DIY hacksaw sharpening at home

Today, most of the instrument does not require much physical force. Everything we have is electric - a drill, a plane, a saw, a sander... But sometimes, you can't do without hand artillery. Or there is no light, the wire does not reach - but you never know what? That's when we remember that the hacksaw had to be sharpened. Many do not even know how to do it. We will talk about this fascinating process.

Sharpen or not sharpen?

Let's immediately decide on the options for action. If you don't want to mess around, you can give the tool to sharpen and give some money to a specialist. It is possible the best of the options.

Second - you can buy a new hacksaw. The problem will be solved, but not for long - the instrument requires maintenance in any case. By the way, not all hacksaws can be sharpened - with a hardened tooth, they can be said to be disposable. Visually hardened steel is dark with a bluish sheen. And no grinders, miracle files or drills with a diamond tip will help sharpen it. Go straight to the store without wasting time and effort.

AND third option - try to sharpen the hacksaw yourself. Now let's decide what are the signs that it's time to sharpen it.

When to start sharpening?

As the hacksaw becomes blunt, the following appear signs of wear:

• change in sound during operation;
• uneven cut with ragged edges;
• increased cutting time;
• jamming of the blade in the wood;
• problems with keeping the direction of the cut;
• uneven and difficult sawing process;
• discoloration of the hacksaw teeth.

Not all of these "symptoms" will necessarily appear, but you should not wait for them to appear.

Sharpening procedure and required tools

Before proceeding directly to the process, you should set the saw teeth. This is also a whole science, and we will dwell on it separately. Of the tools you will need:

• vise or clamp;
• a metal plate with slots in it, for even wiring;
• files and files of various shapes and sizes;
• grinder with a cutting disc, but only for those who know how to use it.

Separately, I draw your attention: sharpening the teeth of a hacksaw with a grinder is not as easy as it seems. If health is dear to you, leave this venture.

Wiring process

What is it for at all wiring? To prevent the hacksaw blade from getting stuck in the wood during operation. Its width is selected individually, but no more than the canvas itself. Otherwise, the cut will be too wide, which is not always necessary. Yes, and it will become, to put it mildly, hard to work.

Main condition - along the entire length of the blade, the teeth should be set apart at the same angle, in a checkerboard pattern. The angle is determined depending on what is mainly supposed to be cut - wet or dry wood. For raw wood, the angle of deflection of the teeth is made more than for dry wood.

Before starting the wiring, the canvas is securely fixed in a vice. Then, using a metal plate with slots, the teeth are bent in different directions (staggered)starting from the middle of the canvas. As a result, all teeth must be at the same height, otherwise the sawing process will be uneven.

You can check the uniformity of the height of the incisors in this way: attach and press them to a sheet of paper lying on a plane. From the print, everything will immediately become clear. Cutters protruding above the general level are grinded with a flat file.

Important! If someone advises to separate the teeth with pliers, do not do it. Evenly, with their help, you cannot do the wiring with all your desire.

Sharpening

Depending on the purpose of the saw, a file is selected. So, for transverse hacksaws, a small trihedron is used, and the sharpening angle is made about 60 degrees. For longitudinal, with an angle less than 60 degrees, a rhombus with a fine abrasive, and for universal ones - either a coarse file or the same rhombus.

When clamping the blade in a vice, it is important not to overdo it, otherwise it will vibrate under the file.

The process itself is carried out in two stages - first sharpen the left sides on all teeth. After that, the hacksaw is unfolded, again clamped in a vice, and filed along the right side of the incisors. Effort is applied only when moving away from oneself. You don't need to press hard, try to achieve uniform metal removal with each movement.

Burrs are carefully removed with fine sandpaper. When sharpening, it is important to maintain the correct shape of the teeth.

Checking the results

Someone recommends looking for glare on the sharpened surface. Someone else - to check by touch. I will say this - start sawing something, and you will immediately understand everything by the width and evenness of the cut, the presence of chips, the difficulty of the process itself, and by the end result. If everything suits you, they sharpened it well.

If you nevertheless decide to sharpen the saw yourself, take the one that is not too pity for a start. Perhaps as a result of the first experiment, she will cut even worse than before. But it doesn't matter - people learn from mistakes, right?