saw sharpening question

[Zahid Naqvi]

As you know I am in the middle of rehabbing a few back saws. Well I sharpened one yesterday and did some trial cuts. The saw is rip filed and cuts very fast and tracks dead straight, the only problem is the cut surface is not as clean as I would like, it displays "steps" for each stroke. It is about 12 TPI, the original set was a little too much for my preference so I clamped it between the wooden teeth of my vise to reduce it a little. It helped with tracking but the cut surface is still rough.
So how can I improve that, any ideas?

[David Weaver]

Stone the teeth with one stroke of a medium stone and see which ones are touched by the stone and which ones aren't.

You should be able to see which ones are higher than the others.

If you have a nice sawset like a 42x, you can figure out where you want the set to be and reset the teeth. If you run over the teeth with the setter more than once, the results should be a little bit better than if you just do it once and some of them don't end up centered on the setter when you squeeze it.

I think I saw Daryl (weir) say that he sets saw teeth 5 times, at least in some cases.

I only do it once and stone them lightly, but I recognize that a second past, at least, of the saw setter would even things out a bit more.

[Chris Vandiver]

Stone the teeth with one stroke of a medium stone and see which ones are touched by the stone and which ones aren't.

You should be able to see which ones are higher than the others.

If you have a nice sawset like a 42x, you can figure out where you want the set to be and reset the teeth. If you run over the teeth with the setter more than once, the results should be a little bit better than if you just do it once and some of them don't end up centered on the setter when you squeeze it.

I think I saw Daryl (weir) say that he sets saw teeth 5 times, at least in some cases.

I only do it once and stone them lightly, but I recognize that a second past, at least, of the saw setter would even things out a bit more.

David,
Are you sure that Daryl sets the teeth 5 times(5 passes on each side of the plate). I was under the impression that one should hit the trigger on the saw set 4-5 times to insure the proper set.

[David Weaver]

That's probably what he does, he's been here lately so he can clarify. that would make a lot more sense, huh?

I know when I set teeth fast, I don't always hit the exact same spot on each tooth all of the way up the plate. I'm sure with the precise work that daryl does, he's not whizzing up the plate willy nilly like I generally do with the saw set.

[Zahid Naqvi]

so what you are saying is that the set on my saw is uneven which is causing the rough cuts.

[David Weaver]

It's either the teeth or the technique, I would guess.

Do you have other saws where you don't see the stepping? And how bad is the stepping, is it something that's going to affect the quality of your work?

[Zahid Naqvi]

I've got other saws that I have sharpened and don't see this stepping, even the one "new" Stanley I bought from HD and resharpened leaves a relatively clean cut. I think having variable set in the teeth makes sense, at least in my head it does.

[Daryl Weir]

Hey David,

Chris is correct. I usually hit the tooth about 5 times while I'm on that particular tooth. I don't put all the pressure on the first hit, just a gradual push each time. I've found this helps on some of the higher temper saws, such as the 12's. I know most of the old saws were hammer set in one hit at the factory but the way I approach it has worked for me.

I still lightly side dress the teeth after I'm done sharpening whether it's a rip or crosscut. Instead of using a stone, I use a dull 8" mill bastard file. The file isn't a new idea, just one I gleaned from the old Disston hand book on saws.

Take care,
Daryl