A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a book by Fred T. Hodgson titled, “Hand Saws: Their Use, Care and Abuse” and it changed my life. This wonderful 19th century text soon became my little bible, and it was never far from my side, nor was its wisdom ever far from my mind.

The book covers everything from hand saw history, the physics of saw teeth, saw selection and of course, sharpening. One of my favorite passages describes Hodgson’s own quality test of a hand saw which includes dropping several saws, toe first, from thirty feet up, straight down onto a waiting plank on the ground. Classic.

I  love this book not just because of its wisdom (which is not absolute, by the way…I disagree with much of it), but because of what it tells me about the culture of work long forgotten. Hodgson wrote the book when hand saws ruled the world in the late 1800s, and the information in it is relevant once again in our 21st century hand tool renaissance. His writing style is witty and easy to digest, his approach to work is practical, and he was clearly an experienced and insightful craftsman. 

Forget about “Grimshaw on Saws”….that is an over-rated and poorly composed work. I have never understood why it gains all the praise it does. This is the book that every woodworker should read when he seeks information about hand saws. I hope that someday soon, someone sees fit to reprint it.

Thankfully, originals are still relatively easy to find for sale. But even better, you can download a copy for free from Gary Roberts’ wonderful site at the Toolemera Press:

http://www.toolemera.com/Books%20%26%20Booklets/library-sharpeni.html

As far as I’m concerned, Hodgson is required reading. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did….even if it doesn’t change your life.

-Matt

I’m very happy to report that over the past few months, I have been committing more and more time to my saw business. I am spending 5 nights a week and sometimes even a weekend day in my shop filing and  smithing away. I am currently offering a turn around time of 8 to 10 weeks, and for some work, even less. I’ve got lots of great things planned for the business, including some exciting news this summer. So if you’ve been interested in sending me some work, now’s a great time. Feel free to email or call me to schedule work or ask questions…

Email:  Matt@thesawblog.com

Phone: 401-787-2497

Saw Sharpening and Restoration Rates: Spring 2012

Sharpening: This includes setting, jointing and sharpening in rip or crosscut profiles. I do not use machines in my shop…all of this work is performed by hand in the traditional manner.

Dovetail saws: (backsaws under 10 inches): $25

Handsaws (any size) and Backsaws (10 to 20 inches): $35

Miter saws: $50

Filing (If required before sharpening to redefine tooth geometry. All done by hand): $25 to $45 for backsaws, $35 to $75 for handsaws

Re-toothing: $50 for backsaws, $85 for handsaws. (Does not include sharpening)

Saw Smithing: This is traditional work with hammer and anvil.

Removing bows and kinks: $20 for single kink or slight bow, $30 for two or more kinks, compound warping or heavy bows.

Removal/reinstallation of saw backs: $30 (includes removal of back and reinstallation to correct a warped toothline)

Cleaning:

Saw plate with light rust: $30, includes polishing and waxing

Saw plate with heavy rust: $50, includes polishing and waxing

Saw tote and nuts: $20, includes oiling and waxing tote and cleaning saw nuts

Repair:

Tote repair – one horn: $35, includes finishing

Tote repair – two horns: $60, includes finishing

Tote cracks: $15 to $30, includes finishing

Saw plate – re-filing nib: $20

So what is a gullet, and why do I want it sloped?

The gullet is the space between the points of saw teeth, and their function is to collect the sawdust that is created by the working edge of each tooth. And just like these working edges on the teeth, the geometry of the gullets can be manipulated by the file as you sharpen the saw.

Slope generally refers to the shape of the bottom of the gullet, or more specifically, the angle of the bottom of the gullet relative to the side of the saw plate. Conventionally, saws are filed without slope, and the bottom of the gullet is 90 degrees (square) to the side of the plate. This is called “zero slope”. When you file a saw and hold the file parallel with the floor, or perpendicular to the saw plate, you create a square bottomed gullet, i.e. zero slope. Like this…

Slope is created by lowering the file handle when you sharpen a saw, and is measured in degrees from perpendicular to the saw plate. It looks like this…

See the difference? Everything else is the same…same rake angle, same fleam angle but I lower the file handle. And that’s how you introduce slope to saw teeth. You can vary the amount of slope from 0 to 45 degrees.

