a big pile of beautiful old saws - and we get some really good ones here in Blighty. You all get excited about infills, but man, the handsaws. Hand-shaped handles, none of your Disston factory stuff, split nuts 'til your eyes pop, gorgeous beech handles, sunken medallions - Kangeroos for Robert Sorby, Elephants for Tyzack, Spear & Jackson's Royal Coat of Arms.... Oh boy.
Sorry, where was I? 8-[
Oh yeah, Pile O' Saws. So you pick up the coarsest handsaw to attempt your first crosscut; sort out your fleam angle, get the right little rake angle block on the end of the correct size of file and go to work.
And you have the finest example of Cows & Calves in the Western Hemisphere. No, it's worse, it's not even that regular. Bum. Evidentally you need to reshape the teeth, so you retop the teeth and get to work.
And retop the teeth.
And again.
And again.
Meanwhile your lovely saw is getting smaller and smaller. You think of the 150 years its survived; two world wars, decimalisation, Mrs Thatcher, and you're going to kill it in a couple of hours. Why can't you do this?!
You go away and order more files to replace the ones you've used up trying to reshape the teeth and find your supplier can't get them any more. You start searching for a new source and turn your attention to the backsaws while you're waiting for the 8-10 week order delivery time.
After all, you want some backsaws to be rip, right? And you can do rip, right? You turn to a likely specimen.
For the love of Norm, who shrank these teeth?!
You go in and search out a magnifying visor via Google, and wait for delivery. A week later it comes and you start again. Except you can't see anything through it unless your nose is virtually resting on the teeth. But you persevere 'cos you can do rip teeth, right?
Oh, seems someone let the teeth on this one get in a bit of a state too. More shaping - only three times smaller scale. I'll just rest my nose here and get on with it then.
Meanwhile the LOYL (Love Of Your Life) is adding more and more items to the Tuit/Honey Do list and asking pointedly what you need all these tools for if you never use any but those little files. And incidentally what was that bill for a saw vice on the kitchen table and do you know the builder's coming in tomorrow to do the blurfl you promised to build six months ago before you bought that saw?
But you stick to it, because old saws are CHEAP and SHARPENING THEM IS EASY. Too bad no-one ever lays any stress on SHAPING THEM and occasionally COMPLETELY RECUTTING THEM. ](*,)
So eventually YOU GET IT, and you can shape and sharpen a back saw in under an hour without your eyes bossing. That's great. Well now you can do it naturally it'd be foolish to let all those CHEAP SAWS go unbought, right? So you buy them.
Occasionally you get out a board and a favourite plane to make a few shavings, just for old time's sake, and tell yourself you'll make something again soon. A saw till perhaps? Mebbe two...
Old CHEAP saws have started to take over your life, so everywhere you go, you talk about it. You become a saw sharpening bore. People start to shuffle away at the mere hint of a mention of fleam. Or worse - much worse - someone asks you if you'd sharpen their saw. Or saws. And yes, they were my grandfather's so there's sentimental value, you're told, just to pile on the pressure. So now you're getting parcels labelled "Saw Doctor" and having to go to the post office whenever you're not sharpening, setting, or - dear lord - reshaping - ruddy saw teeth.
The LOYL has left you and sold all your Lie-Nielsens to fund his/her therapy, you can't focus on anything further away than 10 inches, you have a permanent groove in your finger from pressing on a saw file and you're still waiting for that 8-10 week saw file order to show up.
But on the other hand, they are cheap.
Obviously I exaggerate for comedic effect*. But not perhaps as much as I wish I had to... :lol:
Cheers, Alf
*F'rinstance, if I really minded about sharpening other people's saws I'd say "no" - and obviously saw files aren't as easy to get hold of as a mere 8-10 week order time... :wink:
So you want to get into using old saws...?
Speaking as someone with, erm, a "few" old saws 'cos they're so cheap, I have to say DON'T DO IT!
You start with one beater rip because everyone tells you that it's easy to learn to sharpen them and large teeth are the way to start. Now I don't know how it is in your neck of the woods, but rip saws are usually in the best shape 'cos no-one was mad enough to rip saw anything by hand if they could possibly help it.
You make or buy a vice (vise, guys), you track down a source for saw files (easier for you fellas in North America), you rip open you hand jointing the teeth down (might just be me, that one...
