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I make two basic dovetail saw designs. I still prefer using the larger one with the lower hang angle, but the other is growing on me as I become more familiar with it. It's reinforcing my belief that...

I don't think that changing h should have any effect on the rake you want to use. Rake is dependent on/related to the hang angle of the saw.

I heartily agree with that.

I'm supposed to be getting ready for a tool show tomorrow mornign, so I have to keep this short for now. Consider yourselves fortunate on that front...

The effects of changing h are shown in this...

Keep in mind that I have never made a plane, so...

Do you need/want a surface that is ready to use off of the saw, or do you clean it up afterwards?

What is the distance between the abutments...

Good to see that you got it more or less worked out. I'm a little bit surprised the Somax handled those teeth. I know that took some determination.

For what it's worth, the only saw set I've found...

And not just heat, but centrifugal forces expands the steel at the rim more than at the center.





For all of the words in the English language, it can really be used imprecisely.

Thank you very much for that, Stewie. I stumbled upon that forum last year when I was thinking about this very topic, but do not remember finding that thread. That is the first explanation I have...

Assuming for the moment that the hardness is affected by the hammering, what does that translate to in use? I guess I am having a hard time seeing what this does beyond flattening the blade.

Shot...

Is the hammering that you show being done to "tension" the blade or to flatten it?

The sample size I had was small (a few boxes from a single order), so it is possible that they weren't entirely representative of their product. Or maybe yours were the outliers. Either way, it's sad...

I think you're right about going with slightly smaller teeth because of the thinner plate. Depending on the wood you're cutting, you can go with even less than 5 degrees of rake. Once you get the...

I'd say there is a fair difference. The teeth on mine are 3 1/3 ppi, which is very close to 3 1/2. The biggest difference is the length of the saws and how much easier it is to use the frame saw....

I've made a few. There's a fair amount to think about here.

How wide is the wood you are cutting? I use my 48" saw for resawing woods that are 5-6" wide, and have never felt that it was oversized....

Thanks, everyone.

Ian, glad the templates were of some help. The thuya didn't bother me, but I always wear a mask when I work with wood, and try ot wash my hands and arms periodically. Before I...

I use them in my router also. I used to do it in the drill press (see the picture below), but the faster speed of the router works better for me.

I made an arbor for them that leaves only about...

I had never heard of Thuya burl before a customer asked about making a pair of saws with it. It turned out to be a very interesting wood.

The wood has so much oil in it that it started smoking...

Brett, is Noel selling saw files now? I can't find them on his website, but know that you have mentioned them a couple of times. If you've used them, how do they compare to other files in quality and...

The problem is that with many of these files, the hardening is just the last in a long series of unfortunate events leading up to a useless tool. Shoddy blank preparation, misshappen blanks, and...

If you're talking about teeth that were punched, then sharpened by hand, then I will hazard a guess and say that is the traditional technique.

Now, if by "hand sharpened" you meant filed on a...

I'll try to get a good picture of the Grobet needle files in the next day or two. I don't think they are made here in the US. They have exactly the same "SWISS MADE" stamp that Brett showed in the...

I'm up for that, but I'm not sure how any comparison would look since I am selling the Grobet needle files.

Didn't it take 50 pages to reach this conclusion last year? :;

Seriously, though, thank you for the concise summary.

I love the tangs on my needle files. They work great in the cast iron handles, but one of these days I'm going to make myself a deluxe handle out of some exotic wood and bronze specifically for those...

10 ppi is an awkward size for me to file with today's files. I do wish I could get a 4" or 5" DEST from Bahco for them.

That's interesting that you can get the 4" DEST from Bahco. Here, I can't...

The Grobet needle files I use are 200mm long. I use the No. 2 cut. I have tried the No. 4, but they are just too fine for my taste and don't last quite as long. I don't think I have seen them sold in...

Nothing like custom tools, and that looks orders of magnitudes better than some of my shop tools.

How long is the blade? And 20 tpi x-cut makes my eyes hurt just thinking about it.

It seems like everyone filing more than a few saws has reached the same conclusions. Pferd and Bahco are in the same tier, but I slightly prefer Bahco.

I sincerely hope Grobet holds the line on...

I too am surprised. If I understand this correctly, those measurements were taken where you hammered the blade. Are you getting the same hardness measurement in unhammered regions? If so, and...

I never heard about the mechanical hammers. Do you happen to remember where you heard that?

What little I have found about Disston and tensioning is rather vague, to say the least. It always...

Those look good, Rob. Can you talk more about the tensioning. I've been trying to figure out exactly what people mean by that term and how it works, but haven't been able to wrap my mind around it...

My local sawmill had an unusual tree come in last year. I had never heard of it, let alone seen it, so I bought a small board to play around with. While preparing for a woodworking show last weekend,...

It's been a while since I slept through my materials class, and this is outside of my field, but Rockwell hardness testing does not always work well on thin materials. I suspect that in the...

No cutting fluid is needed.

They come in a wide variety of sizes. Not sure about metric, but I know they are readily available in 32nds of an inch, and at least some 64ths. Anything close will...

One of the most frequent questions I get is how to drill or punch the holes for the saw bolts in the blade. By far, this is the easiest way I have found. It is fast and moderately inexpensive, but...

I am not familiar with those, but a quick glance at them leads me to believe they are used as bearings. Before you use epoxy on them, you may want to make certain that they are not oil impregnated...

Just throwing my $0.02 in here, with a few random thoughts on saw bolts.

I use serrted tooth lock washers on my bolts and saws. When you use these, you need to be aware that they need to be...

I order from Online Metals pretty regularly. If you haven't found another source, and are not on a deadline, I can put it in with my next order and forward it to you via USPS. Not sure how much it...

If you are only doing a few saws, the spring steel is not needed. But the aluminum spacer would wear after a number of holes, and would soon lead to inaccuracies.

For just one or two saws, a...

As late as 1907, Disston talked about filing sloped gullets on hardwoods. Not to increase the gullet size, but to regulate the slope point. Sloping the gullets will make the point of the tooth less...

To prevent all of the clogging, move the stop collar up a half inch, then use a half inch spacer to get the depth right. The thickness of the spacer is arbitrary, but needs to match the distance you...

These pictures?

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The hang angle that really matters is the one between the handle and the toothline, since that is where the cutting happens.


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In the picture above, I call the angle between the...

I would guess that he is referencing the way I measure the hang angle, which is by drawing a line through the back of the handle, which is where the palm of your hand applies the force to the saw.
...

Had to look that one up to see what it meant. Up here they call us southpaws.


Dale, this was the only saw in the order. I do have some of the wood left, but the figure in that isn't as strong.

This is a ten inch saw in desert ironwood, a small tree that grows in our southwest. It is fairly dense and a touch brittle. It has some really interesting patterns going on in it - the customer...

I've had good luck measuring set with a micrometer. It doesn't work for large teeth, but for teeth down to about 11 ppi it works well.

I measure by placing at least three teeth between the jaws,...

Thanks Dale. Yes, that is walnut crotch.

Basically, the thinner plate has less stiffness and is more prone to deflection and wandering. The deeper you go, the more you have to worry about it. This is more of a concern with rip saws, since...

Beautiful work, Klaus. Both the old and new drivers look great. And of course, the saw is just gorgeous.