So what effect does this have on the saw teeth? Two things:

1) Slope removes more material from the bottom of the gullet (steel from the saw plate) and allows a greater capacity to collect sawdust. The more sawdust the gullets can contain, then the more work the teeth can do before bottoming out in the kerf. Deeper gullets = more work = faster cutting saw.

2) Slope allows the filer to control the bevel on the back of each tooth independently from the front bevel. In effect, you can put fleam on the front of the tooth, but keep the back square (or give it a lower amount of fleam). What good is this? It makes for a more robust included angle at the working point of the tooth without sacrificing fleam, and thus the teeth stay sharp longer.

Make sense? Good, because its not supposed to.

Just kidding!

Seriously though. Its pretty simple. Lets try some pics to help.

Let’s take this very nice 11 point Disston ACME 120 that I had in the shop this week from a loyal customer out west. The ACME 120 was a top of the line saw from Disston’s golden age. You can read more about them here. There has been a war waging amongst the handsaw punditry for decades on how to file these uncommon saws, and while I have my own theories about what is best, I chose to give this ACME a fairly traditional geometry. I am filing it with 15 degrees of rake, 30 degrees of fleam and about 45 degrees of slope. I use an extra slim taper 4 inch file (no…not a cant file).

Here is a pic after my first pass of filing one side…

See how deep the gullets are? That extra depth is the greater volume I refer to above to capture the swarf (sawdust).

And here’s a pic of the teeth after finishing the other side of the saw…look at how the front edge of the tooth has a lot of fleam and the back is square (no fleam)….

Does it make sense now?

Good.

Even though this is a small panel saw with a fine tooth spacing, it absolutely flew through this oak board. It cut with the speed more typical of a 9 point saw. That’s the result of the deep gullets. And the finish…

….very nice!

I think the customer will be very pleased. Filing sloped gullets is a whole lot of fun and I recommend you try. Don’t be intimidated by them…if I can do it, then I’ve no doubt you can train your cocker spaniel to do it too.

-Matt

Some months ago a customer emailed me and asked if I’d write an article for his website. He went on to relate that his site has been around for a few years and is geared towards power tool woodworkers. His request was motivated by an interest in including more hand tool info for his readers. After some discussion, he suggested an article providing guidance for the hand tool novice on how to pick out a quality vintage handsaw. I liked the idea and obliged.

The article was originally posted on the site in late February. I’ll eventually post the original on my blog, but figured I would post a link here for all of you. Here ya go…

http://www.thisoldworkshop.com/index.php/info-articles/121-matt-vintagesaw

Enjoy!

-Matt

I’ve wanted a nice old tool chest for a while now, and last month I was fortunate enough to find a great one at a local tool auction. It’s made of pine and has the traditional through dovetailed construction and frame and panel lid. The dust lid and skirt are also dovetailed and it even came with casters already installed. Someone had also replaced the bottom on it, which is always needed on these old chests…they invariably rot within a few decades of their birth.

I wasted no time in filling the chest with my planes and other tools, in addition to building two new sliding trays to add to the one original that came with it. You can see that the other glaring need in this chest is the all important saw till. The original cleats that hold the till wall are still present, as you can see on the sides of the chest…

So I marked and cut a 9 inch wide piece of pine and propped it against the cleats. I’m not 100% sure how old timers traditionally fixed the till wall to the chest or the cleats, but I decided to simply drive two brads into the chest sides to wedge the till wall against the cleats.

