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Crosscut Saw Manual

Glossary

Back of the saw—(figure A) The edge opposite the toothed edge.

Bevel—(figure B) The bevel of a cutting tooth is the angle the intersection of the two filed surfaces makes with the plane perpendicular to the plane of the saw.

Circle of the saw—(figure A) The toothed edge of most crosscut saws lies on the arc of a circle.

Clearance angle—(figure C) The angle the inside face of the raker tip makes with the direction of saw travel.

Cutter tooth—(figure A) The tooth that scores the wood on each side of the kerf.

Inside face—(figure A) Face of a cutting raker tip that faces the raker gullet.

Jointer—(figure D) Tool used to file the cutter teeth so the tips all lie on the circle of the saw.

Kerf—Slot the saw makes while cutting.

Outside face—The face of a cutting raker tip that faces the sawdust gullet.

Pin gauge—(figure E) Gauge used to determine when the raker has been swaged to the desired depth.

Plane of the saw—The plane that passes through the saw equidistant from both sides of the saw.

Rake angle—(figure F) Angle that the outside face of a raker tip makes with the line perpendicular to the tangent of the saw circle.

Raker—The tooth on a crosscut that clears the shavings from a kerf.

Raker gauge—(figure G) Used to gauge the final raker depth.

Raker depth—The difference in height between raker and cutter teeth.

Raker gullet—The "V" notch in a raker tooth.

Raker face—See outside and inside face.

Raker tip—Supports the cutting edge of a raker.

Sawdust gullet—The gullet between a raker and a cutter tooth.

Set—(figure H) The distance by which the tip of a cutter tooth is bent away from the plane of the saw.

Set anvil—(figure J) A block of metal over which the tip of a cutter tooth is bent when setting.

Set stake—A tool used as an anvil for hammer setting the cutter teeth.

Spider—(figure K) A gauge used to determine when the set is correct.

Swaging—Putting a curve in the outside face of a raker tip, generally by hammering on the inside face.

Parts of a crosscut saw
Two graphics showing the parts of a crosscut saw. The top graphic is of the entire saw. The labels read: Circle (or arc) of the saw, Toothed edge, and Back of the saw. The bottom graphic is a close-up of the saw teeth. The labels read: Inside face of a raker, Raker tip, Outside face of a raker, Cutter edge, Raker depth, Raker gullet, and Sawdust gullet.

Graphic of a bevel. In the graphic the label reads: Angle of bevel.

Graphic of a clearance angle.

Graphic of the Atkins jointer and photo of the Gibbs jointer. The graphic of the Atkins jointer has labels that read: Shoe and File.

Graphic of a pin gauge.

Rake angle
Graphic of a rake angle.

Photo of a typical raker gauge.

Set
Graphic of a set. In the graphic the labels read: Set and Plane of the saw.

Set anvils
Photo of set anvils.

Spider
Photo of a spider.