SMALL SAWMILLS, THEIR EQUIPMENT, ETC. 41 
in ripping, miter, or crosscutting, and in all kinds of soft and hard 
wood, as well as where knots occur and the grain is tangled in many 
different directions. That the saw will cut faster and run easier 
either way than any other saw that is filed for one purpose is claimed 
by the makers. No gauge is required to cut the raker teeth down to 
the proper length, nor does it materially interfere with the proper 
working of the saw if raker or cutting teeth are filed shorter than the 
others here and there. 
In filing this saw, joint down the points of the teeth with a flat file 
until the file touches every tooth. Set the cutting teeth (the middle 
teeth in every group) a good ways back, making a gradual bend, 
then pass a flat file along the sides of the teeth to even the set. File 
all the raker and cutting teeth almost to a point; then file to form a 
chisel point. Pass a flat file along the sides of the teeth to remove 
the featheredge. Keep the saw in a leaning position, as it enables 
you to file a full bevel. The more bevel you give the teeth the faster 
the saw will cut. Carefully notice the shape of the teeth in a new 
saw and file to conform with them as nearly as possible. 
The file should be laid between the teeth, with its flat side on the 
bevel of the tooth you are filing, but without touching the point of 
the next tooth. Each tooth is filed separately. The teeth, when new, 
are cut deeper than is required for the angle of the tooth, so that 
the bevel is full only a little ways down from the point. After a 
few filings, however, the bevel willbe full clear down to the base of 
the tooth. In this way every filing will gum all teeth except the big 
gullet, and that should be filed frequently to afford plenty of room 
for cleaning out the sawdust. This can be done with the edge of a 
flat file, or with a round one, if you prefer a round gullet. Do not 
file the gullet wider than it is in a new saw. 
NOTCHING AND FELLING. 
The proper method of felling, bucking, skidding, and loading logs 
is one of the principal subjects upon which the average mill operator 
needs information. When not properly handled, it is likely to be 
one of the costliest items in his business. 
Run a cut in the butt of the tree to be felled as deep as the size 
of the tree calls for and at right angles to the direction in which the 
tree is supposed to fall. Take the axe and chip out a notch above 
the cut or below it, leaving a clear notch in the butt. When the bark 
is rough at the base of the tree, chop a girdle round in the line of the 
saw cut. But before doing this, select the best ground on which to 
fall the tree, to prevent breaking or pinching when the tree is being 
made into logs. If the tree to be felled leans heavily in one direc- 
tion, it is the better plan to notch a little to one side or the other to 
which the tree leans, and after starting the cut in the opposite side 
