Bought 2 old Disston…
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Last week i bought two old hand sawa. They’re Disston pre-war made . First saw is rip cut, 4 1/2 PPI , second saw is 8 PPI cross cut pattern teeth. Both are 26″ . How to check if the blades are straight ? Yeah, this question seems a bit odd to me, too. It seeems to me that rip cut saw balde has got a little ” bent” at about 20″ from the toe. Probably my eyes are wrong..all in all i’m a newbie . How could i check withouth doubts that baldes are straight?
In addition , i want a smaller panel saw for rip cut, something about 18″ in length. What models sould i look for ??
Thank you.Congrats on your saw purchases. I had to stop buying saws a while back – it was too addicting.
Paul is the best person to ask since he buys so many tools. Mark Harrell (another expert) has a brief article here that talks about saw plate condition. He suggests that customers bend their (spring-steel) plate around in a circle in both directions to determine if the plate has any permanence in the flex.
To evaluate, I flip the saw upside down and sight down the teeth from the handle end. It helps to have my eye no closer than 12 inches away from the closest tooth so parallax or my focus does not distort the tooth line. I hold the plate and handle loosely in my hands so as not to affect the shape.
Often times I see a gentle curve along the entire length. This is OK. If it is subtle, I sometimes tilt the plate to the left and right a bit to see if the curve easily reverses itself with gravity. Often times it does. Those are the one’s I keep.
What you do not want is a wave or kink in the plate, or a curve that does not extend the full length of the plate.
Sorry Carlo, I missed your question…
Small Rip cut panel saw?
I have a Disston D-23 that is my go-to saw for crosscutting. Mine has a 24″ plate, but they supposedly made them as short as 18″. My D-23 has the more recent oversized handle, but it cuts so well that I forgive the grip. These are less expensive on the used market than the Disstons from the previous century, but prices are crazy and the D-23’s are starting to fall victim.
I also have a Disston No. 12 panel saw (10ppi, 20″ plate, x-cut) that I got for a birthday present a few years back. The handle came a bit chewed up (I have to recondition it someday), but the No.12 was supposed to be the top-o-line for Disston.
Also do not discount vintage saws by Bishop, Simmond, or Atkins. All were great saw makers at their prime. I have a 24″ Bishop rip saw that is among my favorites.
For a panel rip saw, I would probably get a 7-8 point saw with a taper-ground plate. If you find a crosscut saw in the same PPI, you could easily re-file it for a rip configuration…keep your options open.
Lastly, I would recommend buying saws in person, or from a reputable dealer if possible so you do not end up with a kinked or wavy saw.
Many thanks Scott!! Your explanation is very clear ( i apologize for my bad english and poor technical terms). This morning i did a short test cut before working, trust me: i had to try. My big rip saw Leaves a 4,5 mm wide kerf, for me it’s a too wide kerf. Is it a usual thing for a 4.5 PPI saw? I’m thinking about slightly reducing the set.
Carlo-
Reducing the set may help slightly is too wide, but it sounds like the saw mainly needs to be sharpened. The tips of the teeth should feel very prickly – they should grab onto to your fingers when you lightly touch them. By closely looking at the teeth, you can usually see that dull teeth have shiny (burnished), rounded-off tips.
Paul’s saw sharpening method is easy and effective.
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