Poor man setting of saw.

[Joshua Hancock]

I realize that I may get some heat for this idea, and perhaps I'm just plain ignorant, but here it goes. I had purchased a very inexpensive cross-cut back saw made by Stanley, brought it to my shop and discovered I had way too much set. Seeing the Wenzloff paper method (but having no vice) and seeing another method by Mr Sellers in one of his videos to "finish the set", I gave this idea a try. I secured a small sledge hammer on my bench, making an anvil of sorts. Then I wrapped the saw blade with some normal writing paper. Then laying the teeth on the "anvil" and being carefull to keep the head of my 8 oz hammer half on/half off the teeth I tapped down the teeth, and watch the teeth make their mark in the paper. My theory being the paper will stop the hammer from pushing down too far if there is some registration on the saw plate, and I don't hit it hard at all, just slightly tapping It seems to have worked. The saw now cuts much much smoother, and the set is about .003-.006. It is not perfect but it seems to work.

Am I doing something really really really dumb here.

Respectfully,

Josh

[David Weaver]

Nope, you're doing what you need to do. Just don't bend the teeth a direction they didn't start it and you'll be fine. You can stone it if you want to even the teeth out a little, but do it lightly.

[Tom M King]

I think you did great. I ended up helping my BIL last weekend put in a range where there had previously been a drop-in. I didn't have any tools in that town, and had to use his tools. The only saw he had to cut wood was an old dull keyhole saw. He did have some mostly dull files, and I was able to sharpen the keyhole saw with a dull file in a regular bench vise, sharp enough to rip a straight cut down the cabinet stiles so the range could fit in.

Often you have to use what's at hand. Having all sorts of tools at hand makes any job go so much easier, but I think you did really, really, really good there. Improvisation and determination are some of the most valuable tools in an arsenal, and I think they have to be there to start with.

[Reinis Kanders]

Would this work with induction hardened saws? I have some cheapo 9" Stanley that has probably a 3/32 kerf that I keep in car, just in case I need to to saw something

[Jim Matthews]

You have emulated the method most of the videos showing hand made Japanese saws.
The key is in striking with enough force to bend, but not peen the tooth.

If you have a broad enough tack hammer (Warrington), it should be fine.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Would this work with induction hardened saws? I have some cheapo 9" Stanley that has probably a 3/32 kerf that I keep in car, just in case I need to to saw something

you mean if you come across a rosewood tree in the middle of nowhere you can saw out a sample to see if it's worth "borrowing" lol

[Jim Koepke]

Joshua,

Welcome to the Creek. I see you have been around the Creek for a while. Your profile doesn't indicate your location. You may live close to another member who would be happy to lend a hand, or in this case a vise, with your endeavors.

Your method to get the job done is fine. In the past many ways were used to set saws and correct over set saws.

A recent purchase of a batch of bandsaw blades had me facing the same problem. I have a large vise but the face is textured. A couple of steel plates were set between the jaws to press on the teeth. In my case no paper was used. The spring in the blade was plenty to keep the teeth from going to a full no set state.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

I will mention that Frank Klausz shows how to set a saw with a screwdriver. It's in his "Hand Tools" dvd.

It works. I'm not sure it will work for 10 tpi and larger.

For an old guy with a touch of attention deficit, it's attractive.

[Joshua Hancock]

For Reinis, the saw I experimented on was an induction hardened Stanley.

Thanks for the comments guys. Much appreciated.

Respectfully,
Josh

[Reinis Kanders]

Joshua, thanks for the info. I will try the paper trick in mechanics wise with my $9 saw.