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  1. #1
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    Default Sharpening large pitch crosscut saws

    In another thread about identifying an uncarved Diston saw we drifted into talking about saws with a more complicated tooth geometry. These are very large pitch saws with periodic deeper gullets for raking sawdust. I think they were intended for crosscutting logs etc, but the tooth geometry is not as complex as some of the larger crosscut saws. Bushmiller kindly posted some instructions from his Simmonds saw resources - but these seem to be for setting and filing saws with dedicated rakers. I am not sure they apply to the simpler tooth geometry on the example I have.

    IMG_1826.JPG
    IMG_8181.JPG
    This purely academic, as I really don't have a need for such a saw - his one came with a bundle of others.
    I am wondering if this saw is meant to cut on both push and pull strokes, as the larger two-man crosscuts are?
    I have tried searching the net, but can't find this particular tooth pattern.
    Bruce

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  3. #2
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    Default

    it looks like a variation on the great american tooth pattern, but am i correct that none of the teeth have any fleam? If there's no fleam, it could've been just due to the saw being used on firewood (where it may not be noticeable) for cross cutting, or it may have been a hand saw used to rip medium sized wood.

    I'm guessing the former.

    Rip saws crosscut wood just fine as long as there's enough wood to keep the teeth from burying themselves and digging in (it's standard practice to crosscut large sections of dry wood with a coarse toothed rip saw - like 12/4 wood, etc)

  4. #3
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    I'm judging by the bench-top, but it looks a bit shorter than the one-man/two man saws we used back in my youth, which were around 5 feet long, but the shape, handle and hole at the end are otherwise the same. Your saw looks to be only about 4 feet (1200mm), which is rather short, but as I say, I'm just judging by what else I can see in the pic. The hole at the tip is for a 'peg' handle that you screwed in when you had a helper, or took off to use it by yourself. They were most certainly sharpened with fleam, since they were only used for cross-cutting, and cutting green wood - you had to be a tough customer to saw dry firewood by hand in this part of the world! I spent more hours than I care to remember with that peg handle in my hands, docking Stringybarks around 600-800 mm diameter. That was the size the old pot used to prefer for splitting fenceposts from.

    There are & were several different tooth patterns that were popular in different areas, but those square gullets are a novel touch. I'd say whoever last attacked that saw with a file had not heard of 'fleam' and hadn't quite mastered saw-filing. Might even be worse than my first effort as saw-sharpening. So don't put any store by the current shapes of the teeth - I think they are just a rough guide to what was once there, which almost certainly would have included fleamed teeth. That saw has seen a lot of use (or the owner had many, many attempts to sharpen it ), there's a lot of blade gone....

    Cheers,
    IW

  5. #4
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    Yes Ian, you are right in your estimates. It is roughly the same length as a normal handsaw and looks like it has had a lot of use. I don’t read anything into the lack of gleam which only reflects the last of many sharpening. I noticed the rectangular gullets and also slight variations in the tooth angle where it meets the deep gullet.
    Regardless of the last sharpening, it seems to have retained an excellent tooth pattern through a lot of use, so has been maintained by an expert.
    l would be surprised if a second handle could be used on a saw this length but maybe the hole was made for consistency with larger models. So maybe this was a small handy saw for trimming up or tight spots?

  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by bruceward51 View Post
    Yes Ian, you are right in your estimates......

    ..... l would be surprised if a second handle could be used on a saw this length but maybe the hole was made for consistency with larger models. So maybe this was a small handy saw for trimming up or tight spots? ....
    No Bruce, I was way out - if it's 'normal' handsaw length, even a monster 36 incher, it would still be about 300mm shorter than my estimate! That makes a big difference to my view - I'd say now that it's more likely the hole was put there by an owner for hanging purposes (a not uncommon practice). The resemblance of the handle to the larger saws is just co-incidental - it's pretty clearly a home-cooked handle. Taking a closer look at the blade shape, the skew is far from a typical graceful curve, too - I'm wondering if the whole thing is a home-made job. How thick is the plate?

    Cheers,
    IW

  7. #6
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    Default

    Hi Bruce,

    just wanting to show a few more views of the teeth on the bushman saw I posted earlier (first two photos)
    I think the last filer did a poor job at maintaining the correct geometry.

    plus another European one man saw with similar tooth pattern (next lot of photos)

    They appear to be filled for cutting in both directions, with fleam to the inside faces
    and straight across on the gullet faces.

    Graham.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  8. #7
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    I just ran a tape over the saw and the plate is 24 in - 600 mm so even smaller than the standard 26in saws.


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  9. #8
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    Thanks Graham, that gives me a good starting point (no pun intended). I will give it a go and report back.


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  10. #9
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    I struggled a bit - probably needed a larger file, but I got by. Filed gleam onto the front face of all forward facing teeth from both sides. It seems to cut better but needs a little more set.


    I am satisfied that this is how it was meant to be.
    Thanks for the help.
    Bruce


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