70 



FARM MECHANICS 



Short teeth do no cutting. Single cut flat files are used 

 for circular saws. The file should fit the saw. It 

 should be about %" wider than the length of the front 

 side of the teeth. The back edges require that the file 

 shall have some play to show part of the tooth while 

 the file is in motion. Large files are clumsy. The file 

 should be carefully selected. 



How to Sharpen a Hoe. It is quicker and more sat- 

 isfactory to file a hoe sharp than to grind it on the 



Figure 96. How to Sharpen a Hoe. Grinding a hoe is difficult, 

 but filing it sharp and straight at the cutting edge is easy. If the 

 hoe chatters when held in the vise, spring a wooden block under the 

 blade. Use false vise jaws to prevent dinging the shank. 



grindstone. The shank of the hoe must be held firmly 

 in the vise and there should be a solid block of wood 

 under the blade of the hoe, a little back from the edge; 

 to keep the file from chattering. A single cut flat file 

 is the best to use. It should be long enough to be 

 easily held in one position to make a smooth, even bevel 

 at the same angle to the face of the blade all the way 

 across. To make sure not to file a feather edge it is 

 better to joint the hoe to begin with, then to stop filing 

 just before reaching the edge. If the edge be left 



