Frank-en-saws

[Chris R Taylor]

Question for the wiser than I. I want to learn to sharpen saws so I had picked up these two beauties with the idea that I could practice/experiment on them. Now that I have finally found some time to clean them up I can't quite figure out what they are. They obviously have been cut down at some point in their lives. They both have a Disston medallion that are from between the wars but I know they could just have been put there. I do find it kind of cool that whoever owned them once valued them enough to keep reusing the blade opposed to today where once it became damaged it would be in a landfill.
Now the big question, will practicing on them hinder my learning because they are strange? Should I try and find a 'normal' saw to learn on?
Thanks
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[lowell holmes]

What is a normal saw? I wouldn't hesitate to work on them.

I had a Disston 23 with a pointed saw plate like your top saw.
I cut it off to about 22" and made a pretty decent saw of it. I may make a smaller handle for it to make it feel like a panel saw.

[Chris R Taylor]

I guess I mean a saw that hasn't been altered so much for my first try. I want to focus more on the sharpening part before I try re-cutting teeth. I suppose they are one in the same. How about if I phrase it this way, Is there a way to tell if the saw plate is worthy of resharpening?

[Christian Castillo]

I see any saw plate that isnt badly kinked or wavy and with only a few broken teeth ( 5? or less), and decent depth as worthy of being resharpened. Even if the plates dont have much depth left, I usually cut the plate down a bit to 20" and make panel saws. Reshaping the teeth isnt so bad, and I do agree that it would be nice to start with a saw with well shaped teeth, and just sharpen them. It sure would be nice, but thats not the way I started, its harder to find a saw with perfectly shaped teeth. You already have the saws, just give it a go.

Just a tip, pay attention to what a sharp and dull file feels like as you sharpen, when a file gets dull, it is a total excercise in frustration to keep pushing the thing, its best to just switch faces on the file and not even bother getting the last mileage out of the dull side, especially when you are a beginner and are worried with just getting the angles right.

[george wilson]

I used to like those worn down saws when I worked exclusively with hand tools. You can saw mild curves,like on harpsichord cases by using the tip of those(mostly). I still have a few of those.

[Mike Holbrook]

I have a DVD on Hand Saw Sharpening by Tom Law. He claims to actually look for saws like those. His reasoning is someone must have liked the saw a great deal to have worn it down that much. Herman as I recall suggests not fooling with saws in that condition. He suggests that the taper may be used up. It would seem you could try sawing with them and see how they work.

I have a saw that was sanded down on the edges too much in an effort to shine it up, wearing the set and width off the edge. I can't get the saw to cut more than 1/4 to half inch into anything. The blade binds up. I will joint those teeth reshape and file them and add a little set and see if the saw works. If the saw want cut with a mild set I'm not sure I care to use it as that would tell me the taper is ground off the blade. I will do this because there is still plenty of plate left. I imagine the same thing happens as the plate is reduced by jointing and sharpening. Of course Wenzloff and others sell saw plates that have no taper in them. Wenzloff defends this type plate claiming they will work fine with a little more set. Of course a little more set means you have to remove a little more wood with that blade to make the same cut as a blade with taper.

[Chris R Taylor]

Thanks, I think I will try and get my hands on that DVD. I tried sawing with them and they seemed fine, I have them disassembled right now and once I repair the handles I will give sharpening a try. I only paid $10 so not too much to lose.

[Chris R Taylor]

I swear I started out with the intention of buying the sharpening DVD and it all spiraled out of control from there. My 14" and 16" LN Tenon saws just arrived from the UPS man.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I'll be you'll enjoy them! If nothing else, it's nice to have one new saw to be able to compare your rehabbing to.

[Rob Harris]

I see any saw plate that isnt badly kinked or wavy and with only a few broken teeth ( 5? or less), and decent depth as worthy of being resharpened. Even if the plates dont have much depth left, I usually cut the plate down a bit to 20" and make panel saws. Reshaping the teeth isnt so bad, and I do agree that it would be nice to start with a saw with well shaped teeth, and just sharpen them. It sure would be nice, but thats not the way I started, its harder to find a saw with perfectly shaped teeth. You already have the saws, just give it a go.

I agree. I pick up saws most other people think are trash. If it was a good quality saw to begin with and doesn't have a crack or bad temper, most other problems can be fixed. I bought a Hibbard Spencer Bartlett with a 3/8" bow in it just for practice. I figure that if I can fix that, I can fix most any saw problem. For the $5 I paid, I get experience, practice, and perhaps a decent user saw out of the deal. Besides, it makes me appreciate really well-tuned saws.

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