FARM SHOP WORK 69 



Filing a Circular Saw. The teeth of a crosscut cir- 

 cular saw point a little ahead. Sometimes they point 

 so nearly straight out from the center that you have to 

 look twice to determine which way the saw should run. 

 There are plenty of rules for the pitch of sawteeth, but 

 they are subject to many qualifications. What inter- 

 ests a farmer is a saw that will cut green poles and 

 crooked limbs into stove lengths with the least possible 

 delay. A saw 20 inches in diameter will cut a stick 

 eight inches through without turning it to finish the 

 cut. The front or cutting edges of the teeth of a 24- 

 inch crosscut circular saw for wood sawing should line 

 to a point a little back from the center. This may not 

 sound definite enough for best results, so the more par- 

 ticular farmers may use a straight edge. Select a 

 straight stick about half an inch square. Rest it on 

 top of or against the back of the saw mandrel and 

 shape the forward edges of the teeth on a line with the 

 upper side or rear side of the straight edge. The teeth 

 will stand at the proper pitch when the saw is new, 

 if it was designed for sawing green wood. If it works 

 right before being filed, then the width of the straight 

 edge may be made to conform to the original pitch and 

 kept for future use. 



The gumming is done with the edge of the file while 

 filing the front edges of the teeth. It is finished with 

 the flat side of the file while filing the rear edges of 

 the teeth. The depth, or length, of the teeth should be 

 kept the same as the manufacturer designed them. A 

 wood saw works best when the front edges of the teeth 

 have but little bevel. The back edges should have 

 more slant. The teeth should have three-cornered or 

 diamond-shaped points. Needle points break off when 

 they come against knots or cross-grained hardwood. 



