Comments on: Get a Consistent Set on Your Saw With Paper

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 22:28:16 +0000

Ray,

I think that if your saw is taper-ground and you work in dry hardwoods then you will be OK with a .002″ set.

If you are concerned, try it first with two sheets of paper.

By: Ray in Stoney Creek

Ray in Stoney Creek — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 02:01:34 +0000

I am interested in this tip, but would like to apply it to a 26″ 5 ppi rip saw. I know this saw has way too much set, it rattles in the cut and leaves a kerf way wider than the sawplate.

Would the same paper apply to something this coarse, or should I use something thicker than regular paper?

I am not an experienced sharpener, but would like to reduce the set on this saw to make it more usable.

Thanks,
Ray

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:17:47 +0000

Mike Wenzloff responds:

As regards jaws in mechanics vises. Yes, a set of jaws in a mechanics vise will have a texture for gripping. However, smooth jaws can easily be made with mild steel. If that is too much work, smooth jaw liners are often available. And if that is too much work or too much of an expense (they are cheap), then cut up a couple hand saws in poor shape and line the jaws with a couple layers on each side. Some mechanics vises also have reversible jaws with one side smooth, so take a look at the vise before doing anything.

Some drill press vises can be put to the same service. And again, cutting up a couple old hand saws for use as liners works fine as long as they are cut from back under and around the handle area–the plate is taper ground on better saws. In fact, if one looks carefully in the video, you can see some thin liners sticking above the jaws. That is simply 0.042″ saw steel so the cap screw recesses are covered over.

A 6″ Kurt vise like I use isn’t necessary–but they are nice. The main attribute of the vise is that the jaws need to close parallel. Gotta remember, my grandfather used a mechanics vise. It can be done, eh?

Take care, Mike

By: Pilgrimm

Pilgrimm — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:49:31 +0000

Dear Christopher,

This is a great tip! But I just have to put my 2 cents in…

After you have gone to Lie-Nielsen for their triple-pulped, oil-impregnated, steel roller-finished “Saw Set Paper”, you might want to tell people that this method will not work with the run-of-the-mill steel vises most guys have in their shops! Those vises, even those made by Wilton (One of the Best) have jaws which have small teeth ground into the jaw faces to enable the vise to more-or-less “grip” that material between the jaws. The vise in the photo is a machinists milling vise, and it appears to be a 6″ model. The best of these vises is made by a company called Kurt, and the 6-inch models retail between $600 and $800 dollars!

Sorry, but I don’t have such a vise, and that makes this a very difficult method to pursue.

By: TCBound

TCBound — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:49:14 +0000

If you were to look directly along the saw plate from the end, you would see the teeth “set” to either side from center by however much. In order to reduce that “set” to a uniform measurement you need to press the teeth back toward the saw plate. The paper, at 3-4 thousandths keeps the vise from pressing the teeth too far, as the paper thickness on each side of the saw plate will not compress further and the end result is teeth “set” to the thickness of the paper. Yes, the teeth points cut or pierce the paper. But the paper only allows the vise to press the teeth back to the thickness of the paper. If you used paper of .005, you would get .005 set!
I played with the same idea using masking tape, but it was a pain to apply uniformly. The paper wrap is MUCH easier!

By: indymac24

indymac24 — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 03:02:41 +0000

I’m not questioning the results just trying to get my mind around the physics of the process. On the way into work this morning I pretty much worked it out. There is insufficient pressure exerted by the vice to compress the paper on the broad area of the sawplate. However where the paper meets the points there is compression or displacement of the paper fibers allowing the points to “puncture the surface”. At that point the set is reduced to the thickness of the paper “spacer” holding the sawplate away from the vice jaw.

By: zackdog

zackdog — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:20:37 +0000

Don’t confuse “does not compress” with “does not puncture”. As Mike explains in the video, the paper is punctured by the teeth that are pushed into it by the non-compressible paper. Without the puncturable paper (i.e. teeth between two non-puncturable and non-compressable metal vise jaws), you’d get zero set.
Remember, the point is a consistent set, not zero set.

By: renaissanceww

renaissanceww — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:23:46 +0000

FYI, Mike explained this technique at WIA in 2009 and I have been using it ever since with fantastic results. Yet another reason to attend WIA..

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By: watermantra

watermantra — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:44:21 +0000

I think the crux of the trick is that the points of the saw break through the paper. If you watch the video, Mike describes every other point breaking through the paper, thus allowing those points to be bent to the combined thickness of the saw plate and two thicknesses of paper.

I’m not sure about the paper compressing or not. Surely the paper compresses a little bit, if only microscopically. The same goes for the steel of the sawplate, and even for the jaws of the vise to a small degree. None of those materials are that dense (except at the Big Bang!) When that pressure is concentrated on a tiny point, I would bet that it actually does compress…even to the point of poking through, which would make the trick work basically the way Mike described.

What does seems to be true is that this works…for at least three generations of sawmakers; Mike, his father, and now his sons who make saws along with him. I’m also sure that Chris wouldn’t put something in his blog that doesn’t work.

So whether or not the physics are described properly, I’m excited about trying this trick out. I have a saw that needs sharpening this morning!

By: indymac24

indymac24 — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:01:52 +0000

Thanks for the reply Richard but you contradicted yourself in your answer. Either the paper compresses or it doesn’t. If not then what is it’s purpose? Wouldn’t using the bare sawplate in the vise give the same result if the paper does not compress. I’m not understanding how the paper affects the dynamics of the process!

Mac