Wood for saw vise jaws?

[Jay Maiers]

I've bought a couple of saws and have found a local shop that carries decent files. Aside from time and talent, the only thing I'm lacking is a saw vise. I'd like to build one based on the plans from the Norse Woodsmith website.

What type of wood should I use for the vise jaws? Will cabinet grade plywood work? If not, can I use something as soft as poplar or pine? I'm hoping this can be a freebie / use what I have project, but I'll head out and pick up better material if necessary.

Thanks,
Jay M

[george wilson]

I recommend you use maple or oak,or some equally hard wood. Make the jaw faces slightly convex where they meet,and put a clamp at each end of the jaws,so the saw blade is well clamped its full length.

[JohnPeter Lee]

Hi,

Not to hijack the thread, but...


I recommend you use maple or oak,or some equally hard wood. Make the jaw faces slightly convex where they meet,and put a clamp at each end of the jaws,so the saw blade is well clamped its full length.

I picked up a metal vise that seems to pinch more strongly at the ends than the middle. Is there a good remedy for this?

thanks,
JP

[john brenton]

I put leather in mine to fix that.


Hi,

Not to hijack the thread, but...



I picked up a metal vise that seems to pinch more strongly at the ends than the middle. Is there a good remedy for this?

thanks,
JP

[Jonathan McCullough]

That's good advice. I drilled holes in mine and put rare earth magnets in so the saw doesn't slip down when I open up the jaws. I also glued soft leather in the jaws, which cuts down on the racket when I'm filing. It still sounds like you're tearing a banshee apart at the limbs, but the leather cuts down on the r-r-r-r-r-r-eeeeech! I'll bet you could use sticky foam rubber window lining or gasket sheet rubber too though.

[Jay Maiers]

Thank you George. The convex jaws are an excellent point and one that I probably would have missed.


That's good advice. I drilled holes in mine and put rare earth magnets in so the saw doesn't slip down when I open up the jaws. I also glued soft leather in the jaws, which cuts down on the racket when I'm filing. It still sounds like you're tearing a banshee apart at the limbs, but the leather cuts down on the r-r-r-r-r-r-eeeeech! I'll bet you could use sticky foam rubber window lining or gasket sheet rubber too though.

Another fine idea. I'm beginning to think I should buy stock in a magnet company...

ETA: Height question.
Where do I want the teeth of the saw in relation to my body? Head level, chest level, etc? Having never tried this before, I have no idea what the comfortable level is for filing.


Jay

[Mark Baldwin III]

That's good advice. I drilled holes in mine and put rare earth magnets in so the saw doesn't slip down when I open up the jaws. I also glued soft leather in the jaws, which cuts down on the racket when I'm filing. It still sounds like you're tearing a banshee apart at the limbs, but the leather cuts down on the r-r-r-r-r-r-eeeeech! I'll bet you could use sticky foam rubber window lining or gasket sheet rubber too though.

I'm new to saw sharpening, I've done 3. One thing I have learned is that when my file makes that noise, it is dull. As soon as the shrieking starts, I grab the magnifying glass and look at the file. If the file looks good, then I have probably made a pass at a bad angle. However, I usually find the edge of the file is dulling out.
As far as saw vises go, just about any antique store will likely have one or two laying around. I've run across a few since picking mine up a little while ago.

[Jonathan McCullough]

I'd say about 25 percent of the saws that come my way either have their original sharpening or have had competent sharpening jobs. For them, a single pass that knocks the corrosion off the tooth is sufficient. Some of the saws that come my way are so-so, but for the rest, it's rip saws with 45 degrees of fleam, or severe cows-and-calves, or crosscuts with actual negative rake so that the tip of the tooth actually hangs over the gullet of the next tooth, like a table saw blade. Another classic: saws sharpened with square files or even round chain saw files. Just awful, screechy stuff. As a friend once wrote, like trying to "disembowel a Wagnerian Valkyrie with a dull butter knife." I've been on the lookout for a Foley Belsaw retoother but they're either incomplete, preposterously expensive, too far away, etc.

[Andrae Covington]

I've bought a couple of saws and have found a local shop that carries decent files. Aside from time and talent, the only thing I'm lacking is a saw vise. I'd like to build one based on the plans from the Norse Woodsmith website.

What type of wood should I use for the vise jaws? Will cabinet grade plywood work? If not, can I use something as soft as poplar or pine? I'm hoping this can be a freebie / use what I have project, but I'll head out and pick up better material if necessary.

Thanks,
Jay M

I made mine in red alder, a fairly "soft" hardwood that is native here. I haven't had any problems, but I haven't made a career out of sharpening saws, so to speak.

[Pedder Petersen]

I'm courious: doesn't the magnet attract the metal shavings? I wouldn't like any shavings between my vise and the saw because that cuses scratches.

A metal saw vise usually clamps in the middle so it is good, if the jaws are a little concave. If you have a wooden vise, like Dominic Greco built for Lee Valley Newsletter http://www.leevalley.com/US/newsletters/Woodworking/5/2/article2.htm, the jaws should be flat .

A friend made me a big one of oak and it is wonderfull. But the top woul be best from ebony to have a better look on the reflections. But that would probably an overkill.

Cheers
Pedder

[Mark Baldwin III]

I'd say about 25 percent of the saws that come my way either have their original sharpening or have had competent sharpening jobs. For them, a single pass that knocks the corrosion off the tooth is sufficient. Some of the saws that come my way are so-so, but for the rest, it's rip saws with 45 degrees of fleam, or severe cows-and-calves, or crosscuts with actual negative rake so that the tip of the tooth actually hangs over the gullet of the next tooth, like a table saw blade. Another classic: saws sharpened with square files or even round chain saw files. Just awful, screechy stuff. As a friend once wrote, like trying to "disembowel a Wagnerian Valkyrie with a dull butter knife." I've been on the lookout for a Foley Belsaw retoother but they're either incomplete, preposterously expensive, too far away, etc.
Yikes, screechy stuff indeed!

[Trevor Walsh]

I have an oak pair that I made without bow, clamped at the ends it appears to work well enough, though I haven't filed new teeth from scratch in it yet.

[Steve Branam]

ETA: Height question.
Where do I want the teeth of the saw in relation to my body? Head level, chest level, etc? Having never tried this before, I have no idea what the comfortable level is for filing.

Remember that you're going to be filing dozens of small teeth. Your eyes will be crossing and your neck and back will be sore by the time you're done if you don't get pretty close to it. I either sit on my saw bench with the saw clamped up in my bench vise, or use a tall saw vise (you can find a plans or photos online for various designs). Either way, I end up with a height where my elbows are bent to 90 degrees or less, putting the teeth about chest level.

And if you find you're two support boards are bowing out in the middle, just put a little clamp on to close them up. That also helps with the noise; a loose fit results in a lot of vibration, which translates to the screech of fingernails on chalkboard or some similarly delightful sound.

[Jonathan McCullough]

Pedder: Yes, the magnets attract the filings, but the effect is negligible. I put a magnet in a plastic sack and pull most of it up, then turn the plastic bag inside out. The saws are old and tarnished and are, well, saws, so they're expected to rub against wood until they're dull again!

[Mark Baldwin III]

I've been watching the videos from LN and they use a pretty simple box to hold the saw in a bench vise. If you look at their saw sharpening videos I believe Tom Lie-Nielsen shows it in part one of the saw sharpening section.