My Coping Saw Blade is Too Thick

[Glenn Samuels]

My LN dovetail saw makes a kerf of .026” and my LV coping saw will not fit in the kerf. Now, I need to make 2 cuts to clear out most of thematerial while making dovetails. I'd like to find a saw blade thatwill fit into the kerf so I can drop it to the botton and make onehorizontal cut.
Would I be better with a jeweler's sawor a fret saw?
Which manufacturers would you suggest?
What width of the saw blade is recommended. I've read fromone of Derek's posts that Knew Concepts makes a titanium fret sawthat creates high blade tension. I guess that is considered theCadillac of fret saws?

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Maybe your dovetail saw is too thin!

All kidding aside, I've been using Olson coping saw blades - I think I ordered my last few from Tools For Working Wood, and believe I have the skip tooth blade they sell (http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/dept/TS/item/MS-COPE.XX) in there. I just measured the one I have with my cheap dial calipers, and it ought to fit no problem - I can collaborate this by adding that I use an Adria dovetail saw, and they list a .025" kerf (http://www.adriatools.com/handsaw/dovetail_saw.html) on their site (and if anything, repeated sharpenings has made the set, and thus the kerf, a little narrower) and haven't had any problems with these saw blades in that kerf. I can't turn it 90 degrees in the cut like you might be able to do with a fretsaw, but I can turn tightly enough that one cut gets enough of the waste out that I can pare the remaining hump out with a hand pressure on a chisel before moving towards trimming the baseline.

I usually stone the back edge of the coping saw blades a little bit - I'm not actually sure it helps with the turning, but it makes me feel better.

[Pedro Reyes]

I will confess I don't use this method, I've chiseled them out. But what I have seen, people start at the kerf then work their way down (re-kerfing) with a slight curve towards the inside, so that the 90 is made with a sharp curve rather than a straight angle, then end up at the opposite end at 90 to the original saw kerf, then just go back and cut that little triangular "stump".

Not sure tho, if their coping blades are that much thicker than their saw baldes.

/p

[lowell holmes]

From an earlier string I bought these and they work. Pegas #7 15 TPI skip tooth blade

[george wilson]

As a quick dodge,try squeezing you coping saw blade in a smooth jaw steel jaw vise until nearly all the set is gone. Leave just a little. That might make your blade just thin enough to clear the work while you look for thinner blades as suggested.

[Glenn Samuels]

Thank you for some very good information. George, I used your method in a metal vise and got the set removed. The blade started at .042 and I got it to .030 by removing the set. Guess I won't be buying more blades from LV as this is what they had in stock.