Correcting a wonky saw cut?
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- This topic has 8 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 1 month ago by David Allison.
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Is there a good method to ensuring a straight angle when sawing? Is there a method to reset or steer the saw cut once the saw is fully inside the cut? (I primarily use a Ryoba pull saw, or a rough hand saw.)
When I’m making long cuts, my cut line often deviates toward or from the knife wall, and gets worse the longer the cut. As an example, an 18″ cut may be 1/8-1/4″ off, which I guess is only about a 1-2 degree deviation. To mitigate this, I may turn the board over and cut the opposite way to meet in the middle.
Make sure your saw plate is straight, and that you’re starting plumb for plumb cuts. You can check the reflection in the plate, use a taller saw which makes it easier on your eye to see if the saw is plumb.
But the best method imo is to practice your saw cuts. Get a piece of 2×4 for a couple of bucks or some scrap, use your square or a bevel gauge for angled lines and draw a fine line every 1/8th of an inch. After ensuring your saw is properly sharpened, saw as close as you can to each line without taking that line. Flip the 2×4 over, and do it again. If you’re a pro who saws every day, you’re getting your practice from your work. For a hobbyist like me, I’ll practice every skill before using it in a project — sawing to a line, cutting dovetails, you name it.
One point on pull saws with fine kerfs: they have such fine sets that they are not intended to be “steered”. Western saws, with their wider kerfs, do have this “feature”.
What works for me is to make the angle of the saw more parallel with (lower to) the face of the board. (versus perpendicular through the board) Laying the saw down like this helps me align it better with the line if I am starting to go off the line even a little bit. I try not to let the cut get that much off the line where this small amount of adjusting won’t do the trick. I’m sure there must be additional techniques that others use. If your saw consistently moves to the right (or left) of the cut, I would check the the teeth set and possibly re-sharpen. The saw should want to cut straight. Check your technique. This can be hard to see unless you take a video of yourself or have someone watch you. Keep your hold on the handle relaxed. Let it do the cutting, you really shouldn’t have to steer it too much once you get it started. Bad technique is too easy to do (I know 😉 You need to keep the arm free, elbow bent and straight swing (like clock pendulum) and not incontact with your body. (BTW: after all that.. yes, I still mess up too, but I know that in my case, it is simply bad body alignment.)
I doubt it’s a misalignment in the saws. They cut straight. It’s just the beginning angle of the cut. I know it’s me.
[quote quote=496316]… and that you’re starting plumb for plumb cuts. You can check the reflection in the plate, use a taller saw which makes it easier on your eye to see if the saw is plumb.[/quote]
Can you define a plumb cut?
I’ll look for the reflection. I’ve been really concentrating on straightening out my saw direction, and I think I may be getting a little better.
[quote quote=496316]One point on pull saws with fine kerfs: they have such fine sets that they are not intended to be “steered”. Western saws, with their wider kerfs, do have this “feature”.[/quote]
Not something I had really considered, but this explanation is logical.[quote quote=496318]What works for me is to make the angle of the saw more parallel with (lower to) the face of the board. (versus perpendicular through the board) Laying the saw down like this helps me align it better with the line if I am starting to go off the line even a little bit.[/quote]
Can you explain a little more detail what you mean here, by “parallel/lower to the face of the board”?Can you define a plumb cut?
google can
plumb
adjective [ after verb ] UK /plʌm/ US /plʌm/ specialized
exactly straight, usually describing a vertical surface or line:When you hang a door, you need to make sure that it is both level and plumb.
out of plumb
not straight vertically:The external wall is out of plumb by half a metre.
Basically, when you cut, the blade is normally somewhat perpendicular to the wood. By lowering the handle, the blade goes from being perpendicular to more parallel to the face of the board. IMHO helps you sight down the line a bit better and can help redirect the cut a bit if you need to.
Just to jump in and try to describe it in other words as far as I get @mtrac right: The angle between the tooth line of the saw and the surface of the wood. Let’s assume we want to crosscut a 2×4 and the 4″ side is up. Usually we “offer” the saw to the wood at an angle around 60° between the top surface and the tooth line (Shannon Rogers mentioned that angle in his 2 hour Sawing class at a Woodworker convention – a video of that class is on youtube).
It’s easier to aim the saw just beside the knife line if that offering angle is much less than 60°.Hope that helps a bit.
E.
17 March 2018 at 1:50 pm #498954When your saw cut starts to get off the line, you must get the teeth on one side to cut more heavily so you can get back on track. If the saw is perpendicular to the wood, you have to twist the saw to get it to cut more heavily on one side. If you lay the saw down, instead of twisting the saw, you can bend the saw back toward the line.
17 March 2018 at 5:52 pm #499071I use to suffer badly with cuts going off line when sawing. Then I watched RenaissanceWW on YouTube who did quite a good video on sawing technique.
His advice, and it certainly worked for me. Was to put your left foot forward (I’m right handed) of you right, rather than being square on to your wood. This allows your body to twist slightly which allows your elbow to run forwards and backwards like a piston, rather than swinging left and right in an arc.
Cheers David
- This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by David Allison.
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