cutting new teeth in a saw blank

[Richard Hutchings]

I have a saw that I would like to re-cut the teeth in some day. It's a 7 tooth rip that I would like to make more aggressive. 4 or 5 tooth. For some reason, I never see these at yard-sales and such, always higher tooth and mostly crosscuts. I don't wish to spend more than $5 dollars for these old rusty things as I hate cleaning them up. Not my thing.

I can't imagine using files to do this when it seems like a Dremel with an abrasive cutting wheel would get this done in no time. Yet, I don't see any information to support my theory.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

All of the sharpening shops in our town have closed. I think about getting sharpening equipment from time to time.
I have used an angle grinder and thin wheel to sharpen hole saws. They work OK for thin material but the set goes away after any more than a tiny bit of grinding and they become useless for thick material. I do think a grinder could be used to get started on creating big teeth for a hand saw. We have the 1980 version of the WoodMizer sharpening grinder. I am going to look it over to see if the blade holder can be set aside to accommodate various blades.

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[Rafael Herrera]

5 or 4 ppi would be useful on over 1" thick stock. Unless you devise a method to uniformly bring the dremel to the metal and avoid burning the steel, the controlled and uniform pace of using files would be the way to go.

[Daniel Culotta]

I think I saw a Paul Sellers video (can't remember for sure if it was him) where he marked out the locations of the gullets on a saw plate he was cutting new teeth on, and then used a hacksaw for a couple of strokes on each mark to make a shallow groove. This removed some material, and allowed him to easily drop the file into each groove to shape the teeth. I could see making slightly bigger/deeper grooves on a low tpi rip saw and using the same method. Actually using a dremel to shape the teeth seems like it would be tricky, but getting them started with the dremel and finishing with the file could be and efficient way to tackle it.

A lower tpi rip saw was a minor revelation for me. SO much faster than a higher tpi, and the cuts are only marginally rougher. You've gotta clean any cut up with a plane anyway, so there are pretty much no downsides IMO. I use a lower tpi saw almost exclusively now for dimensioning rips.

[Jim Braun]

I think I saw a Paul Sellers video (can't remember for sure if it was him) where he marked out the locations of the gullets on a saw plate he was cutting new teeth on, and then used a hacksaw for a couple of strokes on each mark to make a shallow groove. This removed some material, and allowed him to easily drop the file into each groove to shape the teeth. I could see making slightly bigger/deeper grooves on a low tpi rip saw and using the same method. Actually using a dremel to shape the teeth seems like it would be tricky, but getting them started with the dremel and finishing with the file could be and efficient way to tackle it

just watched it the other day:
https://youtu.be/mTqZTGPPRj0

[Richard Hutchings]

Thanks, that looks like a good way to do it. I'm sure I've watched that sometime in the past but forgot about it. I still feel with the larger teeth, a Dremel might be better as I could cut the entire v of metal out. Maybe a nibbler would work as well.

[Ron Bontz]

The down side to creating a different pitch is that you will loose up to 1/4" of plate depth. I would not do it unless the plate is nearly full size. OR you just really really want that pitch. If you weren't so darn far away I would just tell you to stop by for a cup of coffee and a quick stomp sheer/re-punching.
Best wishes

[Tom M King]

The thumbhole in a D8 handle is a good thing for a big toothed rip saw.

[Richard Hutchings]

The down side to creating a different pitch is that you will loose up to 1/4" of plate depth. I would not do it unless the plate is nearly full size. OR you just really really want that pitch. If you weren't so darn far away I would just tell you to stop by for a cup of coffee and a quick stomp sheer/re-punching.
Best wishes

That must be a wonderful tool to have in your shop. If I was serious about this saw and thought it worth the shipping expense, I'd send it to you. I'll just keep on the lookout for a 5 tpi saw in my area. One has to show up eventually. In the meantime, I may hack the 7 pointer I have and learn something.

[Luke Dupont]

I've been making a lot of saws recently from thin gauge material, and just do the whole thing with files.

I've also recut teeth before on thicker plates, though, and have had mixed success with the Paul Seller's hacksaw method. Sometimes the plate is just too thin and it doesn't work well.

Whatever route you go, it requires quite a bit of patience, but the results are usually well worth it!

[Mike Cornwall]

Since you mentioned seeing a lot of higher ppi saws, would it be worth making a 9 point saw into a 4-1/2 by cutting and filing half the teeth out?

[Richard Hutchings]

I like that idea.

[Louis Lampe]

I too thought of cutting down a 9 PPI but in my collection of Disston saws I found that the plate thickness increased as the saws got heavier. I bought a 4 1/2 PPI. It is noticeably heavier in the hand and has a plate .042¨ compared to .036¨ in a 9 PPI. My 4 1/2 is only used on 2x4 and heavier wood and I it seemed reasonable to buy it as I was building a workbench. It does cut a 4x4 faster.

[Mike Cornwall]

ThatÂ’s a really good point about the weight of the saw plate, hadnÂ’t thought of that.

[Scott Winners]

I have bought saws on craigslist from Nebraska and paid shipping to get a particular tooth count. I just can't see re-toothing a saw plate when the size you want - 4-5tpi rip- is not uncommon.

I will readily concede 4-5 point rip saws are going to be more common west of the Mississippi compared to Rhode Island, but for the labor involved I think a quick look see on cragislist in even just Michigan and Colorado is worth a try. Retoothing a sawplate is a lot of work.