I bought a panel saw on eBay just recently. The plate steel it’s made from is quite thin for a western saw, but it’s thin on two counts; through maker design first, and then long-term wear. And it’s plate tapers too, like the more modern taper-ground saws of the 1900s, but this one tapers by…
Save your files and makes the saw filing experience more pleasant I thought this up some time back about the time I used a hacksaw to line out a recut on saw teeth using a guide made from wood and a hacksaw. This followed the act of filing off all teeth and then recutting new ones from…
Put two saws side by side with the same size teeth and the same pattern of shaping on the teeth and the two will often perform radically differently. Of course there’s lots of online teaching on saw sharpening to create even more confusion too, so the end results are not always favourable. Even makers can…
Let Sharpening Commence Firstly, let’s assume the saw is just dull but already established as a crosscut saw. My previous blog here shows you what to look for to differentiate between the two in both western and Asian saws. Of course we should assume that the saw is sharpenable and not one of the hard-point…
Introduction I have written this blog post for those who have crosscut saws that need sharpening. It is not about restoring a crosscut saw (even though sharpening is a restorative process), but for those who bought a crosscut-pattern saw and dulled it through normal use. Restorative work for neglected and abused saws is a more…
We just filmed some new stock on saw sharpening for crosscut and ripcut saw sharpening and in the move to the new workshop some of my gear is still submerged in the container we used to pick up the slack until the new facilities are in place. One thing was the long holder I use for sharpening…
I have taken a closer look at saws this year and thought I could share some thoughts on a few things in some posts. If someone walked into a big box store or even the local hardware store (if there is is such a thing any more) looking for a handsaw, what would they find?…
I have always wondered why it seems more and more that we have adverse concepts about standard coping saws when they are so efficient and effective in use and they are one of the easiest and lightest of saws to use. I have given my now five adult sons a coping saw to work with from…
Question: Hi Paul, I am trying to understand the difference between ripcut and cross cut saws. It seems confusing to me because there are so many. Do I need one of each or just one. I think from reading your posts and watching the video on saw sharpening you are saying I need only one….
Coping saws are so named because of their function. Fret saws because of the theirs, and of course key hole saws and table saws too. First, lets look at some differences. Table saws are a 1 1/4” wide saw blade long and slender with a pistol-grip handle. The blade varied in length but generally, around…