Crosscut saw manual pdf

A kinked raker tip will be difficult to swage next time the saw is filed, and it will quite possibly break. If the tip begins to kink, the hammer probably is being used too high on the tip. Often in the case of a new saw or a used saw with straight rakers, it will be necessary to partially swage the tip. Thin the tip with the file and continue swaging.

Keep an eye on the desired swage shape. Knowing where to strike the tip will come with experience. Some saws are so hard and consequently brittle that there is a possibility of breaking raker tips when swaging. If a saw is so hard that a fairly new file keeps slipping while the filer is shaping the raker gullets, or if a raker actually breaks when being swaged, the rakers should be tempered.

To temper the raker, polish one side of each raker until it is shiny. Place the saw in a vise. Heat the top three-fourths of the tooth uniformly using a propane torch. As it gets hotter, the color will go from light straw to brown, to deep purple, to dark blue, to light blue, to a light yellow color. Opinions differ on how far to temper the rakers or to heat them to what color.

A compromise seems to be between light blue and the second yellow. A suggestion would be to first temper to light blue and if trouble is still experienced, temper again to the second light yellow. Be very careful about playing the torch flame on the raker tips—they heat very fast, making them extremely easy to overheat. The result is a soft raker that will bend in hardwood and will not hold an edge. To dress the swaged tip, a 6-inch, slim-. It is most important not to nick the raker with the edge of a file.

A nick can cause the tip to break off during swaging or while the saw is being used. This is the reason for the ground safe corners on the dressing file. After dressing the outside face and rake angle, joint exactly as with the straight-style raker. As with straight rakers, a trial depth of 0. The last step is to dress the sides of the rakers. The swaging process often widens the raker at the tip. This can be corrected by holding a 6-inch mill-bastard file flat against the raker and saw and making one or two light vertical strokes.

Pointing Up Cutter Teeth To point up the cutter teeth, tilt the vise away from you at about a degree angle. With the vise tilted, the flat spot on each tooth caused by jointing should appear bright. To accomplish this, place the main light source in front so you can see a good reflection from the flat spot. A wide set of windows preferably without direct sunlight works well. Two 4-foot fluorescent lights mounted end to end on a wall supply uniform lighting regardless of weather conditions.

Avoid point sources of light such as incandescent bulbs and direct sunlight. For filing the teeth, a 7- or 8-inch special crosscut file is used. The tooth shape illustrated below is good for general purposes. Repairing Bent Rakers and Cutter Teeth To check for bent rakers, make up a spider set gauge for zero clearance on an unbent raker.

A bent raker can be found easily by using the spider in the same manner as for checking cutter tooth set see Setting. To straighten a bent raker, the concave side of the raker is placed on an anvil and hammered until the tooth is straight.

Badly bent cutter teeth could be straightened the same way. The stroke should be more nearly up and down than across the tooth. The main point to keep in mind when filing a cutter tooth is to file just enough to almost make the flat spot from the jointing operation disappear. Overfiling upsets the relationship between the cutters and the rakers and also results in a weak point.

A slight rolling or rocking motion of the file generates a. Broken Raker Tip A broken raker tip allows the other tip on the raker to bite too deeply on the cutting stroke, causing the saw to catch just as it does with a long raker. File the unbroken tip shorter, about 0. If it still catches, continue filing. Because of the set, a tooth whose filed surface is flat will develop a concave cutting edge and a thin, weak point. After all the teeth are filed, hold a fine stone flat against the saw.

Pass it over the teeth to remove any residual burrs, especially at the tips of the teeth. A burr under the spider would cause an error in the tooth set. However, a sharply pointed tooth will wear faster than one less sharply pointed.

The consensus is that there should be less bevel on a cutter tooth for hardwood than for softwood. As the tooth is being filed, it is a good idea to periodically remove the burr that forms on the back side of the tooth, because the burr can obscure the true tooth shape.

Remove the burr with a whetstone or a light stroke of the file across the tooth back— just enough to remove the burr. The back side of the tooth must not be filed, because it may cause the saw to bind.

The burr also can be removed with a piece of hardwood. To set a saw is to bend the tip of each cutter tooth a slight amount away from the plane of the saw. Just as alternate teeth are sharpened opposite each other, they are set opposite to each other. Setting helps prevent binding by cutting a kerf that is slightly wider than the saw.

The amount of set required depends on the type of saw used and the type of wood being cut. A saw should be set only as much as required to keep it from binding. More set than necessary results in more work to make a wider kerf and a saw that flops in the cut with the possibility of a curving cut. The set required can vary from almost nothing for a crescent-taper-ground saw in dry hardwood to 0.

