First time saw sharpening: first need to reshape teeth on 5.5 PPI Rip saw

[Fitzhugh Freeman]

I have a 5 1/2 PPI (4 1/2 TPI, just to be clear) rip saw that has apparently not been used in a long long while. At some point in it's early days someone filed it with a square edged file and added a random but small amount of fleam. It is very dull and has rake averaging around 20 degrees. Oh, and it is leg-and-thighed, or whatever the opposite of breasted would be. The saw is a small bit concave along the tooth line.

I absolutely don't mind doing the work to get the saw in shape again. It's a chance to learn and I have the time.

I'm just not clear on how to end up with properly spaced and sized teeth since I'm starting out with some variation. I picture it being an iterative process of jointing and filing, jointing and filing. Any tips?

After reading around I was thinking of starting out with an 8 degree rake. This fits the 142 degree angle of the rear of the teeth (suggesting it was 8 degree prior to being filed with a 90 degree file) and what I've read suggested for harder woods and those not knowing what they're doing when sawing - both apply.

I've made a very simple file holding jig to help maintain the rake angle and have a saw vise. Now, how to not screw it up?

[Ron Bontz]

Right off the top of my head there are a couple of videos out there as well that may help. One is by Ron Herman, and another by Tom Law, I believe.

[Jim Koepke]

If you have not yet looked at this page and read the section titled "Saw Filing--A Beginner's Primer" then it is time to do so.

URL http://www.vintagesaws.com/cgi-bin/f...y/library.html

Of all the sites visited, there are not many that have information not found at Vintage Saws dot com.

jtk