Fine tuning tooth set.

[Stewie Simpson]

doesn't matter;

[Derek Cohen]

Stewie, that is an excellent tip. I've used Mike's method for years now, but blue tape is easier to apply and keep in place. Is it the same thickness as photocopy paper?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Stewie Simpson]

Hi Derek. I haven't checked with Vernier, but they do look very similar in thickness.

regards Stewie;

[Pat Barry]

Seems to me that the blue tape method could be problematic since the adhesive will squeeze around and it might not be so easy to peel off the tape once the setting is done. The paper folded around the blade really seems to be as simple as a guy can get.

[Stewie Simpson]

Hi Pat. Easy fix. Ignore my advice and do it your way.

Stewie;

[Mike Brady]

Looks to be an interesting topic, but where is the rest of the thread? I assume that the topic is using paper or "tape" on a saw plate and than pressing the tooth line in a vise to even out the set.

[Stewie Simpson]

Here you go Mike.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/get-a-consistent-set-on-your-saw-with-paper

I use the same method as Mike Wentzloff, but instead of paper I apply a layer of painters masking tape to both inside surfaces of a smooth jawed Machinist Vise. The remaining set can be altered by using more than 1 layer of masking tape.

Stewie;

[Pat Barry]

My misunderstanding Stewie. I thought you were saying to put the tape onto the saw plate, not onto the vice surface. All I could see was tape causing a sticky mess on your nice saw plate. Pardon me for not getting the message the first time.

[Mike Brady]

You need a good vise without the checkered jaws that all the cheap ones have. I would imagine a quality machinist's vise is costly. Aperson could make a pair of jaws, I guess. I use a fresh large mill file and just pull it along the set line and lets its own weight do the job. I believe Ron Herman is where I got this method. One or two passes does it and I rarely get a saw that strays from the line.

[Stewie Simpson]

Hi Mike. Evening out the set on both sides of the saw plate can be addressed by using a number of different methods. But this alone will not give you a guarantee that every tooth point has a common height. And this leads us to why I firmly believe tooth set should be applied prior too final sharpening.

*The best way to insure that every tooth point has a common height is by lightly jointing the top of the teeth.*

#Shaping of the saw teeth has been completed (slight flat remains on every tooth point):next;

*Set every tooth with the pistol tool;
*Fine tune the set
*Dykem;
*Light jointing across the top of the teeth (stop when every tooth is touched);
*Dykem;
*Complete final sharpening of the saw teeth.*
*Test and evaluate the saws performance.

[Jim Koepke]

All I could see was tape causing a sticky mess on your nice saw plate.

Blue painter's tape doesn't leave adhesive behind if removed within a few days of application.

jtk

[Mike Brady]

That makes good sense, Stewie.

[Noah Wagener]

If we accept that paper does not compress as Mike states, then isn't he just thickening the jaws on the vise? I think the teeth are being bent back completely to flush and then settle somewhere between where they were set to and flush with the rest of the plate. If the paper was not put on the teeth but just at the gullet line, then it could serve as a stop and the teeth would be bent short of flush by whatever the thickness of the paper. I am sure it works great but I do not follow how the thickness of the paper plus the plate equals the kerf.

[Stewie Simpson]

Hi Noah. If you watch the video again, it should start to make sense.

regards Stewie;

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Noah

While the paper does not compress, the teeth ends are sharp and still penetrate it.

Essentially, the paper acts as a depth stop when compressing the teeth that penetrate the paper. This means that they all end up with the same side projection.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Noah Wagener]

Derek,

are you saying that Mike put the paper on just below the teeth tips by cutting through it? If the teeth do not extend above the paper I do not see how they are being squeezed less than the rest of the plate. I guess I do not understand it, like rugby and cricket. (^_^) You 2 are a day ahead of me though.

[Hilton Ralphs]

I guess I do not understand it, like rugby and cricket. (^_^)

Rugby is a bit like soccer, just without all the sissies, temper tantrums and theatrical falls.

Cricket is a bit like Baseball, just without that silly mitt to catch a ball (what's wrong with your hands?). We also don't wear Errol Flynn leggings.

[Derek Cohen]

Derek,

are you saying that Mike put the paper on just below the teeth tips by cutting through it? If the teeth do not extend above the paper I do not see how they are being squeezed less than the rest of the plate. I guess I do not understand it, like rugby and cricket. (^_^) You 2 are a day ahead of me though.

Noah

OK, first point. The paper does not compress.

Point two: You wrote, "If the teeth do not extend above the paper". This thing is that the teeth go through the paper and extend to the outer edge of the paper but the saw plate does not - it remains where it started from, which is the thickness of the paper lower than the sides of the set teeth. Remove the paper, and the set of the teeth are proud by the thickness of the paper. And uniformly so.

Point Three: Some things are only understood by cricketers and rugby players. :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Malcolm Schweizer]

First off, the difference in Cricket and Baseball is that baseball takes a very long time to finish the game, and cricket takes forever.

Back on point, I remember the first time I read Mike Wenzloff's paper method, and my first thought was, "Oh my goodness... the teeth are only set that narrow?" You don't want to know how far I was setting them. No wonder (a) my kerfs were huge, and (b) it took forever to cut a small piece of wood! Now I absolutely love sawing by hand. I wish I had read a little more closely when I was self-learning to sharpen saws and set teeth!

Derek said it, but just to clarify it, the teeth poke through the paper because they are sharp and cut it at the points, but the flat of the blade doesn't and that's why the teeth end up being set the thickness of the paper on each side.

[Jim Koepke]

Now for some BLASPHEMY...

A recent order of bandsaw blades came with an enormous amount of set. Two metal plates were set in my large metal vise and used to squeeze the blade without the use of paper. This was used to "flatten" the band saw blade ~6" at a time. The springiness of the blade material kept the set from going to zero.

In this case the over set blade problems were resolved.

jtk

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Now for some BLASPHEMY...

A recent order of bandsaw blades came with an enormous amount of set. Two metal plates were set in my large metal vise and used to squeeze the blade without the use of paper. This was used to "flatten" the band saw blade ~6" at a time. The springiness of the blade material kept the set from going to zero.

In this case the over set blade problems were resolved.

jtk

I'm curious to know if that blade wandered or not afterwards. I have some blades that are horribly set and I just don't have time to set them one by one.

[Jim Koepke]

I'm curious to know if that blade wandered or not afterwards. I have some blades that are horribly set and I just don't have time to set them one by one.

It actually tracked better after the vise treatment. After installing a blade I usually mark the blade and then give each tooth a couple of swipes with one of my slip stones. My bandsaw only has a 72-5/8" blade so it gets done fairly fast.

jtk

[Stewie Simpson]

The amount of packing used is determined by the depth of saw plate.