Rip Cut or Cross Cut Hand Saws
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Tools and Tool Maintenance/Restoration / Rip Cut or Cross Cut Hand Saws
- This topic has 8 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 7 months ago by Harvey Kimsey.
-
AuthorPosts
-
3 September 2017 at 5:26 am #315465
I now have three Spear and Jackson hand saws. The first, a 26 inch has seven teeth per inch and I have sharpened it as a rip cut. The 22 inch saw has ten teeth per inch and I intend to sharpen this as a cross cut for general bench work. The 24 inch saw has eight teeth per inch and it is this saw which I am uncertain about. Should it be filed as a rip cut or as a cross cut? My thinking leads me to suppose that the saw would be used for cutting longer boards to length so filing it to cross cut makes most sense to me.
What are your thoughts?7 September 2017 at 3:06 am #315612I believe Paul sharpens all his that are 8 tpi and smaller to rip. He said that you will see no real difference in crosscutting until you get larger than 8 tpi. To be honest it is easy enough to change. You could try for a while and change if you do not like it. I just find a rip saw will crosscut a lot better than a crosscut will rip cut. You can always run a knife line round the board to stop any tear out.
7 September 2017 at 4:22 am #315620I ended up doing exactly what you suggested. The ten point 22 inch is now a rip cut and the eight point 24 inch is a crosscut. I think this last saw must have been a rip cut originally. It was hard to tell because the teeth were in poor condition. Although it cuts reasonably well I think another filing is in order. The other saws cut fine including my back saws, all of which are Tyzack.
I have to say that Paul’s tutorials on sharpening both for rip and crosscut were superb. I was always led to believe that saw sharpening was some kind of dark art but it really is quite simple if you follow his guide.
The only problem now is I keep browsing You Tube for saws, not because I need more but because I want to practice sharpening.
Thanks7 September 2017 at 3:27 pm #315628If you need more practice, I have a few saws once cleaned up that will need sharpened.
I always tell my wife, so many saws, so little money.
7 September 2017 at 4:23 pm #315633I have one small panel saw, which is really useful with smaller pieces held in a vise. I think it’s a 12 pt. I sharpen it to a hybrid between crosscut and rip, with 10 degrees rake and 15 degrees fleam (approximately!). In most woods this works well for me.
7 September 2017 at 5:41 pm #315636Hybrid sharpening is a controversial subject. I have yet to see compelling evidence that it is beneficial, particularly given that my 10 point, sharpened for rip-cut seems to cross-cut well in both hard (red and white oak) and soft (spruce) woods.
By the way, here is the wall-mounted till I made for my newly sharpened saws.7 September 2017 at 6:16 pm #315640I don’t see your saw till. Please add if you can! I’m thinking of making one and would like to see yours.
8 September 2017 at 4:48 am #315658Harvey,
For some reason I am unable to upload pictures. Perhaps someone can walk me through this. It is the second time I have tried and failed.
In the meantime if you let me have your e-mail address I will forward the picture. -
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.