Scott Permar
10-08-2012, 12:52 PM
Hello All,
Has anyone found a process to help straighten a back saw that is straight along the toothline but has a slight bend/curve between the toothline and back? This causes the saw to progressively bind as the depth of kerf increases. I reset the teeth and there's probably now .005 total set. It actually cuts pretty darn straight considering the bend. The top to bottom curve is fairly even from toe to heal and the back is (now) straight. This is a $7 garage sale generic Warranted Superior back saw 12 inches long 4 inches deep with 11 PPI (approx .035 thick). Learning how to make a saw work is part of the goal of buying these but in the end I'd like the saw to be satisfying to use. Most of the information I've found (wkfine,vintage saw, disstonian) discuss smithing to straighten bends along the tooth line. I've had good success following this to remove a moderate kink/bend in a 26 inch rip saw. I've tried that process (probably too much) on another gents saw that's significantly bent from top to bottom without a noticeable improvement. So I tried this a little bit on the WS saw but stopped after it didn't show any progress. The back has been off an I did some work on it and re-installed it. When I bought the saw I didn't notice this top to bottom bend but you do have to look pretty carefully to see it so I may have missed it. Although I could caused it inadvertently. I cleaned the plate and started refinshing the handle so the saw is looking better but I like my tools to work. Has anyone dealt with this issue or am I just the cause of my own problems?
Thanks,
Scott
One observation I made was to make a test cut to full depth and then reinserted the saw in the kerf with the leading edge (parallel to the tooth line but not engaging any teeth) and to see if it still bound and that direction and it was free. Not sure if it's meaning but I tried that to see how tight the kerf was. Putting the saw back in the usual position in the kerf after cutting it still seemed to be tight after a minute or so.
Has anyone found a process to help straighten a back saw that is straight along the toothline but has a slight bend/curve between the toothline and back? This causes the saw to progressively bind as the depth of kerf increases. I reset the teeth and there's probably now .005 total set. It actually cuts pretty darn straight considering the bend. The top to bottom curve is fairly even from toe to heal and the back is (now) straight. This is a $7 garage sale generic Warranted Superior back saw 12 inches long 4 inches deep with 11 PPI (approx .035 thick). Learning how to make a saw work is part of the goal of buying these but in the end I'd like the saw to be satisfying to use. Most of the information I've found (wkfine,vintage saw, disstonian) discuss smithing to straighten bends along the tooth line. I've had good success following this to remove a moderate kink/bend in a 26 inch rip saw. I've tried that process (probably too much) on another gents saw that's significantly bent from top to bottom without a noticeable improvement. So I tried this a little bit on the WS saw but stopped after it didn't show any progress. The back has been off an I did some work on it and re-installed it. When I bought the saw I didn't notice this top to bottom bend but you do have to look pretty carefully to see it so I may have missed it. Although I could caused it inadvertently. I cleaned the plate and started refinshing the handle so the saw is looking better but I like my tools to work. Has anyone dealt with this issue or am I just the cause of my own problems?
Thanks,
Scott
One observation I made was to make a test cut to full depth and then reinserted the saw in the kerf with the leading edge (parallel to the tooth line but not engaging any teeth) and to see if it still bound and that direction and it was free. Not sure if it's meaning but I tried that to see how tight the kerf was. Putting the saw back in the usual position in the kerf after cutting it still seemed to be tight after a minute or so.