Sawing straight – help needed
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10 November 2014 at 4:31 pm #120785
I just can’t seem to get it. I am fairly certain my stance is right, I have the right grip, and I am sighting down with my dominant eye, but I just don’t get a straight cut. I sent an hour last night practicing again, and I can get it to go straight down the board but not square across the width, or the other way around – not both.
Deep down I know I will get it with time, but it is just getting frustrating having to spend extra time at a shooting board, or if I am ripping a board to length having to spend extra time with a handplane because it isn’t even close to square.
Does anyone have any tips that helped you get it right?
@jotato here’s some suggestions
1) use a guide block as training wheels. It’s a learned skill and takes a lot of practice. Patience and practice.
2). Make it a point of practicing, scribe 10 lines, cut them off and repeat 10 more times. Do this once a week and you’ll never run out of glue sticks 🙂
3) use your saw plate if it’s shiny. When sawing you can see if you are off by looking at the reflection.
4) make sure your stance is correct and your arm is in line with the kerf
5) use the knivewall and make sure to cut away from the line then clean it up with the plane. I know this doesn’t help with sawing straight but at least you can proceed with your project squarely.
6) Practice point number 2
7) repeat point 6
8) repeat point 7Sometimes a saws set can pull the saw off the line as well but I don’t recommend messing around with the saw until you know it’s the saw and not your technique.
Here is what I mean by a guide
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You must be logged in to view attached files.10 November 2014 at 6:10 pm #120793I will keep on practicing then! My only saw it one I picked up second hand and I had to tune up. Although I assume it is my technique, it is possible I didn’t get the saw right. It is a 9ppi rip cut and I used the ‘9’ setting on my saw set (a stanley 42w). Would it be worth it to remove the set from the saw, and try again?
At the beginning of the cut be as accurate as you can this will guide the rest of your cut. For Ripping, I use the square and add a pencil line to the end grain to line up the saw. Just like cutting dovetails square. I start the saw lightly with the relaxed rake part of the saw the first two inches, if you file your saw like Paul.
Cross-cutting knife line all the way around. If in the vise like Paul, I establish the cut across the width and then continue the cut but drop your hand and focus on the knife line at the boards edge. This will guide the rest of the cut. I still like to leave some so that I don’t have any tearout.
These tips help me, find out what works for you and share. Best of luckYes, that helps alot. It was going to be my other suggestion. If you have too much set the saw doesn’t guide itself. Paul hammers out his set, which if you have alot of set should do. I use a stone just to make the teeth even. Lie Nelson and likely others have said that if the saw tracks to one side take one pass with the stone. but with your saw set you likely won’t have that problem.
[quote quote=120793]I will keep on practicing then! My only saw it one I picked up second hand and I had to tune up. Although I assume it is my technique, it is possible I didn’t get the saw right. It is a 9ppi rip cut and I used the ‘9’ setting on my saw set (a stanley 42w). Would it be worth it to remove the set from the saw, and try again?[/quote]
Unless you are sure it’s the saw and not you. If you feel the saw pulling in one direction then you might have to adjust it but I’d get more attuned to the saw and your technique first.
Try the guide block it really works and gets that muscle memory working.
11 November 2014 at 4:58 am #120824So I spent another 30 minutes practicing tonight with pretty much the same results. 🙁
Towards the end though,I started to focus on what the saw was doing rather than what I was doing. I noticed that occasionally the saw would bind and I was having to provide a bit more force to get it through. I waxed the blade and it helped a bit. I want able to saw dead square and straight but it did help a bit. I guess I have a kink or bend in the saw that need to get out. I’m just glad I saw some improvements
20 November 2014 at 4:29 pm #121222A bend in the saw can cause trouble. My guess would be thst you are holding the saw just a bit too tightly. I also have found for me thst sawing out a line is much easier than sawing next to a line. Takes some thought in layout but I have learned to make it work. I use a knife to mark my length make a pencil line right against ny knife line and saw out the pencil line. My cuts are dead straight planing off my saw marks puts me on my knife line. Much less complicated than it sounds.