), you make little blocks for rake angle as per Mr Taran's advice, you buy every saw set you see not knowing which one will work best for which tooth size. Two or three months later, you're ready to start. So you sharpen the saw and lo', 'tis true, it's easier than it looks. Your sawing arm feels like it's going to drop off if you don't stop saying "Hey, come and look at this" and demonstrating how fast it is to everyone who comes to the house, but it's all Good. That's when the rot sets in.
You start buying up virtually every saw you see 'cos they SO DARN CHEAP. But how many rip saws are you really going to need? Exactly. So you start buying handsaws, and what the heck, the joinery saws are the ones I'm going to use most so I'll get those too, you think.
So you have a big pile of beautiful old saws - and we get some really good ones here in Blighty. You all get excited about infills, but man, the handsaws. Hand-shaped handles, none of your Disston factory stuff, split nuts 'til your eyes pop, gorgeous beech handles, sunken medallions - Kangeroos for Robert Sorby, Elephants for Tyzack, Spear & Jackson's Royal Coat of Arms.... Oh boy.
Sorry, where was I? 8-[
Oh yeah, Pile O' Saws. So you pick up the coarsest handsaw to attempt your first crosscut; sort out your fleam angle, get the right little rake angle block on the end of the correct size of file and go to work.
And you have the finest example of Cows & Calves in the Western Hemisphere. No, it's worse, it's not even that regular. Bum. Evidentally you need to reshape the teeth, so you retop the teeth and get to work.
And retop the teeth.
And again.
And again.
Meanwhile your lovely saw is getting smaller and smaller. You think of the 150 years its survived; two world wars, decimalisation, Mrs Thatcher, and you're going to kill it in a couple of hours. Why can't you do this?!
You go away and order more files to replace the ones you've used up trying to reshape the teeth and find your supplier can't get them any more. You start searching for a new source and turn your attention to the backsaws while you're waiting for the 8-10 week order delivery time.
After all, you want some backsaws to be rip, right? And you can do rip, right? You turn to a likely specimen.
For the love of Norm, who shrank these teeth?!
You go in and search out a magnifying visor via Google, and wait for delivery. A week later it comes and you start again. Except you can't see anything through it unless your nose is virtually resting on the teeth. But you persevere 'cos you can do rip teeth, right?
Oh, seems someone let the teeth on this one get in a bit of a state too. More shaping - only three times smaller scale. I'll just rest my nose here and get on with it then.
Meanwhile the LOYL (Love Of Your Life) is adding more and more items to the Tuit/Honey Do list and asking pointedly what you need all these tools for if you never use any but those little files. And incidentally what was that bill for a saw vice on the kitchen table and do you know the builder's coming in tomorrow to do the blurfl you promised to build six months ago before you bought that saw?
But you stick to it, because old saws are CHEAP and SHARPENING THEM IS EASY. Too bad no-one ever lays any stress on SHAPING THEM and occasionally COMPLETELY RECUTTING THEM. ](*,)
So eventually YOU GET IT, and you can shape and sharpen a back saw in under an hour without your eyes bossing. That's great. Well now you can do it naturally it'd be foolish to let all those CHEAP SAWS go unbought, right? So you buy them.
Occasionally you get out a board and a favourite plane to make a few shavings, just for old time's sake, and tell yourself you'll make something again soon. A saw till perhaps? Mebbe two...
Old CHEAP saws have started to take over your life, so everywhere you go, you talk about it. You become a saw sharpening bore. People start to shuffle away at the mere hint of a mention of fleam. Or worse - much worse - someone asks you if you'd sharpen their saw. Or saws. And yes, they were my grandfather's so there's sentimental value, you're told, just to pile on the pressure. So now you're getting parcels labelled "Saw Doctor" and having to go to the post office whenever you're not sharpening, setting, or - dear lord - reshaping - ruddy saw teeth.
The LOYL has left you and sold all your Lie-Nielsens to fund his/her therapy, you can't focus on anything further away than 10 inches, you have a permanent groove in your finger from pressing on a saw file and you're still waiting for that 8-10 week saw file order to show up.
But on the other hand, they are cheap.
Obviously I exaggerate for comedic effect*. But not perhaps as much as I wish I had to... :lol:
Cheers, Alf
*F'rinstance, if I really minded about sharpening other people's saws I'd say "no" - and obviously saw files aren't as easy to get hold of as a mere 8-10 week order time... :wink:
