Saw set

Saw set is a term applied to various forms of a tool used in the tuning and sharpening of saw blades. The saw set is used to adjust the set, or distance the saw tooth is bent away from the saw blade.

When the teeth of a saw are formed from the body, they are in line and the same thickness as the blade immediately behind them. A saw with this configuration is described as having 'no' or '0' set.

To prevent the body of the blade binding and for other enhancements to the cutting action, the teeth can be set (angled out) from the blade. Teeth can be set in several patterns: single-sided set, alternating set or a patterned set. Most Western and Asian handsaws use an alternating set, whereby a tooth is set the opposite direction from the preceding one. Specialized tools like veneer saws or flush-cut saws may be set only to one side. Some hacksaws and machine saw blades have patterned sets that may require specially designed saw sets to create.

See Saw and Sawfiler for more detailed information about set, kerf, and maintenance of saws.

A saw set makes the process of setting the teeth easier, more consistent or both.

Saw sets come in many forms: from improvised to intricate, specially designed mechanisms. The demand for a more capable saw set is clear, as from 1810 to 1925 almost 900 different saw sets were patented. Saw sets can be categorized by the mechanical principle under which they operate.

The essential components of this type of saw set are an anvil and a striking tool, often a hammer. These tools range from common blacksmith's equipment to specially designed and marketed saw sets.

This process could use any anvil with a suitable surface and any striking tool of appropriate size. The saw tooth to be set is angled over an edge of the anvil and struck in the direction the tooth is to be set.

Hammering the teeth against an anvil is also used to remove set from the teeth either for maintenance or fresh setting.

Another form uses either a bevel-edged anvil or setting block so that the saw blade rests on a flat portion of the anvil and the tooth held over the bevel, to be struck until bent to the desired angle (Fig. A). Its use is described by the following:

"...lay the block, Fig. [A], in some convenient flat place and hold the tooth of saw so that the point projects over the beveled surface fully one-quarter of an inch. Give two or three strokes with a light hammer, striking the tooth always about one-quarter of an inch from the point. Regulate the set by the use of set gauge..."

Following the same mechanics of operation, some designs introduced either a pin or lever aligned over the tooth that could be struck with a hammer. Rather than rely on the accuracy of the operator, such a device ensures only the portion of the saw under the pin is bent (Fig. B).

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