86 
LOGGING 
carried out in the cavities of the teeth in the form of sawdust, 
occupying about six times as much space as the fibres did pre- 
vious to cutting. Long, stringy sawdust denotes a well-fitted saw. 
Loose-textured and long-fibered woods are the most difficult to 
saw because the teeth tear rather than cut the fibres, a larger 
quantity of sawdust is produced, and the rough character of the 
walls of the cut offers resistance to the saw. Coniferous wood 
is more readily sawed than hardwood, because of its simple ana- 
tomical structure and fine medullary rays. 
Experiments made by Gayer^ show the resistance to the saw 
across the fibres of green timber to be as follows, the resistance 
to beech being assumed as L 
Resistance to saw. 
Scotch pine, silver fir and spruce.. 
Maple, larch, alder 
Beech 
0.50-0.60 
0.7.S-0.90 
1.00 
1.03 
1.30-1.40 
1.80 
Oak , . . . . 
Aspen and birch 
Willow and poplar 
Saw-fitting. — The cutting edges of the teeth are beveled to a 
fine point, the degree of bevel depending on the character and 
condition of the wood. 
The filing and care of saw teeth is called "saw-fitting," and 
requires skill and experience. 
The tools that comprise a complete saw-fitting set for cross- 
cut saws are as follows : 
I combined tooth gauge, jointer and side file. 
1 saw set. 
1 tooth set gauge. 
1 swage, or 1 set-hammer. 
Several flat files." 
The characteristics of a well-fitted saw are: 
(1) All cutting teeth must be the same length so that each 
will do its share of the work. 
^ Gayer, Karl: Forest Utilization (Vol. V, Schlich's Manual of Forestry; 
trans, from the German i\v W. B. Fisher; 2nd ed.). London; Bradbury, 
Agnew and Company, 1908. 
^ Flat files from 6 to 8 inches long are preferred by saw fitters. The life of 
a file depends on its quality; as a rule one good file wall fit from 3 to 6 saws. 
