1 Fex., 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 109 
A gentle tap with the other wedge will bend down the tooth point 
‘sufficiently to give the tooth the necessary “set.” Treat every alternate tooth 
in the same manner. ‘Then turn the saw round, and do the same to the other 
teeth. A good saw-sharpener will thus set a saw as ‘evenly as could’be done 
by the use of the set. It is well to perform this operation before sharpening’ 
the saw, as the taps of the wedge are liable to injure the edge of the tooth. 
To sharpen the saw, a sort of horse is required. This is best made by’ 
cutting down two saplings growing about 4 or 5 feet apart, at a height of some 
3 feet from the ground, asin Fig. 1. Sawa vertical cut from the cut-off top of 
the sapling about 6 inches deep. Then place the saw back downwards in the 
cuts. It will incline to sag backwards and forwards as filing proceeds. ‘To 
prevent this, lean a small sapling against the centre of the saw, and the latter 
will remain rigid. 
Taking a three-cornered file, stand over the saw, the left arm well over it, 
and the right on the inside holding the file inclined upwards at an angle of 45 
degrees. Only use the file in one direction—z.e., pushing it from right to left. 
Never saw the file backwards and forwards, as it injures the thread of the file, 
and does not hasten the work. ; 
File up every alternate tooth; then operate on the remainder in the 
opposite direction. 
For a flat tooth, hold the file horizontally; for a needle point, almost 
vertically. 
Now we are ready to take off our first cut. Enter the saw perpendicularly, 
or rather at right angles to the log, first having taken off a ring of bark. No 
pressure must be placed on the saw. Let it run easily and cut by its own 
weight. It will soon bury itself. After cutting more or less deeply towards 
the centre (according to the size of the log), tilt up one man’s end of the saw 
and cut down the side. Then reverse the proceeding, and cut down the other 
side. ‘This makes the work easier, as, instead of sawing continuously at the 
full breadth of the wood, an angle is presented, as in Fig. 2. 
When the saw has again cut down vertically as far as a and J, it will probably 
he found that the work becomes harder as the cut will begin to close, especially if 
the log be convex, as above described. ‘To ease the saw, insert a wedge in the 
eut on top and drive it home gently till the saw loosens; then continue the 
cutting, wedging up till the log is severed. Another plan is to drive a piece of 
timber underneath the cut, thus raising the log at that part and causing the eut 
‘to open. 
We will suppose the tree to have fallen in such a manner that the butt 
lies 2 or 3 feet clear of the ground, as in Vig. 3. In that case it would not 
do to begin cross-cutting until we have made arrangements for preventing the 
splitting of the log before it is completely cut through. ‘There are several 
ways of doing this. ‘he simplest is that shown in the figure. 
In this case, however, there is some danger to the sawyers. When the 
Jog is severed, it will naturally fall to one side or the other, and watchfulness 
and agility will be required to escape beingcrushed. As time is not alwaysofvery 
great moment in the case of timber-getting, it is better to make sure of one’s 
life than to risk it by carelessness. Therefore, instead of putting a couple of 
blocks under the log as shown in the drawing, the better and safer plan is to 
build up a few logs underneath it, which will present a broad surface for it to 
rest on. ‘Then a couple of wedges on each side will effectually prevent its 
moving when cut through. ; 
Having cut off a length either for posts, rails, palings, or shingles, the next 
business is to burst it open. - Let-us take the operation as it affects posts. If 
we are working up an ironbark-tree or a pine, we first remove the bark. 
With gum-trees this is not necessary. Bushmen all have their own peculiar 
fads about opening a log. Some burst it completely in half to commence 
with, others first open the log from end to end, and then burst off billet after 
billet. Others again “slab” off without bursting, but this process is only 
