??? About hand saws ???

[David Nelson1]

As time wears on on find myself needing more hand tools. I'm intersested in getting a few saws cross, rip and a few specilty types. Is there a site or a thread here that can help educate me a bit? BTW I'm not looking to spend bucks on a new shiney saw. An older model in good shape is ok with me.

[George Clark]

http://www.vintagesaws.com/front.html

[Andrew Gibson]

I just finished up a build thread of 4 wenzloff & sons saw kits. A pair of 22" panel saws, a crosscut carcass saw and a large rip tenon saw. Total cost for the 4 saws I think ended up being around $100 a piece when I figure in wood, saw sets, and files. Obviously this depends on the wood you use for the handles. I think I could have beaten the cost by buying vintage saws, but I don't know that I would have been as happy with them, or that I would have saved a good deal of money, if any.

Here is my thread... http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=139607&highlight=wenzloff

I also found myself needing more saws, and in the week or so I have had all of mine done, I have used all of them at least twice, and the panel saws are a god send.

[Bill Houghton]

http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/ will give you some useful information, and a lot of information about Disston saws. If you decide to buy used, Disston will be about the most common saw, and it's good to know what different models are.

[David Nelson1]

I have been watching it. Great job on the handles, but I think that is way above my skill level @ the time.

Bill and George thanks for the links. I'll be reading and may have a few rookie questions. :confused: Imagine that LOL


I just finished up a build thread of 4 wenzloff & sons saw kits. A pair of 22" panel saws, a crosscut carcass saw and a large rip tenon saw. Total cost for the 4 saws I think ended up being around $100 a piece when I figure in wood, saw sets, and files. Obviously this depends on the wood you use for the handles. I think I could have beaten the cost by buying vintage saws, but I don't know that I would have been as happy with them, or that I would have saved a good deal of money, if any.

Here is my thread... http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=139607&highlight=wenzloff

I also found myself needing more saws, and in the week or so I have had all of mine done, I have used all of them at least twice, and the panel saws are a god send.

[Bill Houghton]

I'll be reading and may have a few rookie questions.

Ask away. There are several ways to learn; reading and asking questions damages less wood than my most common method, which is making vast numbers of really stupid mistakes.

[David Nelson1]

I guess the first question would be how to tell the difference between a rip and a crosscut saw?
I recon the second would be the optimal number of teeth per inch and tooth configuration?
The last might be a bit more advanced than my skills will allow for now, but a book or reference material on how to sharpen and set a hand saw.

[Bill Houghton]

I guess the first question would be how to tell the difference between a rip and a crosscut saw?
I recon the second would be the optimal number of teeth per inch and tooth configuration?
The last might be a bit more advanced than my skills will allow for now, but a book or reference material on how to sharpen and set a hand saw.

Your local library will have some books on hand tools, including discussion of saws. Reading through them will give you a good, systematic introduction to the basics.

Some of the websites already mentioned will answer a lot of these questions.

[Rick Erickson]

David, when you are ready to buy don't overlook bad axe toolworks. The saws are first class. There is about a 6 week waiting list but it is well worth it. I own several saws from several companies and his are my favorite (except for my Cosman DT saw).

[Gary Herrmann]

And Mark at Bad Axe does some amazing restoration work too.

[jerry nazard]

Gary,

How's that new puppy doing?

-Jerry

[Jim Koepke]

I guess the first question would be how to tell the difference between a rip and a crosscut saw?
I recon the second would be the optimal number of teeth per inch and tooth configuration?
The last might be a bit more advanced than my skills will allow for now, but a book or reference material on how to sharpen and set a hand saw.

Here is another link to look at:

http://norsewoodsmith.com/content/using-and-troubleshooting-saws

There is a lot to find on that site. I think there is even a chart to show the effect of the different filing that determines if a saw is rip or crosscut.

The library at the vintagesaws.com has some good illustrations in the saw sharpening article to explain the difference between rip and crosscut saws.

The main difference is a rip saw is filed so the end of the tooth is straight across. The crosscut saw is filed so there is a bevel along the edge of the tooth.

A rip saw can tear through a piece of wood when used like a crosscut. A crosscut saw will mostly slide over the wood when used like a rip saw.

As far as tooth count is concerned, it is kind of like picking the right size of a plane. different jobs have different needs.

The higher the tooth count, the smoother the surface is a general rule.

For cutting a 4X4 post, I want something in the 5 - 7 tpi range. For cutting a piece of smaller lumber 10 - 12 tpi may be more appropriate. For cutting joinery, most people will use saws in the 14 - 20 tpi range.

jim

[David Nelson1]

Thanks for the link Jim. I finally got to some usefully content today on the vintage saw.com site. Previous visits resulted in a lot of broken links. They might have had a few site problems but it's up and running well now.