Thanks Paul,

Rather than reinvent the wheel I find it more profitable to investigate what has gone before, in this case saw blade tapering, as a guide in doing my own work.

What I've found is that to have an effective taper grind you need about 0.003" off in the first centimeter up from the toothline and a minimum of 0.010" or so taper at about 5/6 cm. A deeper saw blade needs more proportionally.

Disston messed around with a variety of starting thicknesses in the early days and gradually increased to 0.035" for a dovetail size saw and 0.042" for bigger saws by the 1898-1918 production period. Thus, taper grinding a saw with a plate less than 0.025" thick is really not worth the effort. The Wenzloff saws work well but only in the driest and most seasoned (partly rotted? Stradivarius' choice?) timber.

The finish of the plate also needs to be very smooth, not necessarily polished but at least 600 to 1000 grit or so.

Regards,
Rob