[firemedic]

Some of you should start receiving your saws in the mail today.

The primary reason for this thread will be a training exercise for those of you who are new to traditional hand saws.

First off, it will arrive with a stout clear coating of a wax like substance. A good and thorough wipe down with a rag and any volatile distillate such as Acetone, Lacquer Thinner, Denatured Alcohol, etc will remove this. You will want to remove this coating before using to keep the saws cutting smoothly.


I will start putting together the practice lessons for y'all this week but likely will not have them ready to go until the end of next week or early the following. I will be out of town for about a week between now and then.

In the mean time, I do encourage you to start playing with them. Take your time and don't be in a hurry. If you do not have any oil suitable for hand tools I suggest one of the following but in no particular order-

Beeswax, Renaissance Wax, and non-rancifying Tallow, Camellia Oil, Johnson's Paste Wax, or almost any non-silicone / non-synthetic light oils.

I use a mixture of beeswax and Tallow during the summer and straight tallow during the winter for most all of my hand tools.

Lubricators like these will be a tremendous help to you and make for much easier work.



The secondary reason for this thread is to troubleshoot any issues you may have as well as show off the saws and what you are doing with them. If you have any trouble, please post it here as you may not be the only one. Also pictures of what you are doing will be encouraging to the others who are still timid to the saws.


I will do my best to monitor the thread for any problems people may have even while out of town but I can make no firm promises.

Enjoy your new tools!

Jean

 

[acowboy]

Thanks for the tip, did not get a saw from you..:sad:
But I do have two coming from the Bay, will apply what you suggest.

 

[sharbin]

Received my saws today.

Again, thanks for doing this Jean. I'm looking forward to the training posts!

 

[Gilgaron]

The blade guard must've slipped at some point on my saw's journey, the first two teeth are bent on the toe.

They're not too bad, but I wanted to verify before I did anything what the best method of repair was. I was thinking either tap it flat with a hammer or to use a vise or c clamp to bring them into flat with the saw plate.

Other than that she's a beautiful saw!

 

[firemedic]

The blade guard must've slipped at some point on my saw's journey, the first two teeth are bent on the toe.

They're not too bad, but I wanted to verify before I did anything what the best method of repair was. I was thinking either tap it flat with a hammer or to use a vise or c clamp to bring them into flat with the saw plate.

Other than that she's a beautiful saw!

Crap, good ole USPS.

Do you have a saw set?

 

[Gilgaron]

Yes, an old eclipse 77 I bought on ebay. I had thought about that first, then thought "oh, it is a dovetail saw, no set"... but of course it could be set to flatten the tooth... now I'm going to run back down to the basement!

 

[firemedic]

Yes, an old eclipse 77 I bought on ebay. I had thought about that first, then thought "oh, it is a dovetail saw, no set"... but of course it could be set to flatten the tooth... now I'm going to run back down to the basement!

DT saws have set, lol

I just PM'd you a min ago.

Being on the end of the saw - less set than the other teeth will be less hampering than more - so err on that side.

 

[Gilgaron]

The minimal setting on the saw set did the trick, the teeth are in line with the others now! When I showed the saw to my wife when I opened it up, she of course noticed right away, but it was such a small blemish that even she believed me when I said it'd be an easy fix.

 

[firemedic]

The minimal setting on the saw set did the trick, the teeth are in line with the others now! When I showed the saw to my wife when I opened it up, she of course noticed right away, but it was such a small blemish that even she believed me when I said it'd be an easy fix.

Great. I'm glad that worked out without much fuss. Have you tried it out yet?

 

[Gilgaron]

I tried it out cutting a few kerfs in the end grain of a SYP cutoff and it did handsomly. Hopefully I'll have time in the next few days to actually try some dovetails, although if I struggle with that I'm sure it won't be the saw's fault.

 

[Mandres]

I hit mine with a little brake cleaner last night and a few good coats of paste wax. They cut like butter and I really like how the weight and the stiff spine make it easy to put the kerf right where you want it. I've never used a back saw before, this is fun.

 

[Gilgaron]

DT saws have set, lol.

Set... fleam... rake... one of those (ok.. ok... the real answer is fleam)

 

[firemedic]

Set... fleam... rake... one of those (ok.. ok... the real answer is fleam)

:smile: well... *cough* technically speaking rip saws do have a fleam angle ... Depending on how you look at it it's either 0 deg or 90 deg.

:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[nbo10]

I would never had guessed that the layer of wax needed to be taken off. It took a good scrubbing with alcohol to get it off.

 

[firemedic]

I would never had guessed that the layer of wax needed to be taken off. It took a good scrubbing with alcohol to get it off.

Yes sir - it makes a difference!

 

[ctwiggs1]

Would Mineral Spirits take the shipping wax off safely?

Would this work for the replacement wax?

http://www.lowes.com/pd_28360-10318...UserSearch=paste+wax&productId=3030316&rpp=32

 

[Sprung]

Did a few quick tests cuts yesterday after cleaning them up with some lacquer thinner and then applying some paste wax.

WOW! Did a few small cuts with the dovetail saw - cuts very well - quick and leaves a very clean cut. Can't wait to start practicing and learning with it.

Had to cut a short piece off the end of an 8' long board. Until getting the CC saw, this required getting out the circular saw and en extension cord, adjusting it, plugging it in, loud noises, and then putting it away. That whole process would take a minimum of 5 minutes, usually a little more. Under a minute to cut a nearly 10" wide, 3/4" thick hard maple board with the CC saw! Much quieter too! :thumbsup:

 

[firemedic]

Stand by fellas... I've been trying to get videos to upload to youtube for the last couple hrs and it's been hit n miss...

I'll post links as soon as I can figure out what the issue is...

 

[firemedic]

Links down for overhaul -

 

[railaw]

Just watched them; very helpful. But I think part 3 is a duplicate of part 2?