Next, I cut two pieces to serve as the till racks. After they were fitted, I used a pair of dividers to mark off five equidistant lines on each piece to serve as kerfs to hold my saws. I tacked the two pieces together to ensure the cuts were identical on each piece and ripped the kerfs simultaneously. I slid them into the till and arranged my saws to check the layout…

I didn’t bother measuring each rack’s distance from the chest wall…I just eyeballed it and tacked them in as they stood. I’m very pleased with the results…there’s enough room to keep my five favorite user saws. So I put the tool trays back in and called it finished.

Now I just need to find a place for my backsaws….

-Matt

Last week I was all jazzed up about a conversation on Woodnet regarding the proper filing of no-set saws like the Disston ACME 120 and #77. The debate over how to properly sharpen these unique saws has been raging since before I was alive, according to my friend and noted saw collector Carl Bilderback. All this talk prompted me to do a literature review of books and articles long out of print, including a re-reading of my copy of the ‘Disston Handbook on Saws’ published in 1907.

The book was actually published several times by Disston during their hey-day of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This gem, which is also known as the ‘Disston Lumberman’s Handbook on Saws’, was intended as a reference for Disston saw users on how to do everything from maintain a steam boiler for running a saw mill to how to file a rip saw and everything in between. Needless to say, the wealth of information contained in their pages is invaluable.

Over the years, different versions of the book have been reprinted by groups like Astragal Press and the Mid-West Tool Collectors Association, but its important to note that each version is a little different from the next. For example, it is the 1907 version that contains the most comprehensive information on handsaws, which for us, makes it far more desirable. This is the version that M-WTCA reprinted, and is of course, the more rare and valuable version.

So what’s in this book that makes it so cool? Well for starters, as I stated above, the book contains the only known official documentation from Disston on how to file their ACME 120 and #77 no-set saws (a page that the 1902 version reprinted by Astragal DOES NOT contain, by the way). This page alone is worth the price of admission. There’s lots more on saw filing as well, both of handsaws, and also crosscut timber saws, circular saws, and band saws. There’s also a pictorial tour of the process of making a handsaw, plus tons more about saw steel and all the tools Disston made.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in handsaws. For those of you obsessed with originals, you can go on to ebay right now and buy this copy. Make sure you keep it in a hermetically sealed bag when you’re done drooling on it. But the rest of us can actually read a copy of the book for free at Wiktor Kuc’s incomparable site here. This is the 1914 version of the book, but it is identical to the 1907 version, save some layout changes. Or, if you want your own copy of the book, but don’t want to have to stop at Red Cross first to pay for it, you can buy this very inexpensive digital copy and print it out (like I did) or read it on your digital device. A couple of years ago, when I got my copy, I also bought a CD with tons of other Disston stuff on it, including the 1914 catalog, a bunch of Disston Crucible issues, and a ton of other stuff. But sadly, I can’t seem to find copies of it available anymore.

So do yourself a favor and read this book. It will take you back to a time when handsaws ruled the world and finding a great one was as simple as walking down to the hardware store on the corner and picking from racks full of Disstons, Atkins, Richardsons, Simonds…..

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh….those were the days!

-Matt

I’ll also have my full saw sharpening rig with me and will be offering on the spot sharpening for all kinds of hand saws. I charge $35 for most saws ($50 for a miter box saw) for a basic sharpening. I do ask that you limit it to one saw per customer, and as long as your saw doesn’t need any heavy filing, cleaning, or repair, I’ll be happy to tune it up for you while you wait.

So if you’ve been meaning to drop a saw off to me, but don’t like the wait, here’s your chance to see it transformed right before your eyes. Hope to see you there.

-Matt

To start, I am teaching a sold out saw sharpening class this Saturday at the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking. This will be my second class at the school, and I’m looking forward to seeing Bob Van Dyke again. He’s also scheduled my ‘Build A Backsaw’ class for August. There’s still plenty of room in this class…..it’s sure to be a great time.

