How To Sharpen A Saw With A File

How to sharpen a chainsaw chain: instructions for working with sharpening accessories
How to sharpen a saw chain correctly with hand tools and machine tools. Sharpening rules, step by step instructions. With expert recommendations.

Hand tools

A set of tools required for sharpening saw teeth:

  • Flat file, which is taught to use in labor lessons at school. With it, the depth gauge is grinded.
  • A round file of a certain diameter, required for cutting a cutting tooth. An additional device is attached to it. A holder with fishing lines, which suggest how to properly hold the tool in relation to the chain. The holder is placed on the saw tooth, taking into account the guiding lines, the position of the file is under the cutting surface.
  • A template that serves for editing and observing parameters.
  • The hook is needed to remove sawdust from the chain.

Metal sharpening templates help you calculate the sharpening depth

What tools for sharpening are there

To start work, you need to stock up on tools that are divided into two types.

How to sharpen a chainsaw chain: instructions for working with sharpening accessories

how to sharpen a saw with a file

A sharpened sharp chain is one of the conditions for the effective operation of a chainsaw. If the chain becomes dull, business in the country will stop: the bathhouse cannot be repaired, the fence cannot be built, and firewood cannot be prepared for the stove. For help, you can turn to paid specialists, but you should remember that this procedure will be repeated at regular intervals, and this is additional financial costs and a waste of personal time. Another way out is to find out how the chainsaw chain is sharpened independently, without the involvement of specialists.

How can you sharpen a circular saw

  1. Special wheels for sharpening saws, made on the basis of diamond abrasives.
  2. A regular file for sharpening a saw, but you also need to have a vise to secure the saw and a block of wood to use as a guide.
  3. Processing on professional equipment is the fastest and highest quality way of sharpening, but it requires large material costs for purchasing a tool.

Types of circular saw teeth setting

The complexity of the wiring process is due to the need to move the teeth to the side at the same distance. This can be achieved by using a factory set circulating saw setter. Each tooth should be started from the middle of its size. For wood materials of different density, the degree of setting the teeth should be different, but without going into details, we can say that they are bred wider for sawing soft species than for hard ones.

There are three main wiring methods:

  1. Stripping type wiring. This method boils down to the fact that the tooth after two remains in its place without change, the rest are rejected in different directions. This saw preparation is good for working with solid wood.
  2. A variant of the classic setting, when the saw teeth alternately move to the right and then to the left. This versatile method can be used for almost all types of saws.
  3. The so-called wavy layout, a distinctive feature of which is the retraction of the teeth not at a strictly defined distance from the center, but at different distances with a deviation of 0.3–0.7 millimeters.

Do it yourself sharpening at home

When working with a disc, the main thing is not to spoil the cutting surface, and this can easily happen if the hand trembles, the feed angle is violated. In order to avoid negative consequences, you should study the sharpening methods, and then everything will turn out right. Distinguish between a manual method of restoring cutting elements of a circular saw and a method using sharpening equipment.

Do it yourself sharpening at home

When working with a disc, the main thing is not to spoil the cutting surface, and this can easily happen if the hand trembles, the feed angle is violated. In order to avoid negative consequences, you should study the sharpening methods, and then everything will turn out right. Distinguish between a manual method of restoring cutting elements of a circular saw and a method using sharpening equipment.

General rules for sharpening a circular saw

  1. First of all, the main faces are processed, of which the front wears out more.
  2. In extreme cases, with severe wear of the side faces, they are corrected.
  3. At a time, remove no more than 0.15 millimeters of the saw metal thickness.
  4. When finishing the edges with an electric tool, overheating of the metal is not allowed, in which case its properties deteriorate.
  5. To ensure the maximum service life of the saw, when it can be sharpened up to 30 times, both edges should be sharpened, both the front and rear, by removing the same amount of metal.
  6. It is not allowed to sharpen circular saws with tools not intended for this, for example, an angle grinder and a disc for cutting metal.

After carrying out the basic sharpening operations, you can finalize the teeth with fine sandpaper. The quality control of the sharpening of the tool takes place in working conditions. If everything is in order, the material will be cut clean, smooth, without visible defects and blackening.

The main sharpening angles of circular saws

The front face, the one that first cuts into the workpiece in the direction of the saw movement, forms the main cutting edge with the rear face. The angle at which the leading edge meets the material is called the Y-angle (angle of attack). The angle between the back face and the front face is the taper angle. If you subtract the rake angle and the taper angle from 90 degrees, you get the clearance angle.

In practice, it is important to observe these angles when sharpening for each type of disc. It is according to the front angle that the saws are divided into types:

  1. Longitudinally cutting, where the rake angle should not go beyond 15-25 degrees.
  2. Transverse cutting, where it is permissible to sharpen the front face of the tooth at an angle of 5-10 degrees.
  3. Universal discs, which are easy enough to cope with both longitudinal and transverse cuts, their rake angle should be maintained in the region of 15 degrees.

The angle of the bevel of the rear and front planes is also important: the sharper it is, the easier it is for the saw to enter the material, but wear occurs faster.

Purpose and device of the saw

The hand saw is used for sawing various wood materials. It is a blade with teeth at the bottom. On the one hand, the tool is equipped with a handle with which the master holds it during sawing work. The convenience and comfort of working with the saw depends on the quality of the handle.

The number of manufacturers of hacksaws for wood is quite large, but they all differ not only in names, but also in quality. All of them are intended for sawing wood, chipboard, logs, laminate and tree trunks. Hacksaws are subdivided into such types as: classic, circular, bow, as well as with a back and a reward. The thickness of the blade plays an important role when choosing a tool. After all, a thin blade can break during sawing wood, and it is quite difficult for a thick one to work.

Why and when to sharpen

The tool under consideration is subjected to various loads during operation, which leads to dulling of the teeth. If you cut with a saw that has dull teeth, the result will be much less effective than a sharp one. In addition, using a saw with blunted teeth is not recommended for the following reasons:

  • Decreased tool performance. Not only the powers of the master will be spent, but also his time.
  • Decreased accuracy of work. It is impossible to cut wood materials evenly with a blunt-toothed hacksaw, much less to do it neatly.
  • Danger of using the tool. In the course of work, the saw will get stuck, jammed, and come off the mowing line, so such work can be dangerous for the master.

A sharp hacksaw is not only easier to work with, but also much safer. To determine that the time has come for sharpening the saw blade for wood, you should pay attention to the following factors:

  1. The canvas emits a characteristic dull sound. If the master often uses a hacksaw, then it will not be difficult for him to identify such a sound.
  2. The tips of the teeth are rounded.
  3. The saw refuses to perform its task when trying to cut wood.

These factors indicate that it is time to sharpen the hacksaw on wood with your own hands. But before you take up the file, you should determine whether these links are subject to sharpening.

How to sharpen a hacksaw on wood yourself

For sawing building materials from wood, as well as trees, a tool such as a hand saw is used. Despite the fact that electric and even gasoline saws, jigsaws and circular saws have long been developed, a hand saw for wood remains an indispensable assistant in the arsenal of every master. With the active use of this tool, it becomes necessary to sharpen the teeth. How to sharpen a hacksaw on wood yourself at home, we will consider in the material.