Saw Plate not straight

[Neil Gaskin]

I have a LN panel saw and the saw plate is not straight anymore. I tweaked it cross cutting when the saw bound up and the plate flexed/bowed pretty good.

Is there a way to fix this or is it a lost cause.

Thank you, Neil

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Since it is a LN, I would start with a call to customer service.

[Jim Koepke]

Agree with Nicholas on a call to LN if it isn't a simple fix.

If there isn't a crease in the saw plate you may be able to straighten it by placing the plate and not the back between blocks of soft wood in a vise and giving a little tug.

jtk

Oops! For some reason my mind was seeing a back saw, not a panel saw.

[chris carter]

I bought my panel saws used and both had some bends. It was not that hard. Both had a long sweeping bend and for that I just bent by hand the other way and held it for a minute or two. I kept repeating until it was straight. One also had a short bend near the tip and the other had two going opposite directions. For those I put the saw in a vice narrow end up, with the start of the bend right at the top of the vice. Then I used my thumbs and pushed HARD. Check, push, check, push, check, push, DONE!

Now, if you have an actual kink, like a hard bend where you can see a clearly defined bend line, then that doesn’t sound like fun. But bends are easy to deal with.

[Neil Gaskin]

Thanks everyone. I'll give the suggestions a try

[Tom Stenzel]

Hi Neil,
I snipped this from something that George Wilson wrote about 3 years ago:

******
Rob and all saw makers: You can save yourself trouble by buying STRAIGHTENED 1095 sheet,instead of buying it rolled up. It is difficult to get the curve out of 1095 that has been rolled. We did it by pouring boiling water over the blade and bending it backwards. It will not straighten by just bending it backwards cold. This is particularly aggravating when making crosscut and rip saws that have no back to hold them straight.
******

Hope this helps. Luckily I haven't had to try it yet.

-Tom

[Tom Bender]

Practice on a less valuable saw first.

[Barney Markunas]

I'd still touch base with LN before you even bother practicing on a junker saw. My experience their customer service has been first rate.

[Tony Shea]

Don't even consider doing this without touching base with LN. It has been my experience that LN will fix this tool without any hesitation even if it is your fault. I've had multiple tools fixed by them and they always offer the service for free. I'm extremely biased towards LN because of this amazing service!

[Tony Zaffuto]

Another vote to contact LN: I have a favorite tool, a 102 bloack plane, that is with me whenever in the shop. Several years ago, it took a digger to a concrete floor. Bent the cap, along with tightening screw and scratched/scuffed. Plane came back all fixed at no cost, even though I tried to pay.