Newbie puzzled by newly-sharpened saws

[John Stevens]

Hi folks, I’m new to hand tools and the Neander forum. About two weeks ago I bought my first Western-style hand saw, a rip saw, 3 1/2 ppi. It’s a pleasure to use, easy to cut straight lines and leaves surprisingly smooth edges. Last last Friday I went to a Lie-Nielsen event in Philly and got to try their 5 1/2 ppi rip and 8 ppi cross-cut panel saws. Easy to cut a straight lines, both of them left smooth edges, and both a pleasure to use.

Here’s the thing that has me puzzled. I recently bought a Disston rip saw, 5 1/2 ppi, and a Disston cross-cut saw, 9 ppi, from a dealer who has a great reputation here at the Creek. The dealer sharpened both saws before shipping to me. Neither one is as easy for me to saw to a line as the other saws (both seem to drift right), and they leave deeper saw-marks in the stock, even compared to the 3 1/2 ppi rip saw. They are definitely sharp though—no splintering at the bottom edge of the stock. They also both look to be in really good shape, no rust.

Could it be that their teeth have a little burr left over after being sharpened, and they’ll improve with more use? Is it me? Some combination of both? If you were in my shoes, would you contact the dealer—if so, what would you ask? Thanks for any insight you can give.

—John

[brian zawatsky]

If EVERY saw you use drifted to the right, I would say it may be a technique issue. Since the issue is limited to those 2 saws, I would contact the seller and see if he has any advice to offer, or perhaps he could determine if the set needs to be adjusted.
If you have a hard Arkansas slip stone, ONE light swipe down the teeth on the side that the saw pulls to may correct the issue.

[lowell holmes]

I agree with brian, I think the set of the teeth on the side needs to be relaxed a bit. The correction will need to be very light. Stoning would be better than trying to take set out with a hammer or vise.

[Jim Koepke]

If EVERY saw you use drifted to the right, I would say it may be a technique issue. Since the issue is limited to those 2 saws, I would contact the seller and see if he has any advice to offer, or perhaps he could determine if the set needs to be adjusted.
If you have a hard Arkansas slip stone, ONE light swipe down the teeth on the side that the saw pulls to may correct the issue.

Only my opinion, but before doing anything such as swiping down the side of the teeth with an Arkansas stone, your first move should be to contact the person who sold you the saws.

Even folks known for their quality work make an occasional mistake.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

I agree with Jim. However, if swiping does take place,it should be only 2 or 3 light swipes at a time until the correction is achieved.

[brian zawatsky]

I agree with Jim. However, if swiping does take place,it should be only 2 or 3 light swipes at a time until the correction is achieved.

Honestly, the safest course of action is one light swipe, followed by a test cut. If necessary, then do another. If he removes too much set, then the saw will bind & will have to be completely re-set.

[Jim Koepke]

Honestly, the safest course of action is one light swipe, followed by a test cut. If necessary, then do another. If he removes too much set, then the saw will bind & will have to be completely re-set.

?????

If you sold someone a saw and they returned it with the side all scratched from being wiped with a stone would you be happy?

Do you not think it is the best course to at least let the seller see where they may have made a mistake?

jtk

[brian zawatsky]

Absolutely agree with you Jim. I was referring to Lowell’s suggestion of 2 or 3 swipes with a stone between testing the cut, which could easily overshoot the mark. I did suggest earlier that the OP should contact the seller first

[lowell holmes]

You can do what I did. Buy a saw set and adjust the set until it is correct. I am recovering from the Hurricane Harvey flood and found my 5 saw sets today.
They grew like rabbits after I started sharpening saws.

[Stanley Covington]

Agree with Brian that stoning is the solution. This is a very common problem and a tried and true solution. But Jim is right about contacting the seller first too.

If you do stone it, be sure to use a toothbrush and WD-40 to clean/pressure wash the stone particles from the teeth afterwards, and BEFORE using it to cut wood.

[David Eisenhauer]

I have heard of (and tried) the ONE swipe across the teeth to correct drift, but never have heard of the toothbrush and WD-40 wash job. Thanks Stanley for the info. As to the stoning-out-the-drift solution, have I not heard (maybe Pete T?) that quickly reaching for a stone is not the first thing to try or look at?

[John Stevens]

Thanks for all the info guys. I spoke to the dealer and am confident he’s done a conscientious and capable job of sharpening. It occurred to me that in addition to differences in sharpening, the handles of some of these saws seem to fit in my hand better than others, and that might be part of the puzzle. I’m not completely sure what’s up, but at least now I have enough info to plan forward.

My budget is limited, but I have the luxury of being able to buying a few more saws to practice with. As I develop skill I’ll also learn which ones I prefer. Those will be the ones I keep. The others I can always list for sale in the classified section, gently used. It’ll cost me a little time and money, but that’’s true of all the good things in life.

—John