A while ago I bought an old Disston (like my grandparents) for $50 on eBay (if you’re lucky, you might be able to pick it up at a yard sale for a few bucks) and have been slowly building up the tools needed to sharpen it. Specifically,
- Saw vise – you used to buy these, but since no one sharpens their saws, they are hard to find. Fortunately, you can create your own. It’s just a piece of wood that you attach to your vise. I used the Tage Frid design, except I don’t have a hinge on the bottom of mine.
- 6″ taper slim saw file.
- A jig to the front of the file to hold the edge at 98 degrees to make an 8 degree rake
.
My saw was equipped with a crosscut (to cut across the grain) but I decided to install my rip so that I could still saw along the grain. This will allow me to split the boards easily.
I followed these instructions to install the saw. The set looked good to me already, so all I did was assemble(**) making sure all the teeth were the same length, and fill it to rip. Rip saws don’t have fleas that interrupt my work on the inside. Although this is my first attempt at filling a saw, the result was a definite improvement. You are really eating from that pine tree now! Compared to a $20 supermarket saw, its performance is amazing. Touching the teeth with your finger literally grabs the skin. I’ve never felt anything like that outside of my $200 Lie-Nielsen panel saw. (And now I wonder why I spent so much money on LN when I could have done it myself.)
An 8 degree rake is an aggressive angle that makes for a quick saw. I don’t think money can buy this. You have to do it yourself.
(**) This is where the term “disengaging” comes from. If the saw is not working, not all the teeth are working. Your saw may jump around and be a pain to work with.
So instead of buying a new plastic saw, you might want to consider getting an old saw, a $6 file, and fixing it up. It’s not difficult. In fact, it is disappointing/disturbing to see time and time again that while modern solutions are often cheap, fast, and simple, they are often inferior to the tools and skills they have replaced. It’s just that no one knows this anymore. Those old enough to know have forgotten and those too young to remember never knew in the first place.
Lessons learned: Fitting a saw for a rip is easy, so making your own saw vise and buying a file and an old saw is an inexpensive way to get a high-quality saw and keep it working for a lifetime. If you need a saw, do it this way instead of heading to the home improvement center to buy a portable piece of stamped metal that will end up in the landfill in 10 years.
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