LN Tapered Carcass Saw - question

[Strokes77]

Purchased the 14" LN tapered carcass saw. I have tried hard to like it over the last 2 months.

Problem is, I don't think I like it. The plate is very thin. Thinner than even my little Veritas dovetail saw. But, being so thin, it seems to flex. Now this has got to be due to technique, and I am working on it... But I find I reach for my old 12" Richardson Bro's tenon saw, or my 10" KeenKutter backsaw, or even my Disston #4... I have more confidence with them, because they are a stiffer plate? Or smaller size? Can't figure it out.

I also dont think I can control the 14" saw plate well enough for cutting tenon shoulders or other joinery.

Do you guys like this thing? And what do I need to do to get where I like mine?

[eg54string]

I have no experience with the LN, but I do own a Richardson Bros. tapered back saw. I put a 10 degree rake on it. It sounds to me like you could adjust the rake on your LN to get it to perform better.

Eric

[Philip1231]

The LN .015" plate saws take some getting used to, but its worth the effort. I have found that they do not provide the same feedback that a regular thickness plate saw provides. If your sawing technique is not perfect, lets say you are off line with the saw stroke a bit, which would end up binding the saw in the cut. With a reg. plate saw, you will at some point feel the start of the bind and correct. With the thinner plate saw, you may not sense the binding as easily and thus may not correct as quickly or at all. For someone that has perfect technique, there should be no flex in the saw plate, and the saw starts very easily tracks beautifully and cuts fast. My experience has been with the rip DT saw, but I think it is applicable to the crosscut saw. LN saws: the most underrated saws out there (no, I don't own stock in LN).

[Mike Brady]

I think Phillip is correct that the .015 LN saw plates require some practice, particularly the longer and deeper-plated saws. The tapered .015 dovetail saw is very nice to use and gives exceptional results. On the other hand, my thin-plate tenon saw can get off-line easily on deeper tenon cuts. Mine is the older version with a very deep plate. LN eventually cut the plate depth down by almost an inch on their stock saws and later even tapered (canted) the tooth line. The plus side is that the cuts are faster with the thinner plate.

[MarvW]

I might be missing something here, but I don't see the logic in taper grinding a .015 saw plate.

Does it have any set in the teeth? Based on your problem with making an accurate cut, it sounds like the taper is in place of setting the teeth.

Perhaps if you gave the teeth about .002 of set per side, you could then correct the cutting left and right.

[Philip1231]

AFAIK these are not taper ground, just tapered over the length.

[Rob Young]

MarvW said:

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I might be missing something here, but I don't see the logic in taper grinding a .015 saw plate.

Does it have any set in the teeth? Based on your problem with making an accurate cut, it sounds like the taper is in place of setting the teeth.

Perhaps if you gave the teeth about .002 of set per side, you could then correct the cutting left and right.

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Tapered toe to heal -- i.e. a canted plate.

[MarvW]

Thank you.... I misunderstood.... old age, sorry...

In that case, as has been mentioned, it's about the rake angle of the teeth, plus a number of other things that would require a boring long post to explain.

[DSHartmann]

I sold my tapered crosscut saw after two years of use because it was so flexy. I like the think plate DT saw for thinner stock but I find the 0.015" plate crosscut unusable.

[only 3 injuries]

Hi, have that saw and love it. Do you normally apply a lot of down force when you saw? When I use it it cuts great with very little down pressure and no flexing.