Thread: Sloped Gullets

Just a little diversion, but I think Paul will be ok with it.
I went screen looking for, foot operated saw clamp thingys.
Auntie Google gave me this.




Cheers Matt.

Originally Posted by macg

Paul,

your question about what appears to be a dial indicator on the top,

in the advertising blurb it says

'A cord attached to lever at B, and operated by the foot on the treadle below, is used for screwing up the Clamp,
thus leaving both hands free to guide the saw.'

My interpretation of this is, the letter B is missing but refers the top 'jaw clamping' threaded / or camed lever which,
is remotely operated by a foot treadle via a chain. thus freeing both hands to locate the saw in the jaws of the saw clamp.

So I use, if the saw was clamped in the clamp to start filing at the toe, then when the saw needs moving,
you would release the clamp using he foot treadle while using both hands to reposition the saw to file the
teeth closer towards the handle.

Does that make sense at all??

It does doesn't it??

Graham.

Graham

Firstly, I am relieved that you too cannot see letter "B." I was starting to suspect that it was only me.

When I look at the engraving (note they say "engraving," but possibly that was most pictures back in the 1870s) and with your thoughts directing me I can see a hole at the lower end of the pointer style lever probably for the cord. Indeed it seems likely that it is some sort of cam mechanism and perhaps the pointer is just to indicate when it is in the tightest position. It may have seemed a wonderful idea when they were compiling the catalogue but possibly it was never actually made.

At $5.00 it was in round figures between two and four times the price of the other saw clamps in the first picture. The working carpenter might not have been overly keen to part with his hard earned cash on this new device. I still hope to track it down in another catalogue, but again I am still looking.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Just a little diversion, but I think Paul will be ok with it.
I went screen looking for, foot operated saw clamp thingys.
Auntie Google gave me this.






Cheers Matt.

Matt

Are you certain that is a saw clamp? It does not look as though there is a locking device. Now if you were putting it up as an instrument of torture I may be more inclined to go along with that (providing I was the foot operator).

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Matt

Are you certain that is a saw clamp? It does not look as though there is a locking device. Now if you were putting it up as an instrument of torture I may be more inclined to go along with that (providing I was the foot operator).

Regards
Paul

Sorry Paul,
No it was not a saw clamp ,per say, was just listed as a blacksmith made clamp.

As regards to an implement of Torture , how’s everything going on the home front, need to talk [emoji6][emoji6][emoji3064][emoji3064][emoji3064].

But it could actually work as a saw vice with some “improvements” I reckon [emoji851]

Cheers Matt.

Paul,

If you can enlarge the 'engraving' you'll see that the pivoted clamping lever 'B' has a hole at either end,
for attaching two separate cords that go to the pivoted treadle, which during operation may mean
toe down = clamp jaws closed and when heel down = clamp jaws open.

Over the years I've looked at a lot of these old 'engravings' and I reckon at times some of the finer detail
just does not translate well from the inventors drawings, but they do convey the general idea across.

Graham.

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Graham



At $5.00 it was in round figures between two and four times the price of the other saw clamps in the first picture. The working carpenter might not have been overly keen to part with his hard earned cash on this new device. I still hope to track it down in another catalogue, but again I am still looking.

Regards
Paul

Paul,

I agree that a working carpenter may not want to fork out for this saw clamp
but, a saw sharpening business or saw 'doctor' may see its advantages!!!!

Graham.

Originally Posted by macg

Paul,

I agree that a working carpenter may not want to fork out for this saw clamp
but, a saw sharpening business or saw 'doctor' may see its advantages!!!!

Graham.

Graham

I had not thought of that as I was focused on the tradesman, who, I think, would have sharpened his own saw.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

......I had not thought of that as I was focused on the tradesman, who, I think, would have sharpened his own saw......

In my dad's day, it often fell to the apprentice to do the saw sharpening (they probably had keener eyesight than their masters!). I don't know if that was standard practice or just his experience. Certainly all the old chippies I knew were more than capable of sharpening their hand saws. They were often sharpened on the jobsite when heavy work made frequent sharpening necessary, or as a Sunday afternoon chore. One old bloke I knew served his time in England before the turn of last century (he was in his eighties when I knew him in the late 50s, building a house, on his own, for our neighbors). He used to tell me stories about his journeyman years early in the 1900s. One story I remember was that he was sawing a board two storeys up on a new building, one day, when the eagle-eyed foreman bellowed at him from across the street "'Ere you, go sharpen that there bloody saw!"

.I think there was a general expectation that a carpenter was capable of doing a passable job of sharpening a saw up until the powered saw elbowed the handsaw out, but there were always those who were much better at it than others. The "others" probably found it more efficient to take their saws to a professional...

Cheers,

Ian

I think the world over the apprentices got all the good jobs.



Regards
Paul

Without having really got anywhere I have not stopped looking for more information. Funny how much is sitting in front of you all the time. These pix are from a 1875 publication supporting more the concept of deep gullets and tall teeth. I had seen it several times , but it still did not register with me. Children have a lot to answer for as they are entirely responsible for the promotion of daddy looks!

1875 Disston The Hand saw p6.jpg1875 Disston The Hand saw p7.jpg

Regards
Paul

"......After the saw has been properly set & sharpened, a light cut with a flat file over the points of the teeth to bring them all on a line will insure smooth cutting & make the filing last longer....."

"Jointing" (or "topping") your teeth after sharpening? That's a newie to me. I can see how it would smooth out the action of a not-very-well sharpened saw, but it seems a bit defeatist. I need to mull this one over for a while, and maybe do some testing...

Just doing it as a 'thought experiment', a light flattening of rip teeth shouldn't affect tooth action much, they are a series of scrapers, after all, so it's the leading edge doing all the work, but surely that edge is going to wear just as quickly? In fact, having 'blunt' ends on rip teeth might make life easier for the type who like to apply excessive pressure on their saws, it would reduce the 'bite' of teeth that come to a sharp edge.

I can't see a similar simple relationship for crosscut teeth, though again, without trying, who can say? I'm guessing the emphasis is very much on the "light" word in that sentence. In my mind, I'm seeing definite shiny flats, but maybe I'm over-doing it. Definitely something to mull over before I run a file over the tops of a freshly-sharpened saw!

Cheers,

Ian

I had not read that carefully enough and I question whether that is correct as written. Normally that technique is applied to the sides of the teeth to correct any inconsistencies in the setting operation and I think that would have been the intention. Very poorly worded!

Sharp is sharp. Blunt is....well, blunt.

Regards
Paul

Dunno, Paul - it seems pretty clear he meant running the file lightly over the tops, but p'raps it was just poor wording & he did actually mean what you suggest. It does seem to me that a very light topping of rip teeth would not blunt them all that much as long as the leading edge remains a "sharp" corner. It's an idea worth examining, just to assuage my curiosity. I've lost count of how many times I have said "that'll never work", without trying it, only to discover later that it does. My intuition certainly said "baloney" when I first read it, but my intuition has been wrong at least once or twice before. Or was it just mistaken?

Cheers,

Ian

I know what you mean. Recently I sharpened a no-set Simonds No.51 using sloped gullets. In hardwood it is the best crosscut saw I now have and much to my surprise shows absolutely no sign of binding in the cut and completely debunks the gimmick status. It is also potentially the most valuable saw I have. So now there is a dilemma! Do I continue to use my most valuable saw? I will post some pix tonight.

Regards
Paul