Large teeth and small set: does it matter where the bend occurs?

[Luke Dupont]

Just a quick question as I set some largish (8TPI) teeth on some very thin and kind of narrow (3/4") bowsaw blades.

I'm using a saw set which is capable of setting some really fine teeth. The smallest setting is the right amount of set (<12TPI), but it bends the tooth only at the very tip, not from the base or middle or anything. The saw seems to work just fine, but is this "good" or does it matter? Is there any advantage to having the tooth bent lower down? The only one I can think of is that with sharpening, the tip will disappear quickly requiring the blade to be reset sooner, but it also seems advantageous in that the saw encounters less resistance overall, even with larger teeth. Perhaps the teeth would be more fully / aggressively engaged if bent from the base and not near the tip? And this is... good? Bad?

I'm curious to know if there is anything "incorrect" about this, and what the pros and cons might be.

Edit: Hmm... come to think of it... Wait, let me check... Yep, Japanese saw blades tend to have the teeth bent further up (at the half way point, or even less towards the tip). Maybe this is part of what makes them so quiet and effortless, in addition to the thin plates.

[William Fretwell]

The two sets I have bend the tooth at the bottom, simply because of the positioning of the set pin on the tooth. The same set on large teeth won’t bend it at the bottom. On most saws it is just not an issue, very large teeth may be the exception and a typical saw set may not be the best choice.

Bending the teeth at the bottom keeps the middle clearance a little larger. The shaving has to go somewhere. If you bend just the tip then you can achieve that with smaller teeth. Big teeth wide set for soft/green wood is all about major wood removal without binding. If the cut clogs it will be very slow.

If you had large wide set teeth with raker teeth unset, the middle channel is more congested, you are taking three shavings at once not two, they need room, bending the teeth at the bottom gives more room.

Consider hardwoods, the teeth are smaller, more numerous, less set, much shorter shavings. The dust is carried out by the numerous teeth. You can rip soft wood with a hardwood saw….very slowly….until it binds. A bow saw at least has less binding.

Are you sure this blade is best for your wood choices? You can always make a few different ones to try out; you might end up re-inventing the wheel!

[James Pallas]

I know others may not agree. The way the teeth are shaped an how the gullet is formed may a difference. As the tooth cuts a chip it follows up the tooth and is nipped off as it hits the gullet, hence the little curls. Depending on the set if the chip is not nipped off it can go between the plate and the work making for some binding. Once cut the chip rides in the gullet until dropped out. A nice smooth set most of the way to the gullet seems to work better for me. If you have a saw that cuts strings it may tend to bind.
Jim