hi Ed,

Ed Huntress Inscribed thus:


"Baron" wrote in message
...
Hi Ed,

Ed Huntress Inscribed thus:

Methinks running a blade in *that* kind of backwards might be
useful for sharpening a conventionally dull blade??

Uh....if you're the type who likes to use crankcase drippings for
cutting oil on a lathe, you might want to give it a try. g

In fact, if you still use steel blades on a table saw (most of my
blades are steel, and more than 30 years old), you may know that
setting a blade to run backwards and then raising it carefully into
an (old, worn-out, please) sharpening stone is a common way of
jointing the blade before sharpening it.

Please explain your terminology jointing ? its not a description
I've heard before.

Sure. It's the first step in sharpening many kinds of cutting blades,
particularly sawblades of many types. It refers to the process of
getting the peaks of all teeth set to the same level, so that, after
sharpening, they'll all cut the same -- or as close to that as you can
get them.

Here's a Google magazine reprint that describes it and illustrates
what I was talking about:

http://tinyurl.com/62jrl2p

For straight handsaws, you typically use a fine-toothed mill file,
unless you have one of those rock-hard Sandvik saws, which requires an
abrasive stone.

"Jointing" also applies to setting the peaks of the teeth on the
*sides*, as well. These vary as a result of unevenness that results
when you set the teeth by bending them over, with your saw-set or
punch and anvil jig. For the cleanest cut and for the longest blade
life, you joint the blade on it's periphery (for a circular saw) or
its top (for a straight saw) and on both sides.

However, you usually joint the sides AFTER sharpening the blade. You
just want to touch the sides to cut the peaks down. It's less
important on the sides to have them all uniform; you just don't want
any sticking out, which will tear whatever you're cutting.

If you're serious about this, it's worth getting a good article or
even a book on sharpening. The old Maine boatbuilder, Dynamite Payson,
wrote a slim little volume on the subject that is excellent.

http://www.instantboats.com/sashaps.htm

A carefully jointed, set, and sharpened steel sawblade will cut
cleaner than all but the very best and most expensive carbide blades.
For a while. g If you get good at it, it goes pretty quickly.


Thankyou for your explanation. I appreciate the need to ensure that the
tooth hight is the same for all the teeth on a blade. I just hadn't
heard the term before.

I will check out the url's that you provided.

Much appreciated.
--
Best Regards:
Baron.