Infill Sawset

[pmcgee]

It looks like it might be hefty ...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VINTAGE-O...item20fcfabca4

[Luke Maddux]

Drool...

[IanW]

“USED VERY GOOD-GOOD ANTIQUE CONDITION - VERY RARE - A QUALITY COLLECTABLE TOOL - Tricketts Type ”

So if it's in good condition, why does it need that cobbled-up chunk of brass to hold its guts together? I assume you're being sarcastic Luke. If you want a curiosity, go for it, but I wouldn't be in any hurry to bid on this one if I waned a user!

[Luke Maddux]

I assume you're being sarcastic Luke

Haha, no I was being serious. I guess it shows what I know about saw sets. I just thought it was cool that it had wood and brass components. I've not seen that before. After looking at the photos which were (understandably) further to the right, I now see that it has some odd holes in it and appears to be held together with a nail.

Wasn't actually considering it. I guess that was just the "Oooh! Shiny!" part of my brain firing off.

[pmcgee]

and while we're near the subject of sawteeth ...

Disston 1918 catalogue ... might have something to do with current issues ...

dfiles.PNG

[IanW]

Oh for the good old days, eh? I'd love to know how many saws they expected to sharpen with each file - I suppose you could get a rough idea if you knew how many saws Henry made in 1918, and divided by 35,000...

Luke, we woodworkers all seem to be suckers for a bit of shiny brass. I have to admit, there is something fatally attractive about brass coupled with a nice bit of wood, but not when it's as rough as that, and the retaining screws aren't neatly placed!

Cheers,

[Luke Maddux]

Luke, we woodworkers all seem to be suckers for a bit of shiny brass. I have to admit, there is something fatally attractive about brass coupled with a nice bit of wood, but not when it's as rough as that, and the retaining screws aren't neatly placed!

Cheers,

So the question is... is the world is ready for the release of the official, first edition, handmade I. Wilkie and Co. Brass Infill Sawset?

[Simplicity]

There is nothing wrong with a bit of bling bling in the workshop.
But Ian I'm afraid I don't think gold(brass) embossed saw sets will take off.
Only really tho ,one way to test the market is maybe to produce a limited sign and number saw sets ????

[Luke Maddux]

[IanW]

There is nothing wrong with a bit of bling bling in the workshop.
But Ian I'm afraid I don't think gold(brass) embossed saw sets will take off.
Only really tho ,one way to test the market is maybe to produce a limited sign and number saw sets ????

If one of the gurus in the blogosphere decides we have to have such things before we can saw straight, I'm sure someone will rush to fill the void, but I think I'll leave that niche for someone else, folks.

When you can still pick up perfectly good, highly functional Eclipses for 10 bucks & less, I don't think the market is quite ready for blinged sawsets, yet, but I'm sure it's coming.....

Cheers,

[Simplicity]

If we create a market they will come or something like that lol lol .
Well maybe ,but I'm not going to give up my day job quite yet .

[Luke Maddux]

I've never really given this much thought, but is anyone actually making and selling new saw sets? Is this a tool which exists exclusively on the vintage market?

If so, that's a pretty unique thing...

[Simplicity]

Thats an interesting observation there

[Twisted Tenon]

I've never really given this much thought, but is anyone actually making and selling new saw sets? Is this a tool which exists exclusively on the vintage market?

If so, that's a pretty unique thing...

Amazon sell a range of them. I imagine other suppliers will sell them too.

TT

[IanW]

Amazon sell a range of them. I imagine other suppliers will sell them too....

Yep, they are certainly still made. Somax (Japan) make an almost exact copy of the old Eclipse 77. The 'blue' model has a narrow end on the plunger, to fit fine teeth, but they struggle (& so do I!) with teeth finer than about 18tpi. I've had a Somax for several years & it does a good enough job. The anvil is a bit softer, and certainly wasn't as well machined as those on the (old) Eclipses I have, but it copes. You don't have to buy a blue Somax for your finer saws, it's very easy to modify the plunger of a bog standard Eclipse (which you'll pick up for a quarter of the money if you look about). The plunger is quite soft & files easily. It just takes a bit of care to keep the business-end centered.

I bought a Somax for my fine saws, thinking it would be made with a different anvil from the sets made for larger teeth. As far as I can tell, the only difference is in the width of the plunger, the anvil is the same as a standard Eclipse, but not as crisply machined, & not as hard as on my older Eclipse. With this type of set, the anvil has a chamfer which spirals around it, starting from almost nothing & increasing to about 2mm wide. The idea is to select a part of the anvil so that you will push over about a 3rd of the tooth, so obviously you need very little chamfer to do that on a very small tooth. Some people maintain that the numbers on the anvil correspond to the tpi of the saw you want to set, but that is only roughly so.

The reason I say that is because 'set' is not determined by the tooth size alone. For starters, you need more set on a saw used to cut wood with a high M.C., compared with a saw used for for dry wood only, & it also varies with the wood type & the skill of the sawyer. Another consideration is the thickness of the saw plate. For the sort of general sawing I do, I've found the most useful set is one that results in a kerf that is between 15 & 20% greater than the plate thickness (others' mileage will vary!), so obviously, the thicker the plate, the more you need to push the tooth over. Since the angle of the chamfer on the anvil is fixed, the only way you can dial up more or less 'push over' is to increase or decrease the width of the chamfer where the tooth meets it, so that you bend more or less tooth. So while the 'ideal' set should only include the upper 3rd, in practice you often end up with a little more or less, depending on your needs & preferences.

The good news is that you don't need to worry about the theory - all you need is a bit of trial & error, which will soon tell you how much set each saw needs - if they are binding on you, you need more, & if the saw 'rattles' in the cut & wants to head off in any direction it chooses, you need less. Once you establish the Goldilocks point, just remember what number it was.....

Cheers,