Thread: I've been gambling.....

Thanks, Ian, for the info. It's funny how things get stuck in ones mind, I thought the "Leapfrog" series was the top of the line, but I think SB would have done a bit more research than me! I will wait and see how further sharpening goes. Another tooth broke off at the point in question, as I was shaping for the 2nd time.
I can always print off one of the Blackburn Tools PPI guides later.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

MA

If your retouching this self indexing handsaw helps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEF6aGkkqlU>

or this simpler version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEF6aGkkqlU


I used the hacksaw version - after totally messing following the blackburn guides.
Did not use C clamps though, slotted a piece of timber about 60mm deep with a relief hole at the base of the slot and clamped the two tines to the blades with a bolt.


Cheers

Thanks Martin. Had a look at the video. Clever. I am thinking that my 16 ppi saw will need a very thin spacer!!

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Thanks Martin. Had a look at the video. Clever. I am thinking that my 16 ppi saw will need a very thin spacer!!

Try 8 ppi, then again halfway.

I went back to my saw this morning and sharpened from the other side (handle to my left). Normally I come at things from both sides but being a rip saw with smallish teeth I usually can get away with working from just one side. Switching things up has helped. Cut has straightened up and teeth profile improved. I only shaped/sharpened the teeth where the flat spots were. If it gets better each time, I'm very happy.

You have a good eye.
I have straightened some teeth by eye, but it was hell tricky. Mind you, I was working on 45 degree flem and if I made mistake (a talent) it was easy to file the tooth on the opposite side away.

MA, I always file small rip teeth from one side, I find it easier to keep a constant rake & tooth size with small teeth doing them from one side. The purists insist you should switch the saw around so the front of the tooth being filed leans away from you & you get a cleaner, chatter-free surface where it matters most. My experience suggests that makes a useful difference on larger teeth, but with the fine teeth, one is using finer-toothed files & they leave an acceptable surface whichever way the tooth is leaning.

I was an avid follower of Tage Frid, 40 years ago. He was a man of very down-to-earth methods, & when sharpening fine teeth (15tpi or more) he always filed them as rip & did them all from the same side. It is far easier, & in the vast majority of situations it makes little difference to either quality or speed of cutting across the grain. I have made a few saws of 15tpi or finer as crosscuts, but it's not a lot of fun & requires intense care & concentration on my part to get even teeth!

When dealing with teeth like you started with, I do my best to reestablish even spacings by eye & if some are still out of whack when I finish, provided the saw cuts smoothly enough, I leave them & try to improve them on subsequent sharpenings. If they are close, I'm usually successful, but sometimes I seem to go from bad to worse. It's a matter of concentration & good vision - I have good & bad days with saw sharpening - the latter nearly always when I try to hurry....

Cheers,