Setting and Filing old carpenter saws..

[Wendy Sarrett]

I need some advice. I bought two old carpenter saws on ebay and are in good
shape but need to be cleaned, set, filed etc.
I found a saw set that fits these saws for $35 which, with the files I have
and the instructions I got on line I can try to do the setting and sharpening
myself. Alternatively, there is a Woodcraft store that would send them out
to be professionally done for $8 per saw. It's 1/2 an hour away and I
suspect I'd have to make two special trips there to get it done.
Clearly a professional would do a better job than a first timer but I'm only
going to learn how to do this sort of thing by doing it. I'm leaning to
spending the money on the saw set and giving it a go but I'm wondering If I'm being foolish at this point.

Thanks!
Wendy

[Leif Hanson]

First of all - it's not rocket science, and it's a good skill to have if you are going to be using handsaws with any frequency... There are tons of references available on the web:

http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/Smalser_on_SharpeningHandsaws.htm

http://www.vintagesaws.com/cgi-bin/frameset.cgi?left=sawcare&right=/library/primer/sharp.html

http://www.norsewoodsmith.com/ww/sawbasics/sharpeningsaws.htm

There's tons more good information out there, a lot of which is linked to on these two sites:

http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/INDEX_How_To.htm

http://www.galootcentral.com/modules.php?name=Web_Links&l_op=viewlink&cid=67

New saw sets can be purchased from Tools for Working Wood for about $13 each, and older Stanley saw sets and the like are available on ebay and local flea markets, sometimes even at a fair price.

It can take a bit of patience to learn it at first, but well worth the effort once you've aquired the skill. There are very few competent hand saw sharpening services available today (though some are quite good, of course), so knowing how to yourself is a very good thing...

HTH
Leif

[Richard Gillespie]

Wendy;

The price you quote on the saw set sounds a might high. I got mine from Ebay for $5.00 plus shipping. You might want to check there.

Rick

[Wendy Sarrett]

Thanks Leif....I decided to go for it. The saws were cheap so it's a good start.

Thanks Richard...I did check Ebay (one of the first places I checked) and didn't like what I saw there. The descriptions didn't tell me enough about them and others didn't look like they were in great shape. The place I'm buying it from had good descriptions and the unit I bought looks in excellent shape.

Wendy

[Cliff Ahlgren]

I'm leaning to
spending the money on the saw set and giving it a go but I'm wondering If I'm being foolish at this point.

Thanks!
Wendy

IMHO, you are not being foolish at all. I got this video:

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=toolshop&Product_Code=AQ-1019V.XX&Category_Code=VV

This will show you how to do it step-by-step and I got results on the first try. Since then I have sharpened up a cross-cut panel saw, rip saw, a 10" backsaw and 22" Backsaw and kept them sharp with periodic tuneups. After sharpening, they were all sharper than most new saws I have seen for sale, and you can almost follow a scribed line with them blindfolded.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Wendy, like everyone else said, it sounds a whole lot harder than it is. The only advice I can add is to go slow when you start. One or two strokes of the file and check out your progress. Its hard to mess up, but the one place you can is to file too much off of a tooth. But again, all is not lost because a tooth that's too short isn't really a problem. Just leave it alone and it'll even out when you sharpen the saw again. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Wendy,

I would not send them out unless they assure you that they will be hand sharpened. Several shops will put them on a machine that can do disasterous things to a hand saw.

Good luck! I'm about to try it myself for the first time this weekend.

[Wendy Sarrett]

Thank you Cliff, Dennis and Charles. I checked out the link. It looks like a good video. Good luck to you too Charles.

I too plan to give it a go. I'm getting a saw set but I'm going to start with de-rusting it.

Thanks again!
Wendy

[Roger Bell]

You are probably not going to screw up anything so bad that it cannot be eventually fixed. However, IF you are worried about doing so, I might suggest that you pick up the next crappy saw you see for cheep-cheep and practise on that until you get the hang of it. It is not hard to find bent or badly rusted saws for a buck or two to practise on.

Another thing you could do, again, if you are apprehensive, would be to send one saw out to one of the better mail-order services. You then have a saw that is done right that you can use as a model. It might then be easier to make the second saw look like the first than going for broke with no example to follow.

[Alan DuBoff]

I decided to go for it. The saws were cheap so it's a good start. Good decision, sharpening your own saw is a skill that all woodworkers should have, since saws are a critical tool for fine joinery.

Others have pointed you to some of the most excellent resources on the web, and Leif's website is invaluable, as is all of Bob Smalser's info on WC, Pete Taran's info at vintagesaws.com, and Brendler's info in the hand saw FAQ. I use mineral spirits and start off with a straight razor to get any scaly rust off, then use about 400 grit aluminum oxide paper with mineral spirits. This is how most of those sites describe the process. This simple process will work on most all old handsaws, even if really rusty.

As others have suggested, being able to see someone sharpen is really helpful, and Tom Laws video will do that for the most part.

You do not need to sharpen perfectly, you will still notice such a difference in sharpening your own saws that it will out weigh how the first couple filings look. It's really shaping the teeth that I find the most difficult, the sharpening aspect is not that hard. I will admit to my first retooth to a saw a while back to be less than stellar, but that should be expected.

I view handsaws very much in the same way as chisels or plane blades. Most people wouldn't think about using chisels or hand planes without being able to sharpen them, and saws are no different to me in that regards. Getting over the fear that one will ruin a saw can be intimidating for some, but it is after all just another hand tool to use in the shop, and a sharp one is very noticable. I'm not sure what all the fear over a $100 saw should be, you can't ruin it, any saw can be retoothed.

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Wendy,

So how did you do?

I finished sharpening my saw last night and it turned out well.

I hope that yours turned out well also.