Review of the NE PLUS ULTRA dovetail saw mfg. by the Elysium Saw Works (Pete Taran)

[Admiral]

I forgot to mention one more item:  a french-fitted shipping box which can be re-used to send back to Pete for re-sharpening: I thought that was a nice improvement, particularly for those of us that do not do our own sharpening.

Oh, by all means, do learn to sharpen; not all that of a big deal, just takes a bit, well, more than a bit, of practice.  Start on some beaters and progress.  I'm now to the point where when I take the saw out of the vice, and lightly dress the sides with a stone, wood becomes butter.  It's a great Eureka moment that you would appreciate!  A skill worth developing.

[Philip1231]

I guess my attitude towards sharpening has been "how many things can I become an expert at?". I would like to give it a go at some point: first I have to get a beater!

Oh, by all means, do learn to sharpen; not all that of a big deal, just takes a bit, well, more than a bit, of practice.  Start on some beaters and progress.  I'm now to the point where when I take the saw out of the vice, and lightly dress the sides with a stone, wood becomes butter.  It's a great Eureka moment that you would appreciate!  A skill worth developing.

[Tony Z]

I do far better with beaters than a high priced saw! When touching my Wenzloff, sphinky puckers up and makes my hands jittery and my eyes cross-eyed.

[Admiral]

I do far better with beaters than a high priced saw!  When touching my Wenzloff, sphinky puckers up and makes my hands jittery and my eyes cross-eyed.

Naw, once you get it down, you have to forget what you are working on.  I'll admit, first time I sharpened my Disston #12, I was a bit nervous, but it turned out just fine.  Its all about muscle memory.  Get the LV filing guide, it really helps getting you started and gaining confidence.  http://www.leevalley.com/us/Wood/page.as...43086&ap=1

[Tony Z]

Naw, once you get it down, you have to forget what you are working on.  I'll admit, first time I sharpened my Disston #12, I was a bit nervous, but it turned out just fine.  Its all about muscle memory.  Get the LV filing guide, it really helps getting you started and gaining confidence.  http://www.leevalley.com/us/Wood/page.as...43086&ap=1

Actually, it is more my eyesight than anything! those 14 point teeth are hard to see! I do have a LV filing guide, and it works nicely. I also have the major portion of a Disston (I believe it is Disston) sharpening jig-I remember Todd Hughes (from Old Tool list) had what appeared to be the other part. Saw Todd and we conversed about it, and neither of us though highly enough of the gizmo to work up a deal (I think I wanted one of Todd's anvils).

[Admiral]

Actually, it is more my eyesight than anything!  those 14 point teeth are hard to see!   I do have a LV filing guide, and it works nicely.  I also have the major portion of a Disston (I believe it is Disston) sharpening jig-I remember Todd Hughes (from Old Tool list) had what appeared to be the other part.  Saw Todd and we conversed about it, and neither of us though highly enough of the gizmo to work up a deal (I think I wanted one of Todd's anvils).

Ah, that Disston jig is not really much good, I had one, much too fiddy to get consistent results with anything other than 8pt or less tooth count.  You might think about getting the LV magnification light, I have one and use it for the finer tooth counts; they've since updated it to LED.  Link:

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.as...at=1,43349

[TraditionalToolworks]

I do far better with beaters than a high priced saw!  When touching my Wenzloff, sphinky puckers up and makes my hands jittery and my eyes cross-eyed.

Throw it on the floor a few times and you won't feel so nervous.


The main reason different people use different saws is because, quite frankly, it's not the saw. You can use a hack saw, coping saw, fret saw, handsaw, gent saw, dovetail saw, carcass saw, sash saw, tenon saw, flush cutting saw, etc...it ain't the saw that makes the cut.


BTW, I have a few saws I bought from Todd Hughes! He's the person that got me started on British saws. He used to mostly sell Disston saws on Ebay in the early days. I like Todd, he's an interesting person. He was a straight shooting down to earth person, not some phoney piece of plastic.

Naw, once you get it down, you have to forget what you are working on.  I'll admit, first time I sharpened my Disston #12, I was a bit nervous, but it turned out just fine.  Its all about muscle memory.  Get the LV filing guide, it really helps getting you started and gaining confidence.  http://www.leevalley.com/us/Wood/page.as...43086&ap=1

Your link seems to go to a Magnifying Bench Light.

EDIT: Strange, your link goes to a magnification light for me, but the link in my reply goes to that LV filing jig. It kind of looks like a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. If something like that helps you to file your saws, by all means use it. The main point is "file your saw!".


To be honest, I think the magnification light is more useful than any jig out there. This is not rocket science, if you file your saw and it doesn't cut better, file it again. Keep doing it until your saw cuts better.  Do that enough times and you will, oddly, start to sharpen your saw before you use it. If you wear it out, buy another saw and start over. This is not directed at you Admiral, this is directed at everyone. Don't be afraid to learn how to sharpen and use your saws. A saw is like any other edge tool, it works so much better when it is sharp.


Without using Pete's new saw, I really can't give you any real opinion. I am having a hard time seeing any real difference between IT, LN and Ne P-U. They all look the same to me, they appear to have similar plates, similar parts....IMO.

Alan

[Admiral]

To be honest, I think the magnification light is more useful than any jig out there. This is not rocket science, if you file your saw and it doesn't cut better, file it again. Keep doing it until your saw cuts better.  Do that enough times and you will, oddly, start to sharpen your saw before you use it. If you wear it out, buy another saw and start over. This is not directed at you Admiral, this is directed at everyone. Don't be afraid to learn how to sharpen and use your saws. A saw is like any other edge tool, it works so much better when it is sharp.

Before I got the LV jig (actually I wanted Issac's Rakemaker jig at Blackburn Tools, but couldn't get one, big backorder and now production has been suspended) I used wood blocks per Taran's Primer, and there's nothing wrong with that.  It is important to maintain fleam and rake angles consistently for each tooth, and the jig is very convenient for that.  One can freehand from the existing pattern on the saw, but that does introduce error.  In any event, even a saw filed with imperfections cuts better than a dull one, but maintaining a consistent tooth geometry on a saw produces a better cut in my experience.  Plus, I'm sort of into it......  ha ha...

Issac's view on sharpening, from a class he taught at LN's open house a while back.  Worth reading:

http://www.blackburntools.com/articles/s...basics.pdf

[Greg Jones]

Before I got the LV jig (actually I wanted Issac's Rakemaker jig at Blackburn Tools, but couldn't get one, big backorder and now production has been suspended)...

Didn’t know that. I’ve been on the waiting list for one since 2013, so I guess I can officially give up now!

[Tony Z]

One trick I've adopted from sharpening my chainsaw, is to place a wooden block on either side of the saw plate, a bit below the file, to help eyeball level for the file.