68 FARM MECHANICS 



blade of the square, otherwise it will crowd in or run 

 off at a tangent. 



Setting a Circular Saw. A good saw-set for a cir- 

 cular saw may be made out of an old worn-out flat file. 

 Heat the file in the forge fire to draw the temper and 

 anneal it by covering it with ashes. Smooth it on the 

 grindstone. Put it in the vise and file a notch in one 

 edge. The notch should be just wide enough to fit 

 loosely over the point of a sawtooth. The notch should 

 be just deep enough to reach down one-quarter of the 

 length of the tooth. 



Make a saw-set gauge out of a piece of flat iron or 

 steel one inch wide and about four inches long. File a 

 notch into and parallel to one edge at one corner, about 

 one-sixteenth of an inch deep from the edge and about 

 half an inch long measuring from the end. With the 

 homemade saw-set bend the saw teeth outward until the 

 points just miss the iron gauge in the corner notch. 

 The edges of the gauge should be straight and parallel 

 and the notch should be parallel with the edge. In use 

 the edge of the gauge is laid against the side of the saw 

 so the projecting tooth reaches into the notch. One- 

 sixteenth of an inch may be too much set for a small 

 saw but it won't be too much for a 24-inch wood saw 

 working in green cord wood. 



Jointing a Circular Saw. Kun the saw at full speed. 

 Lay a 14-inch file flat on the top of the saw table at 

 right angles to the saw. Move the file slowly and care- 

 fully towards the saw until it ticks against the teeth. 

 Hold the file firmly by both ends until each sawtooth 

 ticks lightly against the file. A saw in good working 

 order needs very little jointing, but it should have at- 

 tention every time the saw is set and it should be done 

 after setting and before filing. 



