Hi All
I'm a little confused by the advice to select saw pitch to match stock thickness by keeping between 5 and 7 teeth in the cut.
A little mathematics and excel magic lead me to the following:
Stock Thickness Length of Cut 5 Teeth in Cut 6 Teeth in Cut 7 Teeth in Cut 1/4 1/3 14 1/2 17 20 1/2 5/7 7 1/2 8 1/2 10 3/4 1 5 6 7 1 1 2/5 4 4 1/2 5 1 1/4 1 3/4 3 3 1/2 4 1 1/2 2 1/8 2 1/2 3 3 1/2 1 3/4 2 1/2 2 1/2 2 1/2 3 2 2 5/6 2 2 1/2 2 1/2 2 1/4 3 1/6 2 2 2 1/2 2 1/2 3 1/2 1 1/2 2 2 2 3/4 3 8/9 1 1/2 2 2 3 4 1/4 1 1/2 1 1/2 2 3 1/4 4 3/5 1 1/2 1 1/2 2 3 1/2 5 1 1/2 1 1/2 1 1/2 3 3/4 5 1/3 1 1 1/2 1 1/2 4 5 2/3 1 1 1/2 1 1/2
Looking at the Disstonian Institute webpage for the D-8, it seems that the coarsest rip saw Disston made was 2 1/2 TPI (suitable for 9/4 stock) and the finest saw was 6 TPI (suitable for 3/4 stock). Personally, I've never found a 28" rip saw this coarse or with anything other than 4 to 5 TPI, so what did people use to resaw thicker stock?
Also, most modern woodwork bloggers suggest that a range of 5 to 8 TPI is ideal for fine woodworking needs which suggest working material in the 4/4 and 2/4 range. Have I misunderstood the logic of this, is the rule wrong, do people not re-saw any thickish stock or do people just accept that sawing thicker stock will be slower and take more effort?
Lastly, the recommendations for cross-cut saws tend to be finer still, in the 7 to 10 TPI range; why do we break the #teeth rule for cross-cuts? I understand that the cut will be finer but it will also be slower and harder, isn't adjusting the rake and fleam (and set?) sufficient to change from separating the wood fibers (Rip) to dividing the wood fibers (CC)?
Thanks in advance for your comments...