SAFETY RULES IN USING THE

GRINDER
1.       Always wear a pair of goggles to protect your eyes.

2.      Before starting the grinder, remove all unnecessary things or articles near the motor.

3.      Switch on the motor and wait until the wheel reaches the maximum speed.

4.      Apply average pressure on the revolving wheel.  Do not be in a hurry.

5.      Set the tool rest about 1/16 to 1/8” away from the wheel.  Too wide setting is dangerous. 
Adjust the tool rest gradually especially if the nick is big.

6.      Use only the face of the wheel and not the side in grinding.

7.      When grinding small pieces of work like the spokeshave blade, use a vise-grip plier.  Do not
use ordinary pliers in holding small blades because if the grip loosens, the blade might slip and
cause accident.

8.      Watch for your hands and fingers.  Keep them at a distance and clear from the revolving
wheel.  Remove your bracelet and other dangling pieces of jewelry.

9.      Watch for overheating or burning of the cutting edge.  Burning means turning the edge or part
of the blade into bluish black.

10.  Switch off the motor and wait until the wheel slows down and stops.

11.  Pull out cord or uncord grinder before leaving.

MAINTAINING A SAW
Every woodworking job involves sawing.  There is a variety of saws; each one is intended for a
particular job.  But two or three different saws can handle almost every job.

           To prolong the life of a saw, avoid leaving it lying on a bench or floor where the teeth are
exposed and can be damaged.  Hang it.  Before using the saw, rub the blade with a candle to
lubricate it.  Rub the blades with a small rug wet with oil before putting them away to avoid rusting. 
Remember however to wipe off the oil before you start cutting or sawing as the oil will stain the
wood.  If the saw blade rusts, clean it with a steel wool and apply little oil.  Have a blunt saw
sharpened by an expert.

           The tools needed in sharpening the saws are saw clamp, saw set, and the triangular or slip
taper file.

SHARPENING SAWS
           There are three operations in sharpening saws.  They are jointing and shaping the teeth,
setting the saw, and filing the saw teeth.
Jointing.  Inspect carefully the teeth of the crosscut or rip saw to see if they have been previously
set or filed uniformly.  Inspect the blade (teeth) from the heel to the toe.

           If the teeth are uneven in length or worn out due to the excessive use or simply damaged,
jointing is necessary.  The following are the steps in jointing.

1.       Hold the saw between two pieces of wood in a saw or saw clamp.

2.      Run a flat or rectangular file over the teeth until every tooth is touched by the file.  It is
noticeable afterwards that some teeth are quite flat while others were barely touched.

3.      When the teeth are of uniform height, they are filled until they have the same size and shape. 
With the use of a slim taper triangular file, about 15 cm or 18 cm (6” or 7”), start  filing on the first
gullet on the right portion near the handle and working towards the tip.  When the first half or next
gullet to the left until all the teeth have been filed.  The file is held level and at right angle to the blade
of the saw.  Do not attempt to produce bevel on the crosscut saw.  This is the shaping stage.

Setting the Saw.  When the teeth of a rip saw or crosscut saw are even, adjust the saw properly to
set the teeth of the handsaw.

1.       Tightly fasten the saw in the saw clamp.  Set the teeth, starting from the heel of the saw. 
Bend the points of every other tooth in the same direction as it was originally bent.

2.      Unfasten the saw clamp.  Reverse the saw and fasten again.  Set the alternate teeth or the half
in the opposite direction.

           The teeth are set so that the cut or kerf will be wide enough to keep the blade of the saw from
binding or sticking in the wood.  This is called setting.

Filing the Saw Teeth.  The crosscut saw is filed in an angle different from the rip saw.

1.       Fasten the saw clamp to the bench top.

2.      Fasten the saw in the saw clamp with teeth pointing upward.  With the handle of the saw on
the right, begin filing from the point or narrow end of the saw or heel.

For a rip saw, the teeth are shaped like a series of small chisels.

1.       Hold the file level and at right angle to the saw blade, push it straight across the teeth.  Count
the strokes.

2.      Repeat the same stroke and pressure applied on every tooth being filed until half of the teeth
have been finished.

3.      Reverse the saw, placing the handle at the left and file the other half as you did in steps 1 and
2.

For a crosscut saw, the teeth are filed like a knife point.

1.       Do the same as in steps 1 and 2 of rip saw.

2.      Hold the file and level it at an angle of 60 degrees to the blade of the saw.  Doing this, a bevel
is filed on the front of the tooth, while at the same time a corresponding bevel is produced on the
rear side of the adjointing tooth.  Continue filing until the first half is finished.

3.      Reverse the saw and follow the same process as in step 2.