Removing excess set

[Monte Milanuk]

I've got a gent's saw that I'm wanting to sharpen / tune up. For whatever reason, this thing came with a metric boat-load of set. As in, the saw plate measures ~0.018"... and the tooth line measured ~0.035". Over 8 thou of set seems excessive for a relatively fine-toothed saw like this.

I set up one hammer in the vise to use as an anvil of sorts, and tapping with another ran the saw plate through. I'm trying not to bludgeon the thing, but apparently it's harder than I thought to get that much set out, evenly. Some areas got down to where I wanted faster than others... and some still aren't there yet.

Now I'm concerned about having uneven amounts of set along the tooth line. Any suggestions on how to handle this?

[Rafael Herrera]

Can you hammer until you erase the set?

If so, then you can reset the teeth.

You could try "stoning" the tooth line, but after hammering it may be too late, it may be uneven.

You could also file the top and resharpen evenly until you get past the excessively set part. Then you can tune it.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Fold a piece of printer paper over the tooth line.

tooth line into a machinist' vise -metal jaws.

Crank down hard to straighten the set.

The paper is ~~ 2 thou each side.

[Jimmy Harris]

I just put something over the teeth to keep them from getting scratched, and then place the teeth into a metal vise and crank down to straighten them. Make sure to give each section the same amount of pressure to keep it all even. I'll usually make a mental note of how far I crank the handle and repeat that (like say 2 O'clock). The spring steel will rebound a bit, so you won't remove all of the set even if you crank it all of the way down. And the density and thickness of whatever you use to cover and protect the teeth will help to determine how much set is removed, along with the pressure in the vise. So, for a large rip saw, I might use really thick leather. But for a dovetail saw, paper would be better. It takes a bit of experimenting to get the balance right, so I like to start at a small section on the heel to figure out the best method.

[Cameron Wood]

I recall James Krenov saying that when they set up the US school program, the saws had too much set & were clamped between two pieces of wood to reduce it.

[Tom M King]

For a saw that small, maybe just sharpen it enough times until the set gets narrow enough for what you're looking for. I could do that in the time I could cobble together something that might squeeze the teeth back in and there would be no worry of breaking any.

[Robert Engel]

fold a piece of printer paper over the tooth line.

Tooth line into a machinist' vise -metal jaws.

Crank down hard to straighten the set.

The paper is ~~ 2 thou each side.

this ^^^^^^^

[Andrew Hughes]

I agree with Kent wrap paper around plate and squeeze it in a vice. That what did to favorite dt saws works great.
Good Luck

[Derek Cohen]

If you do not have the idea vise (as I do not) ... You can also wrap the teeth, and then use a steel-headed hammer to tap the teeth, resting the plate/teeth on a cast iron surface (such as a bandsaw table). Gently. Watch for the teeth to penetrate the paper. Try the saw. If it is pulling to one side, stone the teeth - one stroke only - on that side with a fine diamond plate. Test again ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mike Allen1010]

Fold a piece of printer paper over the tooth line.

tooth line into a machinist' vise -metal jaws.

Crank down hard to straighten the set.

The paper is ~~ 2 thou each side.

+1. Depending on the vice , you might not need the paper for fine toothed gents saw.

[Monte Milanuk]

My "machinist's" vise has some pretty gnarly/aggressive cross-hatching on the jaw plates, so I put in some hard plastic / magnetic 'soft' jaws, and put the squawk on the tooth line. First pass didn't do a lot; second pass might have been a little too much in one area. Went over the teeth with a Bahco needle file in the Veritas saw filing guide a few times, ran a 1k diamond plate down each side of the teeth to knock off any burr, and man what an improvement! Being 16 tpi vs. my other gent's saw (20 tpi) and *sharp* makes a huge difference.

[Jim Koepke]

Amazing how easy it can be to bring a misbehaving saw back into line.

I've met people who think adding set to a saw is how to sharpen a saw.

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - Douglas Adams

jtk

[alan west]

I just lay the saw plate flat on my work bench, then run an old medium india stone over the plate. Flip the saw over, and do the other side the same. I keep doing that until I get the set I am looking for.You can just stone 1 side or the other to get the saw to cut straight.