A set of 0. Flat-ground saws require more set. There are two basic methods of setting: spring setting and hammer setting. Spring setting is done by using a tool with a slot that fits over the top of the cutter tooth. The tip of the tooth is bent the required amount. There are several ways of hammer setting a saw, only one of which is recommended. Two other methods are briefly discussed for familiarity. One method uses a setting stake.

The setting stake is placed on a log or block and the wedge fully driven in to keep the stake in a firm position. The blade of the saw is laid on the. The tooth is then struck with the set hammer as shown. A third method uses a hand-held anvil and a hammer. The principle is the same for the three methods: the tooth is bent over an anvil with a direct or indirect hammer blow.

The first two methods have definite disadvantages over the third. They each require a specialized tool, and they are slow. To check the set in the first method, the saw must be lifted off the setting stake. The tool can be used with the saw in a vise. There is no chance of a misdirected hammer blow marring the tooth. The third method is recommended because of its speed and accuracy. Necessary tools are an 8-ounce set hammer, a set anvil, and a spider set gauge.

Striking a cutter tooth with a set hammer. A setting hammer should have a fairly small face. A large face such as most ballpein hammers have is difficult to use for setting without hitting adjacent teeth. Anvils were manufactured in a variety of sizes and shapes.

Most were made of hardened steel and had a bevel to bend the tooth over. There is no known manufacturer for hand-held anvils. Any piece of steel that can be held comfortably in the hand, has a flat face, and weighs about 2 pounds will work. It is not necessary to have a bevel—simply set the tooth over the edge of the face.

The spider set gauge is used to measure the tooth set. To measure the set for which the spider is adjusted, place it on a flat surface so that the feet on the three short legs contact the surface. With light pressure on the three short legs, measure. A piece of plate glass or a mirror will work for the flat surface, though it is wise to check the spider several places on the surface so errors caused by irregularities can be averaged. As indicated earlier, a set of about 0.

About 0. To adjust the spider for less set, place it on a flat carborundum stone, and while putting pressure on the short crosspiece, grind the feet down until it measures correctly.

For more set, shorten either end of the long crosspiece. It is important that the foot at the end of the long leg is flat and parallel to the plane defined by the other three feet.

This assures a constant reading no matter where the tip of the cutter tooth contacts the foot. This can be checked by lightly grinding that foot while the two feet on the short crosspiece are in contact with the stone and observing the resulting pattern on the foot. To set the saw, place an anvil on the point side of the tooth and strike the tooth on the beveled side with a set hammer.

Be sure to strike the tooth squarely. If the tooth is struck a glancing blow with the edge of the hammer face, the point of impact will be badly marred. It is also important to keep the face of the anvil parallel to the plane of the saw during setting. If it is held at an angle, the tooth will be twisted after it has been set.

Check the set with the spider. If the vertical legs rock, there is insufficient set and the procedure should be repeated. If the horizontal legs rock, there is too much set and some must be taken out. Move the anvil nearly to the top of the cutter tooth and strike a light blow. Never know when gas might be hard to get,'at least you can still cut wood! The things you can do with the right file! Joined Feb 6, Messages 15, Location Warshington. Maybe a sticky??? I would like to learn to sharpen them.

But I'd let them pack my gear! Click to expand MtnHermit ArboristSite Operative. Joined Jan 4, Messages Location Colorado. Good thread and reference documents. I didn't know the difference between a felling and bucking saw before reading one of your linked PDFs.

Yesterday I did an eleven-mile hike in a federal wilderness and witnessed many hundreds of examples of how a bucking saw had been put to use clearing trails. While only western soft woods, many of the blow downs were " diameter and most had to be cut twice to clear the path. A huge amount of effort. Just like with a chainsaw, most of the logs were top bound and hand saws do not lend themselves to bottom up cutting. Almost without exception each cut was a single continuous slice.

My questions to you, how does the cutter prevent blade binding? Is a simple wedge adequate? MtnHermit said:. Oct 4, Great thread! Sharpening a axe is no biggie but those cross cut saws seem a little overwhelming. I've watched some videos and did a little reading about it but never felt like i had a good enough grasp on the process to try it. If you guys figure it out, post some pics please. I've watched some videos and.

If you look up Simonds files on the net. Alex D ArboristSite Operative. Joined Oct 3, Messages Location Ontario. Apart from it being properly sharpened, WD40 is your next best friend really important to keep the blade properly lubricated makes cutting a helluva lot easier.

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