Technique: Crosscut saw without set.

I've been given a crosscut saw and, as usual, it was in bad shape.  The teeth was on an arc, the plate wasn't straight and the handle was grey.  After quite a bit of work sharpening, I ended up with a saw where all set was gone (or close).

Before setting the teeth I went for a test cut and got surprisingly good results.




I believe the handle is from apple tree (not sure here).  All I did is cleaned it and wax it.



It's a D-8 with 11 TPI crosscut.  The blade is tapered which means that it's thicker near the teeth compared to the back and also it's thinner at the tip and thicker near the handle.  This geometry is most likely essential for a saw to work without any set.



The blade wasn't straight at all, it's better now but not perfect.



Here I've cut a 3" x 3" beach billet.  You can see a pretty nice surface finish (much better than a saw with set would do).



Another view.



I've use two saws for this cut.  The top portion was cut with a standard rip saw and the bottom with this new - no set - crosscut saw.  The difference is quite something.  Add to this that the crosscut saw was at least as fast cutting as the rip one.  The kerf is so narrow that it makes for a fast cutting saw.



In order to use a saw like this one you have to have a very regular and straight motion with your arm otherwise it'll bind in there.  Another problem is to track the line...once it's started it's almost impossible to correct the direction of cut.  It means that you have to be very careful at the beginning of your cut.

Since I own this saw it's the one that I typically use.  It's fast, gives a very nice surface finish and almost no tear-outs.  Goes to show that I must have too much set with all my other saws.

Normand