424 



to keep itself erect, if a sawyer is inclined " to ride," as it is 

 called, it would be well to pass a rope or strap of leather around 

 the handle for him to pull by. A good sawyer must make 

 long, elastic motions with the arms, and let the saw play lively, 

 lightly, and freely through the log, and if the saw is in good 

 order, the ends of the log will be as true as if they had been 

 turned off. Let the saw be kept well-jointed and properly set, 

 and not allowed to become rusty, and it will work easy and cut 

 fast. 



THE MANNER OF FILING COMPASS SAWS. 



649. Compass saws, and billet-web saws, and such as are used 

 in a frame, for sawing felloes, and other circular work, cut as 

 much lengthways of the grain as they do crossways ; and if filed 

 for crosscutting, they do not work well in sawing lengthways of 

 the grain ; and if filed exclusively for ripping, they will not 

 work at all when they come to that portion of the circle which 

 crosses the grain of the wood. Most mechanics file such saws 

 but a little fleaming, but I think they will cut smoother and faster 

 by filing every third tooth for ripping, making it a little shorter 

 than the teeth filed fleaming. The object of this is, when the 

 saw comes to that part of a circle which runs lengthways of the 

 grain, teeth filed fleaming will not chip well ; therefore, every 

 third tooth being filed for ripping, and not set, will cut away the 

 centre of the kerf as fast as the fleaming teeth cut the sides of it. 

 Compass and billet-saws being so narrow, they cannot advan 

 tageously be set with an ordinary set, but must be set with a 

 nail set, or punch and hammer, by laying them on the square 

 end of a block of hard wood, and by giving each tooth an equal 

 blow with the hammer. 



650. The blades of compass and all other saws for cutting cir 

 cular work, should be thinner on the lack than they are at the 

 cutting edge. When of this form they will turn in sawing a 

 small circle with less set than they possibly can when the blade 

 is all of a uniform thickness. 



