Thread: Do all Hand MitreSaws Cut so slow?

There's so many possible variables here....

If its a GOOD saw then resharpen it. If its disposable then.....

What do you mean by "Miter Saw" anyway? A Nobex or equivalent? A Tenon Saw (standard length or extended) in a frame or miter box?

You can tell whether a saw is sharp or blunt by how it cuts. Generally X-cut saws have a higher tooth count than other handsaws, which means they're slower cutting but "neater". If the saw is "good" you can get slightly more life out of any particular sharpening by rubbing the SIDES of the blade & teeth a few strokes only on each side with a stone. This takes a minuscule bit of set off the teeth and "refreshes" their triangular points.

But its better to resharpen if possible. There's plenty of good (and some bad) advice on the interweb re saw doctoring. There's also books & magazine articles too. Suffice it to say that you will ALWAYS get better results from home hand sharpening (provided it's done properly) than can be achieved commercially. The saw must be clamped firmly just below the toothline (pref in chops) levelled or breasted, shaped, set & sharpened in that sequence. Taking care of all the correct angles involved. Good bright task lighting is a must to see the reflections off the tooth facets.

A properly sharpened saw will literally "sing" through hardwood. One test I use is to let a darning needle run down the length of the saw when held teeth up and toe down.

I have seen good videos in the past ... I'm absolutely sure Roy Underhill has filmed on the subject ...

but this guy gives a quick piece on them ... how does yours compare?

Hi Tegmark,

My understanding (not an expert by any means) is with any hand sawing you should never put downward pressure on the cut - you lose the control of the cut.

The weight of the saw should be all the downward force you need, and you should concentrate have a light grip (no white knuckles) and keep the saw square.

As for cutting slowly - i can't help with that.

I found this Video really good for helping with my handsaw technique:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMKseOkhcqg


Cheers, Dave

Yep, if you're putting pressure on a saw to make it cut, it's well past time it saw the file!

A saw for a mitre box will (should) be sharpened as a 'crosscut', which as Ratbag says, means the teeth come to a point. This is called 'fleam'. These saws are harder for a beginner to sharpen, because you have more variables to watch as you file, so it might be a good idea to find someone capable of sharpening it for you. However, if it's just dull, & the teeth are otherwise in good shape, you could certainly have a go at it. Study the shape of each tooth, and you'll see that the file has to pass through each gullet at an angle, most likely somewhere around 25 degrees from straight across. Your teeth may also have 'slope', meaning the file handle has to be dropped to make the file point up as well as maintaining the fleam angle. Slope is desirable (it increases the volume of the gullets & actually makes the file cut more easily), but isn't essential, and adds another complication, which you don't need when starting out. You file every alternate tooth from one side, then flip the saw around & do the in-between teeth from that side. Here's a good set of instructions.

A sharp saw of around 12 tpi ought to whip through a 30 x 30mm piece of pine in about 10 strokes, so if you get your saw sharpened half well, I think you are in for a real surprise...
Cheers,

Tegmark

Just to add a little to the good advice already given, if you have an older style mitre saw, you certainly do not have to force down: In fact it is quite difficult to do that given the angle of the the saw, particularly if you are using one of the older style post mitre boxes.

However the weight of the saw really will do the job. They are huge. Compare the relatively dimiutive 12" back saw to the two mitre saws behind.

Simonds Back Saws 001.jpg

A 26" handsaw weighs around 750g (some a bit heavier and some a little lighter). However, a 26" mitre saw weighs around 1.5Kg. I am only familiar with these weights because I have had to post a couple.

Modern mitre saws may not have quite the size or the heft, but the principles are still the same.

Regards
Paul

No argument about the proper set-up for a mitre-saw ... but ...

in my messing around with handsaws, I found even a 6ppi ripsaw -can- leave a very smooth (almost glossy) surface when cutting flat across (like a mitresaw) . It was better in hardwood than soft. It wanted a nice, close set to the teeth. And you will end up with some breakout on the far side.
But ... it's easier to sharpen.

So ... depending on whether you just want to get things roughly to size, or are looking for a near-perfect cut ...

Also ... there are hard-point saws with japanese-style teeth around ... and japanese-style pull-saws too ... that don't cost the earth.

Cheers,
Paul