Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
What makes a good saw set
Nemo Tools
>Hi.
I don't really like my saw set. It seems to be imprecise. The adjustment is crude and the amount of set varies with hand pressure. A lot. What makes for a good saw set? What are good brands of saw sets? What should I look for in picking out a saw set? Does one size fit all or do I need different sizes for different teeth?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Always Nemo Tools.
Re: What makes a good saw set
Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO
>The sawset that I use primarily is an old Stanley 42X model. The feature that sets this sawset apart from many other older sawsets is the double plunger. When the grip is squeezed, a cylindrical plunger moves forward and grips the saw against the anvil.
The anvil is the bit of metal that is pressed against the backside of the saw blade. This anvil is flat on the lower part and has a bevel on the upper part. This anvil can be adjusted up or down. When the anvil is lower, the bevel on the anvil will meet the sawtooth farther from the point of the tooth. When it is higer, the bevel will be closer to the point of the tooth. This adjustment of the anvil is what gives the saw tooth more or less set.
Back to the plunger...
After the outer plunger has gripped the saw against the lower part of the anvil (the flat bit), a smaller plunger moves forward and presses the tooth against the bevelled part of the anvil. This smaller plunger has an angle on it equal to the angle of the bevel on the plunger, and the top of this smaller plunger will meet the tooth first. When the grip is fully squeezed, the smaller plunger has pressed the top of the saw tooth against the bevel of the anvil.
It shouldn't matter how hard you grip the sawset once you have gripped it with enough force to press the tooth against the anvil. If you have not gripped it strongly enough to press the tooth fully against the anvil, you need to press harder or you will not get consistent results.
My sawset does not have reliable markings to bring it back to the same amount of set every time. There are some lines on the side, but I don't think I could get it back to the same one without a picture in front of me. I adjust it and leave it there once I have about the right amount of set. I do have one sawset for saws with teeth larger than 12tpi and one where I have filed the plunger for smaller saws. The limiting factor is whether the plunger is small enough to fit on just one tooth.
Adjusting the sawset is a matter of setting a few teeth with minimal set. See if it is enough. If not, increase set. Repeat.
Several have written that the sawsets carried by Joel at toolsforworkingwood and at Lee Valley have features similar to the Stanley 42X. I have not used one of these, but many other like them.
There is lots of information on this in the archives, just search on sawset.
Ted