shorten a saw blade

[Lynford in Reno]

What is the best way to shorten a 26" saw blade to 20"?

[TobyC]

Cut six inches off.

[ncosman]

TobyC said:

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Cut six inches off.

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[MikeS.]

I use a big tin snips and shear them off, then file off the burr.

[cputnam]

Dremel tool with cutoff wheel?

[Admiral]

I've done a few where the toe was too thin for use. Score it with a cutoff wheel, you don't have to go all the way thru, halfway is good enough. Then put it in a vice and snap it off. If you don't have a wheel, I guess you could score it with a file too. Cleanup the edge with a file.

[AHill]

Admiral said:

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I've done a few where the toe was too thin for use. Score it with a cutoff wheel, you don't have to go all the way thru, halfway is good enough. Then put it in a vice and snap it off. If you don't have a wheel, I guess you could score it with a file too. Cleanup the edge with a file.

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Put the keeper part in the vise. The throwaway part above the vise. Otherwise you risk bending the plate. You can clean up the break by grinding. Just keep the blade cool. You will lose a bit of the taper when you take off the last 6 inches, so it might be a tad harder to start, because the kerf will be wider at the toe vs. a full length saw. That's assuming it's taper ground.

[TGW]

First and foremost don't shorten a saw unless years of sharpening has made the blade too narrow in the tip.
I hate when people chop off the tips of perfectly good 26 or 28 inch handsaw to get a very clumsy panel saw substitute. Those long handsaws only exist in a limited number on the market and for every one that is destroyed there will be one less left for us who need them.

[AHill]

TGW said:

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First and foremost don't shorten a saw unless years of sharpening has made the blade too narrow in the tip.
I hate when people chop off the tips of perfectly good 26 or 28 inch handsaw to get a very clumsy panel saw substitute. Those long handsaws only exist in a limited number on the market and for every one that is destroyed there will be one less left for us who need them.

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In my case, I shortened one because the tip was irreparably bent/kinked. I ended up saving a saw that would otherwise be relegated to the rust heap.

[Admiral]

AHill said:

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Put the keeper part in the vise. The throwaway part above the vise. Otherwise you risk bending the plate.

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Yes, forgot to mention that, very important.