How to Sharpen Hand Saws for Woodworking with Tom Calisto

Tom teaches how to sharpen handsaws for woodworkers. Read the detailed article here: woodandshop.com/how-to-sharpe...
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[@robertr2731]

Good detail. Thank you

[@marvco64]

I have filed and sharpened hundreds of handsaws and let me tell you folks, this guy really knows how to file a saw. I think this is the best video I've seen. The only thing I do differently is that I do not flip the saw to file the other side. I do all the filing from the same side.

[@bigoldgrizzly]

One trick I transferred from my fretworking to saw sharpening. When cutting fine fretwork, on thin material, even with 50 or 60 point jeweller's piercing saw blades, they were breaking with monotonous and expensive regularity, till someone suggested attaching some thin masonite board [hardboard] to the metal first, and cutting them both together. This means there are more teeth supported by material and therefore spreading the stresses over several teeth rather than point loading one or two teeth. It is a little slower, not much by as much as you'd think, but it certainly gives a much cleaner cut and the blades last significantly longer, being less prone to chipping or wear. /it also reduces the unpleasant sound ans avoids the tool destroying 'chatter'. I decided to give this a try on a fine saw blade. When I cut new teeth to make a 24 point fine dovetail saw using small and delicate Vallorbe three square needle files. I attached a 1/32 x 1/2 inch strip of brass to each side of the plate using double sided tape and got working. Filing went smoothly and despite having to cut much more material, the filing was not a great deal slower and the expensive file stood up extremely well giving excellent crisp teeth from start to finish. I have kept the brass strips to re-attach for future sharpening of that saw

[@funkychunkymonkey77]

I have watched more than 1 video of how to sharpen saws and this one is the one that actually taught me WHAT I am doing and not just HOW to do it. Thank you, sir!

[@JeepTherapy]

Thanks guys. Well explained and informative.

[@watermain48]

Excellent lesson, thanks for sharing it with us.

[@robertjackson325]

Fantastic video

[@andrebrazeau-te9ng]

iLike that good work thank you andre

[@carloscardova4221]

52x IS THE ONE FOR ME LIKE ALL THIS SHARPING AND STRAIGHTENING ALL THE SAW TEETH what a cool school thank you Tom for your expertise we could sit in your class with sharpened teeth.

[@artiet5982]

Great video!

[@zaneslocombe8008]

Master craftsperson.

[@Wolf-CanisLupus]

perfect, thank you

[@blackapple1641]

Thank you very much 👌👌👋👋

[@kentyler966]

Suggest you paint the teeth with lay out die or a felt tip pen. This helps you know where you have filed and where you need to file. Cheap and easy Guide is a small rectangle of wood with the file inserted at the angle you want to cut. I agree that saw sharpening is intimidating at first but a little practice yields good results. Nice video.

[@WoodAndShop]

Hi Ken, thanks for the comment. I also mentioned using a felt pen in my accompanying blog post: woodandshop.com/how-to-sharpen-hand-saws-for-woodworking/ But I hadn't even thought of using lay out fluid...I've got some, so I'm going to try that! The pens tend to get chewed up.

[@ilyaivanov1745]

Very useful video!

[@WoodAndShop]

Glad you liked it!

[@DylansDIYWorkshop]

This was really helpful! If you were was just recently telling me that I needed to sharpen my hand saw. So I guess it's time to do that. And thanks to your video man I'll be able to!

[@WoodAndShop]

Glad you liked it! Make sure to visit the blog post...much more info there.

[@henrysakum8024]

good vedio.

[@amezcuaist]

When he files the ripsaw (closeup) the file is being pulled backwards. The handle of the file is moving away from the blade and the file is then lifted and placed back in the groove. Unless the file teeth are reversed , the tang of the file must be at the back end of the file .

[@stevebeck2734]

When selecting the file size should it be such that both the face and the back of the tooth are at less than half the file face?

[@imortaldeadead]

Thank you for the informative video 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Do you have one where you show us how to make the saw nut and bolt and the split screwdriver?

[@WoodAndShop]

Unfortunately no, but if you find a video that shows that, let me know! I know that Tom makes them himself in his machine shop.

[@Dr.H_Woodworks]

Very useful video,thanks.I have a question about the process.When a saw should be reshaped,setted or jointed?Every sharpening requires this processes?

[@MatthewBuntyn]

Hamit Ali You'll set the teeth every time you sharpen, but you'll only joint and/or reshape as needed (e.g. restoration, building a saw from scratch, trying a new tooth geometry). That being said, jointing can be used as a visual aid to tell you which teeth you've already sharpened, but coloring the teeth with a marker is a better option, in my opinion.

[@ToolTalkCanada]

I wondered about this as well. Matthew said to "set the set the teeth every time you sharpen". However, in the detailed article linked in the video description above, Joshua Farnsworth writes "A hand saw really only needs to be set about every 3-6 sharpenings (when the teeth get worn down, and the set becomes less wide). Otherwise setting too often can weaken and break saw teeth."

[@amezcuaist]

For beginners it helps to lightly file the tips flat first. Then a bright light reflecting on the shiny tips will guide you and tell you when to stop. The reflection disappears when the tooth is sharp .@@ToolTalkCanada

[@trackie1957]

Is that a version of Maybelle Carter’s “Wildwood Flower” playing in the intro?

[@WoodAndShop]

Yes it is! Played by Jonathan Lubeck.

[@trackie1957]

Wood and Shop like the music in your videos! You might consider providing some information on the song and musician, especially if they are lesser known

[@WoodAndShop]

@@trackie1957 Yeah, good idea.

[@keenowl1410]

But why did he bleach his hair??

[@GuitarraLisboa1977]

You have a nice workshop, and nice tools.. and you know how to do it.. and you know how it´s done... but your video was not very good (i´m sorry)... because you talk all the time explaining how it´s done.. but you show very few how it´s done. The tools and hands .. they explain the drill by themself !

[@WilliamBrownGuitar]

Good coverage of saw sharpening. I'll be referring again to your blog post in the future. You covered this topic very thoroughly in that post! Great job Joshua. --Wm. Brown Fine Furniture www.LineAndBerry.com