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(12-15-2016, 02:22 PM)David Katz Wrote: I don't know about that. His rationale is that small hack saw blades are cheaper than saw files, which is true, and since only a tiny cut will have the desired effect, it would appear that the benefits of this operation outweigh the costs, i.e., a weakened saw plate (unlikely) or the tiny amount of time it takes to make the cuts in the gullets. YMMV, of course, but I'm going to try it on one of my saws and see what happens.
Every crack starts from the smallest of locations. As small as the kerf of the hacksaw is, it leaves not only 1, but 2 stress concentrations per gullet (one on either side of each tooth). Repeated stress while sawing could very well initiate a crack and break a tooth. Time will tell. Even Sellers said he didn't have any long term experience.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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None of Paul's innovative ways of doing things have failed. I am sure enough of his huge following would try this way of saw sharpening and report their findings down the road. As for the worries about tooth fracture, they are overblown to say the least. Unless the steel plate has a pre-existing condition or the hack-sawing was overly done, the risk is minimal.
I prefer to buy a hacksaw blade over a saw sharpening file if I had to come to that.
Great idea, Paul! I say.
Simon
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I've reviewed the comments on Paul's hack saw sharpening technique and find some of them quite savvy. But how about this. Say if you have a saw which has a gulley along the teeth line from heel to toe. And if that gulley is 1/2" then you'd have a lot of filing to do in order to get the teeth straight. With Paul's method you could simply saw the gullets near the toe and the heel and then file the teeth. The hack saw marks allow your file to grind the gullets straight down and keep an equal distance between gullets. If the hack saw technique was not used, then the possibility of having varying widths of teeth come into play.
I'm liking this hack saw technique and probably will attempt to file my newest saw so I can get the teeth straight. (I should take a pic of before and after).
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It's a great way to sharpen the gullet.
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I should say it has some merit, as the corner of the file is generally what wears out first. Might help especially with cheap files to extend their life. It's tough to find good files these days. Save money? I don't know. Time? nah.