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Thread: Hand saw drift. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    South Coastal Massachusetts
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    Set provides clearance in the kerf for the blade to pass.

    Large saws with insufficient set bind.

  2. #17
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    Mar 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Taran View Post
    I'd figure out the reason for the drift as previously articulated, and then decide on a course of action. Perhaps I'm old fashioned.
    Do this.......

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Heiniger View Post
    Hey all. I'm working on ripping with a handsaw. I picked up a Disston D-7, sharpened it up and got to work. EVERY cut I make stays straight for about 3-4 inches and then begins drifting to my left. Every one drifts exactly the same. I couldn't cut parallel curves like this with a jigsaw. Any suggestions on how to fix this will be greatly appreciated. Thank youAttachment 419860
    Late to the discussion, BUT, your photos show that the cut is curved. It is not straight for a few inches, it is curved the whole way. This indicates either that set is the culprit, or your technique is the culprit, or both. Try cutting using no lateral pressure - just as pure a push and pull as you can do. If it results in a curved cut, then the set is to blame.

  4. #19
    People invariably blame the set when a saw cuts to one side, but inspection usually shows that the teeth are longer on one side than the other. Unless you set the teeth on one side and not the other, it is much more difficult to produce uneven set than uneven teeth.

    Stoning one side will help even if the problem is tooth length and not set, but another approach is to file one stroke on each tooth on the side that cuts too aggressively.

  5. #20
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    Jul 2015
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    Broadview Heights, OH
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    Warren,

    It's essentially the same thing. If you misfile a saw and make every alternating tooth lower than the previous, then by default you have filed away more of the smaller tooth than the taller one. Since at the root of the tooth there is no set, shortening teeth reduces their set. If you do that so consistently to make the entire side shorter, the one side has less set than the other. Only a close inspection of the teeth can reveal the real answer. If this is the case here, the remedy would be to joint, reset evenly and refile to perfection.


    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Mickley View Post
    People invariably blame the set when a saw cuts to one side, but inspection usually shows that the teeth are longer on one side than the other. Unless you set the teeth on one side and not the other, it is much more difficult to produce uneven set than uneven teeth.

    Stoning one side will help even if the problem is tooth length and not set, but another approach is to file one stroke on each tooth on the side that cuts too aggressively.

  6. #21
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    Why don't remove some of the set? It would not be irreversible.

  7. #22
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    Have the saw professionally resharpened.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by andy bessette View Post
    Have the saw professionally resharpened.
    This may not be an option in some areas.

    One can learn a lot about their tools by looking at the problem as Pete mentions.

    The OP mentions an attempt at using a nail to set the teeth. This could be the problem.

    It could be operator error. One way to determine that is to try a few cuts with one's non-dominate hand. If the saw drifts the same left or right handed, it is likely the saw.

    For someone starting to learn to sharpen saws it is a good idea to have a predictable saw set.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  9. #24
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    I would adjust the set by either tap tap on the side of the drift or stoning thae side of the drift.

    I have a set so it is easy for me.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
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    Amhrrst Jct
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    I'm no expert but, secure a piece of scrap, it doesn't matter what species. Begin your kerf, after you've begun your track and within 2 inches or so, stop, and consciously, think about how relaxed your saw arm is. Really concentrate on relaxing your saw arm and continue your kerf. Every couple of inches, stop, relax, continue. Like so many things in crafts, it takes time and practise to become fluid.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Heiniger View Post
    Hey all. I'm working on ripping with a handsaw. I picked up a Disston D-7, sharpened it up and got to work. EVERY cut I make stays straight for about 3-4 inches and then begins drifting to my left. Every one drifts exactly the same. I couldn't cut parallel curves like this with a jigsaw. Any suggestions on how to fix this will be greatly appreciated. Thank youAttachment 419860
    Mark both sides of a long board and flip it and saw from the other side after three or four inches or so of sawing. Keep flipping back and forth. If you end up "magically" tracking the line then the issue could be one of technique, posture, etc. You might want to do this even when using a saw that's in impeccable shape. You can start and stay closer to the line without worry of putting in a bevel in the wrong direction and making the board too narrow, or going the opposite direction and leaving too much wood to clean up.

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