I have two classes coming up in Rhode Island at Shady Lea Woodworking as well. I’m teaching ‘Saw Sharpening 101′ on March 31st and ‘Saw Rehab and Restoration’ on April 21st. Registration is open for both classes. Enrollment is limited to 6 students for both of these classes, and the small size and 8 hour session allows plenty of opportunity for one on one instruction and feedback.

Also, if you’re curious about Shady Lea and any of its classes, they are having an open house on Sunday March 25th. I will be in attendance from 12 noon to 5pm sharpening saws and answering questions. Feel free to stop in and check out the school, drop off a saw for work, or just to say hello. More info, directions and class schedules are here.

Hope to see you there!

-Matt

The problem is that many American pattern backsaws (think Disston, Atkins, Simonds and even modern Lie-Nielsen’s) have a high tote with a relaxed hang angle, and a thick saw plate that makes for a very “stiff” feeling saw with a very steep learning curve to use (You can read about hang angles here). The relationship between hang angle, plate thickness, and tooth geometry is a delicate one, and if all three are not taken into consideration when designing a saw, the results can be a frustrating tool for the novice.

Take this 14 inch backsaw that Jeff, a local customer, dropped off recently…

It is a well made, well filed saw that performs exactly as it was intended by the maker…..but Jeff doesn’t like the way it feels in the cut. Changing any one of the three elements noted above (tote hang angle, plate thickness, or tooth geometry) would likely correct this concern, but since re-filing the saw is the easiest and least drastic remedy, that’s what I usually do.

The saw arrived with 10 points per inch filed with 10 degrees of negative rake and straight across with no fleam. 10 points is a bit coarse for a 14 inch saw, but 10 degrees of rake filed rip is a pretty common formula. In a case like this, relaxing the rake can make the saw cut smoother, but once you go greater than 10 degrees, rip saws can chatter in the back stroke and this is annoying as heck. So relaxing the rake is out. What I decided to do is add a little fleam to the teeth….only about 8 degrees. Normally, I would not recommend this on a rip saw, but since we don’t want to relax the rake anymore, this is the best option. And as an added bonus the saw will now be able to crosscut in a pinch.

After filing in the fleam I tested her out…

…and she ripped very nicely. Still fast, but with more manners. I crosscut some maple as well, and the saw flew through it. You could even now call this saw a proper sash saw, as it is 14 inches and can rip and crosscut as the traditional form should.

Papa likes!

-Matt

Want to learn to sharpen your own saws and unlock the secrets of custom filing? I am teaching Saw Sharpening at the Shady Lea Woodworking school in North Kingstown, RI on March 31st. Details are here.

The first time most people see a Disston D-8 thumbhole rip saw they wonder how the hell they’re supposed to wrap their thumb all the way around the grip and get it into that hole in front of their fingers. It’s a digital acrobatic feat that few have mastered and many have tried. The other half who don’t yet know the proper name of the saw assume its a finger hole intended to be a home for the pointing finger of their gripping hand. After all, such an important finger must be worthy of its own place to grip the tote, right?

So what the hell is that damn hole for? Your other thumb….

Here it is in the cut…

A two-handed grip like this is quite helpful for ripping.

Anyway, it turns out that proper grip is not the only mystery associated with this historic and much copied saw. With the intent of posting the original patent drawing of the thumbhole in this post, I researched Disston’s patents and couldn’t find it. Odd, considering Henry Disston was as protective of his saw innovations as a pit bull whelping her pups. I even checked with noted saw patent extraordinaire Jeff Burks who confirmed my findings. The closest it seems we can get is the Eisenhardt patent from 1874 as seen here. On early D-8 thumbhole rip saws, the Eisenhardt patent date is stamped on the tote (along with several others) implying that perhaps the thumbhole was the evolution of this patent….right?

So what gives? Well, we may never know. As far as I can tell, the individual thumbhole itself has no patent assigning it to anyone. So maybe it is a finger hole. Or a toe hole. Or perhaps it’s intended for an entirely different area of our anatomy. Your guess is as good as mine.

-Matt