Crosscut saw sharpening

[BrianS]

A while back I posted a picture of some one and two man saws in the "It followed me home" thread. Some I had professionally sharpened and some I  tried sharpening myself. The ones I sharpened worked ok but never seemed to cut smooth and as fast as I would have liked. I did a bit of research on how a saw works and how to properly tune one. After considerable filing I finally think I am getting somewhere. The saw in the picture was a rusty neglected wreck when I got it. I do not have a gauge so I just eyeballed it. Lubricated with some silicone, It cut through this 6 inch green cherry in under a minute with steady strokes and very little effort. Still have a lot more to learn but it cuts well!

[DC]

In their younger years my Dad and his brother were log bucking partners during WWII. Dad never lost the knack of sharpening a cross cut. The one we used at home for cutting firewood was a 4-5 foot one man saw. Seems to me it had bigger teeth than yours. I can remember the long spiral rakers(what he called them) it would pull out of the log. They were as long as the log was wide. One on the push and one on the pull. I guess the size of the gullet would dictate the maximum length. Seems to me that a 6" log would take a lot less than a minute to cut but it was more than 50 years ago. Sorry, I can't help with sharpening.

[BrianS]

DC,
Here are the other saws. The teeth on the others are much larger. Perhaps the smaller teeth were used for smaller logs?

[DC]

Our wood saw was like the red handled one but a little shorter I think. I don't remember an "H" tooth. It was a pleasure to use, almost as fast as a chain saw for firewood and way quieter. Smelled a lot better too The two nan saws were a real PITA to use without a lot of practice but you could just pick up the one man and fly at it. Using a 12 footer was like trying to push rope.

[DC]

Sitting here reminiscing and I don't think Raker is the name he used for the curly Q's. The raker was the "T" shaped tooth that dragged the wood out of the kerf. There was two cutters, one cut the left side of the kerf and one the right. The raker "raked" the wood out from between the cuts. The cutting teeth had to sit a bit proud of the rakers or the sides of the kerf wouldn't be nice and clean and I think the saw would bind. The set was put in the cutting teeth.

[osage outlaw]

I have a tooth set gauge that I'll probably never use.  If you want it I can send it home with Chuck and Kevin at the Classic.  It's a little gummed up but it does function.  Probably needs a shot of oil to get it moving easier.  Let me know if you are interested and I'll add it to my list of stuff to pack.

[BrianS]

Osage Outlaw,
Your offer is very thoughtful and generous. I have a similar setting tool. The gauge I referred to is a filling gauge. I have not found one of those yet. Thank you very much for thinking of me.
Brian

[Pat B]

Where is "sawfiler" when we need him?