20 November 2014 at 5:49 pm #121230It may be an idea to get a cheap new saw from a DIY or hardware shop, make some cuts with it and see if you get the same results. It will hopefully show you if it is your saw or technique.
20 November 2014 at 8:26 pm #121244To Jotato: regarding your post a week and a half ago:
[quote quote=120793]I will keep on practicing then! My only saw it one I picked up second hand and I had to tune up. Although I assume it is my technique, it is possible I didn’t get the saw right. It is a 9ppi rip cut and I used the ‘9’ setting on my saw set (a stanley 42w). Would it be worth it to remove the set from the saw, and try again?[/quote]
I have a saw set whose instructions say that the number on the set does not correspond with the tpi of the saw. I set my saws before I read that and I set them WAY too much. I read somewhere that a rule of thumb for set is that the total set should be no more than 20% to 30% more than the plate thickness. Here is a quote from a page on the website: http://www.vintagesaws.com/library/ftj/spring97/spring97.html
“The actual amount of set applied to the blade is measured with a micrometer A good method to use is to measure the thickness of the blade just above the teeth to get an idea of how thick the blade is without any set. Unless a saw has just had new teeth cut, it will have at least some set. Let’s say we measure the saw in question and the blade is .035 inches thick. A good rule of thumb is to increase the thickness of the blade by 20% for dry hardwoods, and 25-30% for softwoods. So, our .035 blade would need to be increased to .042 inches for use in hardwoods, or up to .046 inches for softwoods and wood that is wet. This is just a guideline, but it is a good place to start until experience with your particular set is gained.”
I apologize to vintagesaws.com if I’ve violated any copyrights.
This is something I really struggle with myself. In the beginning I was using a dozuki I picked up in Japan to cut tenons, and I thought it might be that the blade was too flexible, so I bought a tenon saw from Lee Valley, (ouch$) and it didn’t help at all, so at least I know where the problem is. haha.
I found the tenon saw binds quite easily, not sure if it’s the lacquer on the blade or if I just need to wax or oil it, but it’s a real chore to push through a cut, and I know it shouldn’t be. That and my saw line goes off on an angle, especially on the far side.
Thanks for all the advice. It’s a lot to take in, and tough when you don’t know if you are doing things right or not.I had trouble doing this too at first. I had a tendancy to veer away from the line, even when I felt I was standing, and sawing, fairly straight. When it came to cutting the ends of my benchtop I wanted a good straight cut to avoid extra work after. I thought: if I tend to wander away from the line at an angle left to right, why not ‘feel’ like I’m trying to perform a slight undercut instead, and see what happens. Voila!
A relatively square cut, enough that the eye can’t tell if it’s not totally square. It feels weird that I’m turning my wrist inwards a bit to get a straight cut, but that’s what works for me, especially if cutting through a thick board and I don’t want to keep stopping every three seconds. I guess it really is about feel, and knowing what works and what doesn’t.
I think it’s important to take the time to establish the cut as well, so you have a good accurate starting point. Hope that helps along with the other advice you have here.
12 March 2015 at 4:27 am #125534I would not be surprised if you have too much set…and more on one side than the other. Draw a straight line on a length of pine. Start the rip cut and then close your eyes and keep sawing for 6 inches or so. Open your eyes and see if the saw has drifted. If it has, then you probably have too much set on the side to which it drifted. And when you saw you are constantly having to correct for that. Tiresome and aggravating.
Laying the saw flat, pass a flat mill file over the edges of the teeth on that side, from toe to heel, using no more downward pressure than the weight of the file. Take one pass and saw another test. You may find that it has drifted much less. If so, repeat the filing one pass at a time until the saw runs true.
I don’t think you need much set on a hand saw unless you are cutting green, wet wood. The plate is thinner at the top and should not bind much in seasoned, dry lumber.
I would not expect a rip saw to crosscut very well. Maybe you can pick up another saw at a flea market and reshape the teeth for crosscutting.
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