[AT] Drag saw Blade Sharpening

[Dave Rotigel]

Hi All,
	Some of you know that I've been interested in drag saws for a good bit of time now, and further that (after buying a Hercules drag saw at Portland last year) and sawing up a 16' (30 " popular) log into many 3" pieces the Zolfo Show in Feb. of this year, I became interested in learning how to sharpen the drag saw blades. I've yet to find anything much on the net re: the sharpening of drag saw blades, but much of what is "out there" re: sharpening crosscut saws applies also to drag saws. (See: http://www.bchw.org/Tech%20tips/Crosscut%20Sharpening.htm      one of the best is: http://www.bchw.org/Tech%20tips/FilerDVD.htm  ) 
	There are many tools available on e-bay for sharpening a crosscut (and therefore a drag) saw blade. One of then is for setting the teeth and was manufactured by Buller. I located this one ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/290868176663?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 ) in March and am very pleased with the way it works, and the fact that it is adjustable. Three of them showed up on ebay in early March. I'm sure that more will show up! If you decide to buy tools for sharpening drag (crosscut) saw blades be sure it (they) are combination tools--i.e. jointer, raker and pin gage tools. Disston and Simonds are two of the most common. (Atkins is also a common brand, but many of the Atkins were early and did not have the pin gage on them.) Don't worry about buying a "long" raker. (You don't need one UNLESS you are sharpening a crosscut saw for competition--and if so, you already know one hell of a lot more than I do about all this and probably already own a long raker!)
	The most important thing I have learned in the last month about sharpening drag saw blades is that the difference in height between the cutting teeth and the raker teeth IS CRITICAL! My first attempt at sharpening a blade was to have the rakers about .030 (~1/32) below the cutting teeth. (The Disston literature says 1/64-1/32. The Ottawa log saw literature says the same.) I figured that MORE had to be better than LESS, right? NOT! Both my Hercules and a friend's Witte log saw would jam and make the clutch slip with the rakers at that depth. (The set on the cutting teeth did not seem to batter very much.) I changed the depth of the rakers to ~.012 (just a bit less than 1/64) and both the Hercules and the Witte cut just fine! (I think the Ottawa may be able to push the blade with a .030 difference, but the Ottawa is a 5 HP.)
	I also found that two good saw vises help a lot when sharpening a blade. (BIG "C" clamps and 4X4's will work as well, but the vices I bought on ebay (See: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUGE-ANTIQUE-HENRY-DISSTON-SONS-SAW-VISE-CLAMP-FILER-TOOL-CROSSCUT-SAW-LOGGING-/380591710610?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&nma=true&si=TcdmMwgeit4h96MYIViSffpllGc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc  ) help because you are able to tilt them when sharpening the cutting teeth. A REAL saw vice would really be nice to have--but I don't think I will be going into production with this project soon! If I can help anyone with the little bit of knowledge I've accumulated over the past 6 weeks, or so please feel free to contact me!
	Dave