Crosscut Saw Manual

Many readers undoubtedly have run crosscut saws in the past, and a lot of you know the difference between a good running saw and a poorly filed one. A poorly filed saw deserves the name I have often heard attributed to it... "misery whip." A well-filed saw, however, is efficient and can be satisfying to use. Only in recent years was a chain saw developed that could beat a topnotch bucker in a contest. There is a record of a 32-inch Douglas-fir log cut in 1 minute 262/5 seconds by one bucker. Saw filers of any quality are becoming very difficult-if not impossible-to find. This manual was written so those of you who use crosscut saws can maintain them yourselves and overcome some of the misery of that ol' whip. The manual provides a basic description of how and why a crosscut saw works, tips on building a saw vise, and some experience-tested methods as a guide for achieving a well running saw. Only saws having raker teeth are discussed, because they are by far the most common saws found today. This includes lance, perforated-lance, and champion tooth patterns.