Set saw teeth with a screwdriver

[lowell holmes]

There is another string going about saw sets.

I don't remember who told about it. You put the saw in a vise and simply place a flat blade screwdriver between the first two teeth and twist.
This sets one tooth to one side and the other to the opposite side. Then you skip to the next two teeth and repeat. You do this until all of the
teeth are set. I have done this and it works. I also have about five saw sets including an antique Taintor set.

Google "Taintor saw set".

[Andrew Seemann]

Frank Klaus does it in his Hand Tool DVD. He says it is for saws that have teeth too small for a regular saw set.

[lowell holmes]

I remember now Frank Klaus did it. I had his DVD, but lost it when Hurricane Harvey came through.

[lowell holmes]

There is another string going today about sharpening a handsaw.
I brought this back to show about setting teeth with a screwdriver.
It works!

[mike holden]

I brought this back to show about setting teeth with a screwdriver.
It works!
So? When are you going to show how to set teeth with a screwdriver?
Mike

[lowell holmes]

If you place a saw in a vise and place a small screwdriver between the first two teeth and twist,
it will set one tooth towards you and the other away from you.

Then skip to the next set of teeth and repeat. You do this until all of the teeth are set.

Try it, it works.

[steven c newman]

I might have a saw, of sorts, that you can try..
385178
Has a metal frame. Unable to get the blade off, too small for my Wentworth No. 1 to hold onto...that screwdriver does work nicely in the saw nut slots...

[Mike Allen1010]

So? When are you going to show how to set teeth with a screwdriver?
Mike

+1, Lowell I would love to see a couple pics of how to use a screwdriver to set smaller saw teeth. I've restored/sharpened lots of saws and recognize that setting small teeth (<12 PPI) is a real, honest-to-goodness challenge. Personally I have a 40x with filed down anvil for these saws , but I would welcome learning about another alternative.


Thanks, Mike

[lowell holmes]

Hurricane Harvey flooded our house and I don't have picture making capability at time.
If you will place a saw in a saw vice and insert a small screwdriver between the first two teeth and twist
it will set one tooth to one side and the other tooth to the other. You skip to the next pair of teeth
and repeat, continuing until you have set all of the teeth.

Try it, it is simple.

[lowell holmes]

Mike, Hurricane Harvey claimed my camera, so pictures are not possible at this time.

But, just take an old saw, place it in a vise, and then take a very small screwdriver, put it between the first two teeth and twist.
One tooth will set one way and the other will set the opposite way. Then move up the saw two teeth and repeat. Continue
until your finished.

OBTW, I have five saw sets on my bench. I went through a period of buying old Disston saws, re-handling them, and sharpening.
I have fifteen old saws hanging over my bench. I have a D-12 that came to me with out tote. It now has a curly maple tote, new teeth,
and cuts like a banshee. It is a 10 tpi crosscut saw. The D-12 is supposed to be the best Disston ever.

[steven c newman]

I know of a fellow that cut notches into the side of an old "beater" chisel......and used that to set saw teeth with. Had a youtube video about making a frame saw.....and used the old chisel to set the new teeth with. He'd set one tooth, skip a tooth, then set the next one the other direction....and so on down the length of the blade...

[bridger berdel]

as a thought experiment (having never set saw teeth with a screwdriver) it occurs to me that the teeth on one side of the saw would all be set from the front of the tooth and the teeth on the other side of the saw would be set from the back of the tooth. might make no difference anyhow, but it *sounds* unbalanced.

[lowell holmes]

It is not unbalanced, try it.:)

I've never experienced unbalance, but if you do, you can correct it.

[lowell holmes]

On the D-12, I should add for the full story, I took it to Circle Saw in Houston Texas and had it re-toothed. It is practically a new saw and it cuts like it.

[Mike Allen1010]

Lowell, really appreciate your advice. I'm definitely going to give screwdriver setting a try.


Thanks, Mike

[lowell holmes]

Let us know how it turns out.

