Saw Resharpening - Who do you suggest?

[Chris Hedges]

Ive got a LN dovetail and some kind of Diston that need resharpening. Would like to have the LN jointed and retoothed. Ive been to the bad axe site but really dont have 12-14 weeks to wait for a resharpening. Chris

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I think the best way is to do it yourself, particularly if the saw's not in terrible shape. I can't imagine the LN is so bad that it wouldn't resharpen very quickly, but you mention wanting it jointed and retoothed - you want a different tooth count? LN also offers a saw sharpening service for their saws at a very reasonable rate, but I don't know if they offer what you're looking for, but a phone call wouldn't hurt. I imagine all the premier saw sharpening folks are going to have a fairly lengthy turnaround time - if I remember correctly, it wasn't long after Matt Cianci started offering saw sharpening services that his turnaround shot up to something like 8 weeks.

I've sharpened a few saws myself, and it's not really as hard as you'd think. And in the long run, a sharp saw that's poorly done is still easier to control and more efficient than a saw that was expertly done but is now dull.

[Shaun Mahood]

I have to agree with Joshua - it's way, way simpler than I thought it would be. I built an extremely cheap saw vise (made from construction lumber) that works fine. I wouldn't buy any new Nicholson files though, the new ones don't last very long at all. I retoothed one saw and ended up using a bench grinder to grind down the old teeth, since I ruined 3 or 4 brand new mill files without any real effect (and the saw files didn't last anywhere near as long as what people were telling me they should).

If you still want it sharpened, there are a couple people who do it that I know of.
http://logancabinetshoppe.com/saw-sharpening.html
http://thesawblog.com/?p=1159

I would trust them with my saws without an issue, but have no direct experience with their service.

[Brad Patch]

Daryl Weir at http://home.grics.net/~weir/Old_SAWS_Restored.html has sharpened two saws for me and has done an outstanding job. Last turnaround time was less than two weeks.

[David Weaver]

If daryl's that quick, that's a gift. Nobody sharpens a saw better that I've seen.

If both saws are rip, this is a good chance to learn to do it yourself, and send it to daryl later if you just can't get happy with your own work sharpening a saw.

[Chris Hedges]

Thanks for the info guys!

Chris

[Jim Koepke]

My vote if for doing it yourself.

Get a few old junk saws first if you don't want to take chances with good saws.

My only real failure has been more the saw plate than my doing the teeth. New teeth will not fix a cracked saw plate.

jtk

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

Talk to Mike Smith here on the Creek; not sure if he has the time, but he did a couple for me .... EXCELLENT! And ... Just a plain nice guy to deal with to boot!

[Christian Castillo]

DIY +1, and if you do, red dykem fluid with a brush helps a lot.

[Jim Matthews]

I use a Magic marker to show the bright, freshly sharpened tooth.

Sharpen the Disston, first. Set it up to rip cut (the file is held perpendicular to the line of teeth).
See how it goes. If it's a disaster, ship out the LN to a pro.

[Jim Barrett]

Marv Werner in N California has done a few of my saws...excellent work and very reasonable.

Jim

[Randy Karst]

I agree with Jim; Marv is very knowledgeable, does a great job, has a quick turnaround time and is very reasonable. I am always more than satisfied with his work.