I have corrected a bowed saw plate with the ball peen technique with great success. Bending it back the other way only partially worked, and temporarily at that. The saw plate eventually went back to its bowed state after short use. Light hammer taps strategically placed, straightened the plate perfectly with no tendency to return to a bowed state.
.One thing I would recommend if you are just getting into repairing and sharpening saws is to buy a few 'beaters' in poor condition for a dollar or less at yard or car boot sales and just start trying out some of the cleaning straightening and sharpening techniques you see on this and other good channels. If you mess up at first, no matter. Just joint it straight and start again till you get the hang of it. Completely re-cutting new teeth on a saw is not learned in 5 minutes. Far better to practice and learn on cheap saws than ending up feeling bad because you messed up an expensive buy, or worse, a family heirloom. One thing this will quickly teach you is that even rusty wrecks can often be brought back to excellent cutting condition, even if the blade stills looks a bit pitted and ugly.
A little tip learned from my grandfather some 60 years ago. If your tenon saw needs a little lubrication, just wipe the blade [both sides] over your head. There is sufficient natural hair oil to lubricate the blade in a couple of seconds, and its back to work. No kidding, give it a try, and you will see for yourself. btw... I have done this all my life and I still have a full head of hair ... but I also have a steady hand ;
First, I would like to thank you for these videos. I find them captivating and very well done. I am 65 years old and was introduced to "hand woodworking" nearly 50 years ago when it seemed to me that no one else was interested in it. Most of my life I have felt like the only person on the job who could properly sharpen a chisel, let alone a handsaw. I find your instruction to be "spot on" and have picked up many small points from your videos. Two comments/questions; 1. In days of old there was a very specialized skill in the world of "smithing" that was called "plate straightening". These "plate straighteners" were highly skilled at taking warped steel plates of all kinds and knowing just how (and where) to strike with the hammer to "flatten" it. These specialized tradesmen had removed the magic and mystery from the task of making "warped" steel into "flat" steel. 2. Being often labeled as "anal retentive", it makes me nuts to see planes stored by setting them on their soles. I was taught to always set a sharp plane on its side to protect the sharp edge that you've made the effort to sharpen. Is there a reason that all the planes is see in your shop are setting on their soles, or is it just for presentation to the general public?
Is there a fix for the buzzing noise you mentioned at the start? My favourite saw does it. It's sharp at cuts great, no complaints otherwise. Or maybe this not a real problem in use?? Thanks
I have found lubrication helps with that. I use the oily rag method as championed by Paul Sellers. A slight bow can cause the issue, so it’s worth checking for that.
How does one remove “smile” on a saw? I have a 100+ year-old backsaw that has been poorly sharpened over the years and would like to put it back in service.
Try smacking the back pretty solidly against a hard wood surface (like your bench top). You want it to make contact all along the back at the same time.
@@kornkraker if the spine itself is bent, put it in a vise and tighten it. Then back off the vise just a bit so you can pull the saw through it with some resistance. As you pull the saw, lever the handle against the bend.
What type of back does it have? Is it bent over the top of the plate? If it is a bent back, the back pinches the plate with it's bottom edge. Imagine holding a piece of paper by making an ok sign with your fingers; your hand is the back of the saw, and the paper is the saw plate. What's holding the plate in tension is the pressure at your fingertips. If the saw plate is held too high (the edge of the paper is close to your palm) or too low (your fingers are just barely hanging on to the edge of the paper), it can cause the saw plate to bend in odd ways. If you were to hold the piece of paper so that it covers 1/2 the distance of the "o" in "ok", that should be about right. Adjust the back of the saw by tapping it either up or down the plate to get rid of the bow. If it's an old saw, it might be rusty under the back; taking the back off and cleaning under there might help as well.
If you have a bow in the saw plate, I think it would be much easier to just bend it back the other way. For me, BOwing it the other way is far easier, more accurate, and has less chance of damaging the plate (by using a hammer). Your anvil technique works for fixing the saw set issue also. Instead of filing the edge of the tooth (I don't think I would recommend that. You are just introducing different problems for yourself down the road), just lightly tap the offending teeth (on the side) and you're done. YMMV
I've filed the side of teeth many times with success. If you were hammering, you'd have to do each tooth with the same force to avoid them being misaligned. The file keeps everything consistent and is quick and easy.
@@ricos1497 I didn't say filing doesn't work, I have had great success with tapping also. For me, filing the side of the teeth changes the width of the tooth and the plate, you can't add what was taken off back. I would rather not permanently alter my saw when a few hammer taps will do the trick. Worrying about the difference in tapping force is splitting hairs- you have the same chance of taking off different amounts of metal with a file. Again, the tapping method isn't permanent. And as I said above- YMMV.
