HackSpace – September 2019

FORGE

The teeth are now shaped correctly, but they’re
not sharp yet, and they’re not in the right position
relative to the blade. You’ll need to use the saw-set
to push the teeth to the left and right of the blade.
The easiest way to set the blades is to work all the
way down the saw, setting the position of every
other tooth, and then flip the saw around to do the
other teeth. Make sure you don’t skip a tooth, as it
can be very frustrating to go back and correct your
mistake later on.
You can fine-tune how much you bend the teeth
to suit different tasks. Wider spacing will increase
the width of cut, but the saw will be less likely to
bind. A general rule of thumb is to set the teeth
about 1/3 of the width of the blade on either side.

The final step in the process is

sharpening the teeth using your

three-point file. If you’re sharpening

a ripsaw, you’ll file the teeth

perpendicular to the blade. Cross-cut

saws usually have a slight angle to

the blade, so they will be about

75–80 degrees (with the point of the

blade cutting when the saw pushes),

rather than the 90 degrees of a

ripsaw. Again, it’s easiest to work

down one side of the blade first,

sharpening all of the teeth on the left

side before flipping the saw over and

sharpening the right side. If you’re

having trouble judging the angle of

the file, you can create a simple

guide by part-cutting through a scrap of wood at the

appropriate angle. Just place the wood onto the

blade and use this to guide you.

You can also use this technique to sharpen an

electric reciprocating or oscillating saw. The

replacement blades for these saws are quite

expensive, so it can be worth the time it takes

to set and sharpen a blade in this way.

Hopefully, you’ll find that sharpening your tools

using these techniques will get your projects

running much more smoothly. Blunt tools are

very frustrating to use, and just a little extra

effort with a whetstone can save you from

hours of extra work, and allow you to breathe

extra life into expensive consumables.

Left

You don’t always

have to reshape the

teeth on your saw.

If the blade isn’t too

worn `ou Jan Qust

go ahead and set

the teeth then

sharpen them

Left

The numbers on a

saw-set represent

the number of teeth

per inch of the

saw you’re setting.

0t’s Qust a Nuide

thouNh so `ou Jan

experiment with

different settings

You can sharpen

old files by soaking

them in vinegar

for 24 hours,

then rinsing

and oiling them.

QUICK TIP