How to Straighten a Bent Saw?
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Hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and all the best in the new year! I recently purchased a Disston D-8 26″ 11pt on ebay. It really is a beautiful saw but I have a problem, the blade has a bow in it!
I have read numerous articles on how to straighten a saw blade, put it in boiled oil, heat it with a torch, strike it with a hammer, put it in the trash…Being that this saw is over 80 years old and I don’t want to make it worse, I was wondering if anyone had some experience straightening a bent blade?
Also wanted to say, THANKS Paul for reinvigorating my passion for woodworking.
Barrett, am not sure what I am looking at but it looks like that saws teeth need to be jointed flat from toe to heal, then resharpened and set but I would wait till someone with more experience makes a suggestion.
-Canada
That’s a great looking D-8 Barrett!
Maybe Paul will come along with some very good advice? Until he does, I’ll offer two techniques that have worked well for me.
If the bend in your saw is really gentle, as you say a bow, and not a kink, look at the suggestion about 3/4 the way down the following “Norse Woodsmith” web page. He gently bends the saw to remove the bow. I’ve had success with that method. http://www.norsewoodsmith.com/content/diagnosing-common-issues-hand-saws
For tighter kinks, I’ve had good success with Bob Smalser’s hammer and anvil approach. Beware that you should use a very broad hammer if you try his technique. http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/bSmalser/art/strSawBlade/strSawBlade5.asp
Thank’s Bob! The link to Norsewoodsmith is exactly what I was looking for, he actually has a picture of a saw suffering from almost exactly the same aliment as my saw. I have attached a picture of my saw, sorry for the quality of the photo but I think it better describes the problem. I’m going to try the vice and bend gently method. I let you all know how it works.
Thanks again!
Barrett, nice looking saw. I also found the following link helpful. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?103313-How-to-straighten-bent-saw-blades
West Virginia, USA
Barrett, the first pic looks like the teeth are curved or is the bow causing that distortion in the picture?
-Canada
Dave,
Certain versions of the D-8 had back edge that was curved. It (slightly) reduced weight. I think that’s what you’re seeing.
Now I’m totally confused, in the attached pic is my D8 and it has a curved back but the teeth are all parallel.
-Canada
It looks to me that this saw is “Breasted”. The tooth line is curved rather than straight. I’ll leave it to more experienced hands to explain the pro’s and con’s of this, or you can google it.
This saw is also a skew back, the top of the saw is curved as well to reduce weight and friction. It’s an attractive feature, but all my saws are straight so I also can’t comment on the practicality of this.
Washington State, USA
My own humble blog:
http://toolsofourfathers.wordpress.com/
Glad you found a solution. When a saw is beyond repair, cut it up and make card scrapers and scratch stock.
Sorry guys, the skew back allows more manoeuvrability mid cut to correct straying from the cut line. Straight backs were fractionally less manoeuvrable. Some people prefer breasted saws as a power stroke for ripping mostly. Usually on longer saws say around 26″ plus. It works. With planks and boards placed between saw horses a breasted saw was designed for a heavy overhead, overhand cut where the less dominant hand is also place on the top of the handle or on the saw plate close to the handle overhand. The added strength and support of the (for me) left hand propels the saw through the cut and the breasting allows fo a deeper cut in each stroke.
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