How important is a filing guide when hand sharpening saws?

[Thomas Kila]

I've never sharpened a saw, but would like to start. Any suggestions on good saw sharpening books or DVDs would be most welcome. Also, is a filing guide necessary or recommended for someone new to sharpening saws?

[James Owen]

"Dynamite" Payson's book on saw sharpening, and Tom Laws' saw sharpening video are both excellent and will get you started. Both are available on the Lie-Nielsen website.
Filing guide is not necessary. A quick and easy cheat is a series of lines at the appropriate angle (for a crosscut saw, usually about 15˚), printed on a sheet of paper and then cut to fit the jaw of your saw vise, and then taped to the back side of your saw vise.

[Jim Koepke]

As much as you will need to know and then some:

http://www.vintagesaws.com/cgi-bin/frameset.cgi?left=main&right=/library/library.html

Near the bottom of the list is a saw filing primer.

jtk

[David Weaver]

Visual cues are important if you want to be accurate, and the extra accuracy makes sharpening easier next time. I would at least have a grid of lines for fleam and a block on the end of the file to keep rake consistent.

I don't know how much difference it makes in saw performance when examining one single sharpening. If you're close to the same in rake and fleam and (most importantly) the teeth uniformly meet the height you wanted them to, then the saw will cut well.

[Jim Paulson]

Thomas,
To get started sharpening a saw I'd make use of all the helps available, from the references already given, to keep your filing consistent. Once you've done it a bunch of times you'll see what works for you so you get well defined teeth and the correct angles.

Personally, I would advise you to try sharpening a rip saw first so you can gain some confidence. Another thing that I think Jim Koepke and others on this forum have often said as well, is don't hurry when you sharpen saws. It is important to take your time when trying to be consistent. I tend to practice that rule myself.

Take care,
Jim

[george wilson]

I never use a guide,but I did develop personal skill to judge angles. Use whatever you are comfortable with,but at the same time develop your eye.

[john brenton]

I lay out an angle finder in front of the saw vise.

That's about all I have found to be necessary. I have tried the little block on the end of the file, but I'm bad at doing things right. I just get my hands cocked at about the right angle to get the muscle memory kickin in and go for it.

[Bob Strawn]

I've never sharpened a saw, but would like to start. Any suggestions on good saw sharpening books or DVDs would be most welcome. Also, is a filing guide necessary or recommended for someone new to sharpening saws?

I use a filing guide, but for vanity. as long as a saw is jointed evenly and the kerf is even, slightly random tooth angle, spacing and shape can actually make a saw run smoother. If you have a perfect tooth pattern for the job, then variations may be less efficient. A smooth running saw is however a treasure.

Variation can have other advantages. Having an occasional cross cut tooth on a majority rip tooth saw can do wonders for your sawing. Having a saws teeth close together where you start and farther apart later on the stroke is wonderful, and is quite wonderful when sawing as the saw starts easily, runs smoothly and is very aggressive. My method of marking out a variable tooth spacing is to use the same trick used for drawing fence posts when doing perspective. (http://www.khulsey.com/perspective_foreshortened.html)

Bob

[David Weaver]

I use a filing guide, but for vanity.

Bob

That's a good way to put it.

[Andrae Covington]

I have a filing guide that I have used to sharpen two or three saws. I think it helps with the consistency, however it is not entirely bulletproof... meaning I still had variation from one tooth to another. It reduced the range of variation compared to the first saw I attempted to do "freehand". Probably more about vanity, as Bob Strawn put it, than functionality. I don't think it's necessary, but nice to have.
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[Thomas Kila]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! As usual, you all are a great source of information.
Mahalo!
Earl