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RWW 154 Using the Veritas Saw Filing Guide

10 comments
11 years ago
Sharpening     Videos

veritas saw file guideI did a demo on tweaking a hand saw to make it start easier recently during one of my monthly live sessions over at The Hand Tool School. During that session, I guesstimated the rake angle and used a shop made guide block on my file. The new Veritas saw filing guide had been released just a few days earlier and I got a lot of questions about it at the time. I’m game to try something that can make my saw filing a little more precise so I spend the $35 on the Vertias guide. Here is a video of my first use of it to relax the rake on the first few teeth of a dovetail saw, on to my carcass saw.

Bottom line: this is a great sharpening aid. I use a lot of handsaws and even then I don’t find myself sharpening so much that I have developed the muscle memory like I have for chisels and plane blades. This guide gives you the reference point to repeatable sharpen your saws at whatever geometry or mix of tooth geometries you desire. In the end if it lowers the barrier to entry on a skill and encourages more people to use hand saws, I’m going to be excited about it.

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Bruce

I got a veritas saw guide too. It makes for a good crutch for those of us who are new to saw sharpening and haven’t dulled all their saws yet. Making your own jigs is easy, but who really wants to spend time squaring small pieces of wood, marking angles and trying to figure out if the face of the file is at the right angle? I would like to know how the vertitas guide compares to the other guide mentioned in the other video.

John Verreault

Fabulous bit of kit to add to my saw sharpening tools. I picked mine up the day it came out.
Great video instruction but I have to pick on you for one thing: you kept referring to the “veneer scale” for setting the rake and fleam angles. I think you actually meant the “vernier scale”. ;^)

Cheers
John

Danny

This is a nice piece to have in your toolbox. I have had mine for a while and struggled at first with getting the right angle, sometimes thinking its just wasting my time. Eventually getting the hand of it and glad I have it now. I also think you meant “vernier scale” in the video but good info anyway, thanks.

    Shannon

    Yes yes I know it is a vernier scale and not a veneer scale. I caught it while I was editing but there was little I could do at that point to change and it was already after midnight so I let it go knowing I would get emails and comments about it. Just imagine I am saying the word with a very high style British accent.

AndyL

I was wondering what clamp you were using to hold the saw when sharpening them?

Thanks,

Andy

Don S

I really appreciate your efforts, Shannon …. videos are great. I bought a RakeMaker I from Isaac Blackburn several months ago and it has been a big help but I’m looking forward to an upgrade to the RakeMaker II as soon as he can get one made for me …. I understand he has a backlog.
Thanks again for all you do!

Shannon

Don, I also have the Rakemaker II and I’ll be doing a video of that soon when I sharpen a new crosscut saw. It is the Bentley version of the Veritas definitely and looks and feels like a premium item. The bubble level is eye opening too. If you thought you were level before, think again!

    Paul

    Shannon, I would really like to hear your impressions of the Rakemaker II vs the Veritas. I am seriously considering buying a guide, and since I plan on buying only one, I am leaning toward the Rakemaker II. Any thoughts?

      Shannon

      Both tools perform really well and will produce saw teeth as you intended and consistently down the plate. So what more can you really ask for? The Rakemaker II is significantly more expensive but it is readily apparent why when you pick it up and feel the weight and work the action to see just how precisely is has been machined. The Rakemaker is obviously a superior item from a craftsmanship perspective but other than the bubble level I can’t say that it works any better than the Lee Valley or is easier to use or adjust. I was surprised by what the bubble level told me as I thought I was level while using the Lee Valley guide and I was unintentionally sloping my gullets where I didn’t want to. Not a huge issue, but for the timid, beginning sharpener, this added guide might be a game changer. The Rakemaker is aesthetically superior and infinitely more durable. Will this really make a difference to the average woodworker? Maybe, maybe not. I bought my Rakermaker II first to support Blackburn Tools as a maker I respect, but also because I like pretty tools. I like the added weight of the Rakemaker and I can’t help but feel that it cuts smoother due to that. I have no empirical evidence to support that though. So in short, it works the same but I feel better about myself getting the fancier tool and supporting a small business (and local).