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View Full Version : Saw re-toothing



Justin James
05-22-2007, 10:19 AM
Over the weekend, I was chatting with some folks and the subject of learning to file saws came up. One guy said he'd tried it but messed up the tooth spacing, so I offered to re-tooth it for him. Then I got to thinking about it and realized I should probably make the same offer here.

I have access to a Foley re-toother at work. After hours--like this project will be--I can use it for my own purposes. After getting things OK'd with my boss, I can make the following offer: If any of the Creekers is to the point of thinking they need to start over to figure out sawfiling, I'll re-tooth a saw for you--one per person. Your only cost will be round trip postage.

You'll need to remove the saw handle and clean the blade. Since I'm not going to try to straighten blades, if you want to be able to use the saw when you finish, you should probably select a straight blade to begin with. With a permanent felt-tip marker of some kind, write your name, address, the teeth you want me to stamp into the blade--rip or crosscut--and the number of ppi. Personally, for beginners I'd suggest rip teeth and no more than 8 or 9 ppi, but suit yourself. If I recall correctly, I can stamp new teeth at 4, 4 ½, 5, 5 ½, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 ppi.

When the saw arrives, I'll unwrap it, re-tooth it, and send it back in the same packaging. I typically work on my own project saws about one evening a week, so it might take a week or two to get your saw turned around. When you get it back, you'll have a blade ready to file and set.

Anyhow, if you're interested, PM me for shipping details. For the record, the hardest part of this will probably be unwrapping the packages; it usually only takes 5-10 minutes to stamp out a new set of teeth.

Don Orr
05-22-2007, 1:43 PM
Wow, what a generous offer! I'll have to look at my saws and see if I need anything retoothed.

Thanks for thinking of us,

Zahid Naqvi
05-22-2007, 2:29 PM
Justin that is a very generous offer, thanks, I might take you up on it one of these days.

Justin James
05-23-2007, 12:57 PM
Think of it as a standing offer, guys.

I think the hardest part of filing any reasonable* saw is getting over the fear of messing up; using a re-toother makes it a bit easier because you know you have a good start.

I started filing saws when I was just a little kid, and my saw looked pretty strange for the first couple years . . . probably 12-15 ppi; a little rip, a little crosscut, and a little in-between (maybe that's why I still have my benchsaw filed half-rip). I didn't know any better, and by the time I did I wasn't afraid of filing a saw.

*A "reasonable" saw is 17 ppi or less--preferably 10 ppi or less; you can focus on learning file-control. I've got a little Marples gent saw that is filed at 25 or 26 ppi; sharpening it is an experience in self-punishment.

Ken Werner
05-23-2007, 9:35 PM
Justin, I just want to thank you for the offer. I don't have a saw right now that needs re-toothing, but it is really kind of you to share your skill and access to equipment with the rest of the creek. Thanks again,
Ken

Doug Littlejohn
05-23-2007, 9:48 PM
Justin, what a nice offer. I recently got quite a few saws (stealth gloat, 12 Disstons for $10) and I know some of those need some erious help AND would be worth the effort.

I will go through them and get one out to you.

PM is on it's way.

Thanks, Doug

Rick Young WY
05-24-2007, 12:26 AM
Thank you for the kind offer. I am new here and your generosity to the group as a whole makes me very glad to be a member here. I can see that this is a fine bunch here. Thanks again.

Rick