wrote in message
oups.com...
I just completed about 120 handsaws for two of the regional tech
schools.
I used to machine file them but it made a nicely uniform mediocre job
at best.
What you want to do is always file in the direction the tooth is set so
that the file cuts evenly without chatter.
This includes rip saws as well so that you even out any angle errors
and the saw cuts true.

Don't go balistic when you joint the teeth- take a swipe across the
tops and then file a stroke through the teeth and see how you do.

Try to limit your set to the top 1/3 or so of the tooth, go easy
because you can add more set but getting rid of too much is not so
easy.

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Thanks for your reply, however it is still not clear to me. Take the case
of a crosscut saw where the heel (grip) is to your right. Do I file a
gullet with a tooth set away to the left and towards you to the right with
the file handle oriented 15 deg (say) left a la Lee, or do I file the
adjacent gullet with the tooth set away to the right with the file handle
oriented to the right so I am filing towards the toe? In both cases the
file handle is dropped 15 deg so that the gullet angle is maintained.