Design for a Tool Chest
George A. Jones of Palmetto Florida
Patented March 29, 1921 (D57,436)
– Jeff Burks
Category: Saws
Dividing Saw Plates
An easy method of dividing plates of hardened steel, such as saw plates; and also of perforating them, when requisite.
Workmen frequently wish to divide a broken saw plate, for the purpose of converting it into scrapers, square-blades, or small saws; this is usually attempted by notching them to a small depth with a cold chisel, and then breaking them along the lines so made. When the plate is very hard, this method will not succeed, and the plate is frequently destroyed in the attempt. When it does succeed, the plate is generally twisted, and buckled, in the operation.
The Editor had a hard plate, which he was desirous of cutting into strips, to make small saws for a working model of a saw mill; this, although too hard to yield to the chisel, he divided with the utmost facility, piercing the ends at the same time, for the purpose of stretching the saws; this was effected in the following manner.
The saw plate was made sufficiently warm to melt bees-wax, which was then rubbed over it, so as to coat it completely on both sides, when it was suffered to cool. Lines were then drawn through the wax on both sides of the plate, with a steel point. It being of great importance that these lines should be exactly opposite to each other, this was effected by making a saw-kerf in the strip of wood which was used as a straight-edge, and the plate being placed in the kerf, the opposite lines were easily drawn. A mixture of sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) and water had been prepared, and suffered to become cold; the proportions about one part of acid to six of water.
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A Wrinkle in Sawing
A try-square is not always at hand when it is desired to saw a stick, and when it is handy some mechanics prefer to work by “guess” than otherwise. When a bright, straight saw is placed upon a stick or on the edge of a board, the reflection of the stick or board in the saw
is sufficiently well defined to permit of placing the saw so that the reflected image coincides with the object reflected, forming a continuous straight line. If the sawing is done while the image and the stick are in line, the stick will be cut at right angles.
It is obvious that a line may be drawn at right angles to the stick by arranging the saw as shown in Fig 2. If, after forming this line, the saw be placed across the stick so that the line and its reflected image and the stick and its reflected image form a square, with the
reflected image and the stick lying in the same plane, as shown in Fig. 3, the stick may be sawed at an angle of forty-five degrees, provided the saw is held in the same position relative to the stick.
Scientific American – July 26, 1890
– Jeff Burks
First Look: Veritas Saw File Holder
I’ve been sharpening my own saws for many years, but it’s not something I’m comfortable teaching or writing much about because I don’t do it enough to feel like I’ve encountered all the crazy, messed-up situations that are possible with a saw.
Question: How do I recut the teeth in a new sawplate?
Heck, I don’t know.
How do I best reconfigure the PPI count of my saw to make it finer or coarser?
Ummmm.
My sawplate is warped. Every other tooth is tiny. I want to change a ripsaw to a crosscut saw with sloped gullets. I’d like to add progressive rake and progressive pitch.
I know a lot of the answers to these questions, but I don’t have a lot of experience messing around with saws in all sorts of disrepair.
But when my saws are dull, I sharpen them. It’s really pretty easy and I’ve never thought it was a big deal.
However, I have found that many woodworkers are leery of filing their saws. They are afraid they will screw them up. They are mystified by the angles. They don’t know what equipment to buy.
So here’s the truth: Filing saws is easier than sharpening a smoothing plane. If you have a triangular file and saw set, you can do it. You don’t have to have a dedicated saw vise (make wooden jaws) or filing guide (make one). You don’t need a saw jointer (I use a mill file embedded in a block of wood).
And here is the larger truth: If the Veritas Saw File Holder is what moves you into the category of “people who file their own saws,” then the jig is worth its weight in gold. It’s an incredibly simple device that trains you to hold the file in the correct orientation for both rake and fleam when filing saw teeth.
For the experienced filer, it allows you to dial in any combination of rake and fleam, so you can feel free to experiment with angles that are outside of the muscle memory of your hands.
And it’s a fantastic teaching aid, to boot.
After filing four saws with the guide, I spent a Friday afternoon teaching a person who had never filed a saw how to do it with the guide. The Veritas guide flattened the learning curve to the point where the woodworker’s second saw was almost as good as mine.
So if you are looking for something that will help you become a better saw filer in short order, this jig is the ticket I would buy.
— Christopher Schwarz
Sawbench in 60 Minutes: The Movie
Crap. I forgot to show this movie to the audience at Woodworking in America. I blame jet lag, alcohol and the boll weevil.
The week before flying out to Pasadena, Calif., for the show I built a lot of sawbenches to try to cut my time down to about 30 minutes. That would allow me to work at a pace where I could talk and not have sweat coming out of my nipples as I built the sawbench.
After getting comfortable with my procedure last week, I had my shop assistant, Ty Black, build the bench as I filmed it. He had helped me figure out some of the geometry, but this film shows the first time he gave my procedure a go.
— Christopher Schwarz