Filing a miter saw

[Roger Rettenmeier]

I have read several threads about filing a miter saw. and it seems a rake of 15 degrees and fleam of 20 is generally accepted. I recently acquired a Simonds 24"miter saw, that is just under 4" deep. I am guessing the saw has been filed in the past. The filing is uniform, but the rake is near 0 degrees, and the fleam is between 20 and 25 degrees. The gullets are sloped, but I cannot get an accurate measurement. Considering the condition of the saw (uniformity of teeth, and minimum amount of plate removed from previous sharps), I am thinking it came this way, or very nearly, from the factory. The saw is currently dull, and merely cuts ok in its current state. Has anyone used a sharp like I described ... 0 rake and 20 - 25 fleam?

[Hilton Ralphs]

Zero rake seems a tad too aggressive for a xcut saw. I seem to recall Ron Bontz mentioning that he has a saw similar to yours that is a pig and half and a dirty giraffe to use so it stays on the shelf. I may be wrong though.

[Roger Rettenmeier]

0 rake seems a bit off, but I think the saw is a # 95 Simonds which is described as having 4 inches under the back. The saw is only missing .05 inch of plate, which is why I was thinking it is pretty near original.
I am replacing windows and trim, so this will work for the interior trim. If someone has tried a similar filing found it unacceptable, it will save me the trouble of a filing job. I will sharpen it like I do my X cut hand saws, with about 15 degrees of rake.
Thanks

[Joe Bailey]

... a pig and half and a dirty giraffe ...

Never heard that one before and I LOVE IT!

[Ron Bontz]

I don't think I would want to go with a rake that aggressive for window trim. I am partial to the 15 Rake and 25* fleam. Even 10* would work, I think, as long as you had that fleam. Although, I knew an excellent craftsman / carpenter that would back cut his trim a little and hit it with a block plane so the face would always fit tightly together despite an uneven surface. I am pretty sure he could've done it with an ax and still look good. I can still see him bending over his stanley miter box cutting large crown moulding. Ah those were the days. Before the motorized miter box. :)

[Roger Rettenmeier]

Thanks, Ron.
I haven't filed up a dedicated miter box saw, and would like to nail it the first time around. I will try something around 10 rake 20 fleam (which it is already near), and keep the sloped gullet. In the Simonds Guide for Carpenters, no angles are given for saw filing. They do mention dropping the file handle two inches for a miter saw, and two or three inches for a rip saw. Two inches might translate to about 10 degrees of sloping gullet. which already exists on this saw.

[Roger Rettenmeier]

This is a follow up post regarding the sharpening of the saw. I changed the rake from 0 to 5 degrees, and left the original fleam alone. It actually came in at a fairly consistent 30 degrees. The gullet was sloped, and I tried to maintain a 7 or so degree of slope for the gullets. It took about three strokes of a file. after jointing, to shine up all the tooth surfaces. I tried the saw out in some 4/4 air dried douglas fir picture frame stock. The stock is 2 3/4 " wide. With the stock flat on the miter box, I cut through in about 15 strokes. With the stock vertical, I cut through in about 11- 12 strokes. The finish on the cuts was very good.

[Hilton Ralphs]

Good stuff Roger.