Keeping a saw from tip slapping back and forth on back stroke?

[Randy Clements]

When sawing with a 26" hand saw, I notice that when pulling back, the tip slaps back and forth (vibration) and therefore is making the kerf wider and cut rougher than I'd like.

Is there any way to prevent or minimize this? I am sawing on saw bench, about knee height and doing crosscuts.

[Jim Koepke]

Your saw likely isn't making the kerf wider on the back stroke.

It might have been on vintagesaws.com where it was claimed this is a sign of too much set.

Have you tried lifting the saw slightly in the kerf once it is established?

The teeth dragging on the bottom of the cut and the sides of the teeth all cause vibration. This all transfers into the saw plate. That is how some folks can take a violin bow to a saw and make it sing.

jtk

[ian maybury]

It's also possible that it's caused by too much downward pressure and/or gripping the handle very tightly and/or not pulling and pushing in a straight line fore and aft.

A well sharpened and set saw should cut/pull itself into the work without needing more than (if anything beyond it's own weight) very very light pressure.

Gripping the saw loosely in your hand (i.e. not clenching your fingers tight around the handle) and allowing your fore finger (the one beside your thumb) to point forward/rest along the side of the handle tends to reduce this possibility and leave the saw free to follow it's own line too.

Likewise try to keep your arm muscles nice and loose. Your job is to nice and smoothly using most of the available blade length push and pull the saw, but let it get on with the cutting.

You know you're doing it right when the saw sings/rings out with a nice clean bzzzz in each direction - held too hard or forced against the sides or the bottom of the cut it's not able too.

You'll find that it's much easier to cut to a line this way - when the grip of death sets in we tend to introduce all sorts of sidewards movement which if nothing else generates a lot of extra friction and takes more effort to overcome...

ian

[Zach Dillinger]

A saw that slaps from side to side is a sign that you haven't maintained the same angle between between the work face and the side of the saw plate. So, if you carefully started your saw to make a plumb cut, and then the saw tip starts slapping around, you are no longer sawing plumb. This can easily be corrected by starting plumb, sawing plumb, and finishing plumb. It has very little to do with the way the saw is set or sharpened, outside of the way those factors influence your ability to maintain a plumb cut.

[Jonathan McCullough]

Another few pointers--Put some paraffin wax on the saw plate. Don't apply the teeth to the work when you're doing the return stroke. Get your head above the work so you can confirm that you're following your kerf. Let the saw do the work.