Thread: Saw sharpening files 101

I got some 6 & 7" from LV a couple of weeks ago and they are pretty good BUT I know what you're saying. All my other ok Grobets are at least 2 years old.

Just while we are marking time chewing the cud and waiting for the results of testing can I throw a curve ball your way?

I fully expect to be booted off the thread for this travesty of the handsaw, but I was looking at my chainsaw files the other day and trying to apply some of this thread's technology to the round file.

I had two brands: One was Vallorbe and the other was Oregon. Both are made in Switzerland! Interesting. And they look very similar. Well, they are both round for starters. I have ordered some Liogier chainsaw files from the GB (yes and some slim taper triangular files too, don't fret ) and am most interested to see how they compare.

Ok. Back to the DESTs et al .

Regards
Paul

How are the teeth on the corners of the chainsaw files Paul?
Let me know when you find them.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Just by way of a quick diversion while we await the test results. Over the weekend my son and i went up to Coffs Harbour to visit my father. We have a long history of timber in our family, with the first immigrant from England (six generations back) landing on 28th August 1841.

Sitting out in the back yard, and I was gobsmacked to look at his (quite recent) paling fence and realise that damn near the whole thing is riddled with fiddleback palings!

Understandably Dad wants me to keep his address a secret.

Son and I went down to Coffs Harbour Jetty on Satdy arvo, and yup, the walkway is made from the same stuff. In fact there were some 5x5 posts that would make turners weep!

Question: How does one go about arranging to have a fence left to them in a will? Could be a bit tricky with the neighbours.....

I have a tale to tell about Grandad's Axe, but have to take a pic later this morning.

Cheers
FF

Nice fence. What part of Melbourne did you say.

Ok now that I have sent everyone in the wrong direction I'm heading north

Originally Posted by NCArcher

How are the teeth on the corners of the chainsaw files Paul?
Let me know when you find them.

Tony

The whole file is a corner without end . I may have to get back to you on that one .

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by IanW

John, if your files are the same as the ones I get from AJS, they will be stamped "Glardon Vallorbe" & have a fish symbol. You may need to inspect several files to read the full message as the stamps seem to mis-hit the round shafts pretty frequently, & you get a lot of partial stamping. I've been buying these for quite a few years now, and they have been of consistently good quality, nicely cut, with well-made & consistent corners, and last well.

However, I would recommend you find some other use for the '0' and '2' cuts you bought, they are way too coarse for fine saw teeth, imo. You'll find it's like trying to cut 5mm thick material with a 5 tpi saw (or worse!). I used to use '3' cuts for tooth forming, but decided some time ago that it is simpler & safer to use 4s, which is the finest grade AJS carry (there are several even finer cuts, according to one cattle-dog I saw). These files are all double-cut, & just to give you an idea of how well they remove metal, it takes me 4 to 5 strokes with a '4' to cut a tooth from nothing to full depth, for 18 tpi size in 18 thou saw plate. You need a gentle hand when sharpening!

BTW, I'm talking about the 150mm files, not the 175mm. They are stamped with the same 'cut' numbers, but a '4' in 175mm is coarser than a '4' in 150mm. They seem to follow the conventions of 'regular' files in that respect.

Cheers,

Ok. I bought the #0 with the idea of using it to form teeth. I like the article u wrote about saw making and have been inspired to make one.

Originally Posted by IanW

Yairs, but there seems to be Groberts & Groberts, unfortunately. The last batch I bought (through LN Aus.) were all over the shop (literally, after I'd thrown a couple ) .......

Cheers,

That's terrible news. I just ordered some a few weeks ago from LV. I guess I should have my expectations too high then

I may have misread this thread. Is somebody actually testing the profiles that have been designed in this thread?

If so, does that mean that somebody has actually made working versions of the new files?

Thanks,

Craig

Hi Craig

Currently there are 28 files from the current offerings going around to three testers - IanW, heavansabove, Claw Hama. The object of this is to establish the current status/usability of the files that can be purchased from the various sources (don't want to reinvent the wheel if there are good consistent files to be found, within the same brand). Certainly we already know that there is no such thing as a Taper file anymore. Not even close.

If the results are as we all expect, then the new profiles will be presented to a manufacturer to determine if they wish to take up the challenge. From there a couple of prototypes will be made, assessed by quite a few people, and the rest of the project can then get underway (making the middle four file sizes in Tapered and Parallel - the smallest and largest size will be considered after that as they are less popular, less demand).

Of course this will only happen if a manufacturer is willing, and I have narrowed it down to two potential manufacturers at this stage.

Cheers
FF

Thanks for explaining that. I thought that somebody must have produced prototypes already!
I thought that was some pretty hardcore file-fact-finding.
Mind you, I was already impressed with the other research being done

Craig

c58370152fd8f6ff2ad2f1a5294c43ec_zpsff8131d4.jpg

Originally Posted by pmcgee

AMST'05 Advanced Manufacturing Systems and Technology: Proceedings of the ... - Google Books

I wonder if there has been any research in the medical field on saw teeth?
If you want fine-toothed saws ... look for the guy with a pile of shin-bones in his back shed.

Paul

Attachment 276389

This always makes me laugh whenever I come across it on the internet. Expand it and read the text if you haven't seen it before. When it says 'Saw with spine', I always wonder whether they are referring to the fact that it is a backsaw or whether they are telling you to move the saw back and forth like you were late for dinner.

gentlemans-guide-to-amputation.jpg

I say - he's taking it all very calmly!

Yeah, especially since it looks like the surgeon is sawing off a perfectly good arm!

Anyhow, after that bit light relief, back to the subject in hand. I guess you've seen this from W. Tyzack, Sons and Turner. Not sure when this was produced, but would guess it was around 1940-1950 from the style of the booklet.

Tyzack Saw File Sizes.jpg

Originally Posted by Morbius

That's terrible news. I just ordered some a few weeks ago from LV. I guess I should have my expectations too high then

Craig, what size teeth are you planning to use them on? If you don't need to sharpen anything finer than about 15 tpi, you'll probably be fine. You might even get lucky & receive a really good batch.....

Cheers,