Sharpening may seem like a time consuming chore or
just another expense that has to come out of your woodworking
budget but in fact, saw sharpening is a very important
part of maintaining a safe shop. Saw sharpening is also
essential to ensure that your projects are as clean-edged
and precise as possible. Therefore, while you may be unwilling
to lose project time or budget for saw sharpening, keep
in mind that it is important to sharpen your saws as often
as possible.
Almost
every woodworking saw blade requires sharpening on a
regular basis – notable exceptions being jigsaw
blades, which are simply replaceable. While you can pay
someone else to do your saw blade sharpening, or purchase
new blades for your circular saw, table saw, planer,
or jointer, you can save costs in the long run by learning
saw sharpening yourself.
Sharpening
handsaws has been practiced for hundreds of years, and
is a skill that you can learn easily. With a little practice,
this will save you from having to send your hand saws
to a tool shop. A circular saw blade sharpener can also
be a woodworker's best friend and it makes an excellent
gift. Grinding a cross cut or rip saw starts with jointing,
using a file to ensure the saw’s teeth come out
even. You then need to shape and set the teeth to ensure
they are at an angle and at the depth that will make
for easy, friction free sawing. Once these steps have
been completed, you file the teeth sharp.
Many
metal shops will sharpen circular saw blades at a fraction
of the cost of a new or recycled circular saw blade.
With a sharp circular saw blade, you are ensured that
your projects will have clean edges. Additionally, it
will allow you to have less kickback (for safety) and
will cut cleaner edges on all your projects. Sharpening
should be an important item on every woodworker's "To
Do" list, which is because there are many safety and
accuracy benefits to gain from.
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