[lowell holmes]

+1, Lowell I would love to see a couple pics of how to use a screwdriver to set smaller saw teeth. I've restored/sharpened lots of saws and recognize that setting small teeth (<12 PPI) is a real, honest-to-goodness challenge. Personally I have a 40x with filed down anvil for these saws , but I would welcome learning about another alternative.


Thanks, Mike

See this string "https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?264342-Set-saw-teeth-with-a-screwdriver"

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Lowell, Since this thread has been revived, one question comes to mind:

Is there a method for insuring an even turn with each twist?

Here is another point to ponder:

On my saws it seems the first tooth at the heel is set from the left side when viewing the saw pointing up and facing away. Since then any saw of mine that has new teeth or no set have all been set in the same way just to make it easy when it comes time to rework a saw.

Is that just me or do others try to standardize some aspects of their saws?

jtk

[Mike Brady]

I recently sharpened a dovetail saw with 15 ppi on a .020 plate. I set the teeth with a 42X that has the hammer (plunger) filed with small chamfers that narrow the hammer for finer teeth. I got a nice, even set on the teeth, but the hammer left a small mark in some teeth where it might have been slightly misaligned. I went back with a very light filing pass on each tooth. I haven't noticed the small marks left by the hammer before.

[Jim Koepke]

I recently sharpened a dovetail saw with 15 ppi on a .020 plate. I set the teeth with a 42X that has the hammer (plunger) filed with small chamfers that narrow the hammer for finer teeth. I got a nice, even set on the teeth, but the hammer left a small mark in some teeth where it might have been slightly misaligned. I went back with a very light filing pass on each tooth. I haven't noticed the small marks left by the hammer before.

That happened recently on one of my dovetail saws. To me it seemed like an okay way to make the next go round a bit easier.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Jim,
I would flatten the teeth in an old saw, file new teeth, and then set. You can see visually if the teeth are uniform. After sharpening and setting deburr the teeth if neccesary. With an old junker saw, nothing is at risk. I've had really good luck doing this.

[lowell holmes]

I do not recommend screw driver nor hammer set for small tooth saws.

[Graham Haydon]

Lowell, this method works very well on dovetail saws. After seing it done I switched to it for small saws and only use saw set pliers for larger teeth.
To those worried about accuracy, don't be. It' a very simple method.

[Luke Dupont]

I use this method on all of my resharpenable saws, including a few bowsaw blades that I made. It's simple and works well. Don't fret over accuracy too much: just twist the same amount -- whatever feels and looks right, and you'll be fine. If you go too far and need to remove some set, just hammer the toothline between two pieces of hardwood, or directly on an anvil, depending on how much set you want to remove. The wood method will also tend to even up the set even more -- not that it's necessary.

I haven't tried setting teeth with a hammer yet. That seems to be an even better method for small teeth, as even a screwdriver is too thick sometimes.

[steven c newman]

Might be a use for an old, beater chisel.....cut a couple slots the width of the teeth,,,,use that to set the teeth. There is a Youtube video out there, showing how to build a frame saw. Builder used this trick to set the teeth on the "watch spring" blade he was using...set first tooth to the left, skip one tooth, set the next to the right....and so on, until the blade is set.

[lowell holmes]

I brought this string back because there is another string about sharpening handsaws.

[lowell holmes]

I am bringing this back because there is another saw set string.

[lowell holmes]

There is another saw set string going, do I am bringing this string back up.

[James Waldron]

There is another saw set string going, do I am bringing this string back up.

Still beating a dead horse, Lowell?

[lowell holmes]

Still beating a dead horse, Lowell?

Let's beat him some more. Some newbies might like to know about it.

[Jim Koepke]

This post came to mind while reading recent posts on saw setting.

Over time thinking about setting saw teeth with a screwdriver has me thinking about how to perform this method with consistency.

One needs to insure the screwdriver blade is of the proper width to engage two and only two teeth. It may need some attention to have the blade hit the proper depth at the top of the teeth.

Finally one might want a blade with a square shaft to affix a small wrench, enabling a method to gauge how much set the teeth will receive.

It gives me a new appreciation for a hand held saw set.

jtk