Saw Jointer??

[steven c newman]

While roaming around a Yard sale awhile back, picked up another saw set for a quarter. Sitting beside it was a Jointer, as the guy called it. Also a quarter. Now, the saw set i know how to use. But a Saw Jointer? NEVER had my hands on one. A look a the two items235176 Does it involve a file to file down saw teeth? If so, where does the file go?I happen to have a little Dovetail saw I just cleaned up. It will get a sharpening, but maybe I need to use both of these "New" tools?

[Ryan Baker]

I've never seen one of those either. Jointing a saw is levelling all the teeth out to the same level, usually with a file. That device must hold a file or stone of some type, as you suggest, but I don't see how that device works. What does the other side look like? I'm sure someone on here will know the answer.

Maybe a flat file is clamped between the flat at the bottom in the picture and the screw-adjustable stop at the top in the picture. The rest is probably a hand guard and to help hold it square. I've seen a device that holds a triangular file and wraps around the saw blade, but this tool is a lot different.

[Nicholas Lingg]

I have one of those. I use it to file my card scrapers

[steven c newman]

235177235178I'll try to get some better shots later. Most of this stuff came from one yard sale, and cost a whopping $7.

[Jim Koepke]

The saw jointer (saw gauge) is actually used for setting the height of raker teeth on a logging cross cut saw.

Mine is similar and has been used to hold a file for jointing. It can hold a file at a right angle or parallel to the tool face.

Taking my camera out to the shop. Will add pictures in a bit.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Okay, took some pictures and since mine has a patent date it was looked up.

235185

http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?pn=150431&id=12171

Is the first patent. There are links to the later patents/improvements.

Here is the saw gauge/jointer and say jointer together:

235186

and another shot:

235187

To use a file flat with the gage, the screw is backed out all the way and a smaller file can then be inserted and held by the screw.

My suggestion is to wear heavy gloves when using the gauge to join. One slip without gloves and you will know why.

jtk

[steven c newman]

I may have to give mine a test drive later. Wonder how wide a saw blade can it do, or should I say , narrow? We'll see how things go....

[Greg Wease]

Check out this primer on saw sharpening. The section on jointing shows how to use your jig.

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

[Jim Matthews]

These are particularly handy if you don't have a large saw vise, or the saw has a curved "belly".

The casting acts as a guide to help keep the file square to the saw body.
In practice, I prefer a longer saw vise with very little of the teeth protruding - the saw vise than becomes my reference.

I have a couple of the older crosscut saws that I use when my Canadiens play poorly - filing those is less fussy than my workshop saws.
A big crosscut with teeth in a row will track pretty straight, even if the joint is off.



jim
wpt, ma

[Mike Allen1010]

Stephen, nice yard sale score!

Lots of good advice about how to use the jointer from the guys who replied above.

The jointer really is an essential piece of kit for sharpening your saws. One of the best things you can do to improve the performance of your hand saws is use the jointer to make sure that the tips of the teeth are all aligned with their neighbors -- that way they're all doing equal work in the kerf. When jointing a well used handsaw it's common to find more than 50% of the teeth are "out of joint" -- shorter than their neighbors, and therefore not contributing much to the cutting process.

You can also use a straight edge to create a tooth line that is either straight (more typical of finer pitch or joinery saws) or "breasted" -- convex curve (more common with larger pitch saws).

I use a smooth mill file in mime and clamp the top edge of the saw plate/saw back in a vice with the teeth pointing up. Just like using a fenced rabbet plane, I use my left hand to hold the jointer surface flat against the side of the saw plate, with my right hand moving the file lightly across the teeth down the length of the saw plate. I find a couple passes with light pressure usually works better than a single passwith a lot of pressure on the file.

Once you've jointed the saw, you might find it helpful to use a sharpie or Dykem to mark the newly created flats on the top of the teeth. This is a helpful reference when you're using the saw file to profile all the teeth. After filing the profile of the teeth, once the ink marking the flat on the top of the tooth disappears, you know that tooth is aligned with its neighbors.

As Greg mentioned above, the saw sharpening primer on Pete Tartan site "vintage saws.com"is an excellent reference that describes how to use the jointer and all the other aspects of sharpening hand saws.

All the best,Mike