After seeing other filers use a dial gauge for measuring the set on cutter teeth, I thought I might make something similar using the same dial gauge I have for measuring raker depth.
Normally one uses a simple spider gauge for checking and setting the cutter teeth on crosscut saws. The spider gauge is made to measure a particular chosen set, and it is very good for quickly checking for out of shape teeth and for the actual filing work, but it does not give a way to accurately measure variations from the expected setting.
The tool I have made helps make a careful double check of my saw filing work, setting the cutter teeth. The tool also helps check more precisely for variations in used saws.
I found an inexpensive dial gauge on Amazon.com that comes without any mounting equipment, and I made an adaptation to use it with an antique combo raker/jointer that was an extra in my tool collection.
In this page I am showing how I have used the same tool to make a cutter set measuring tool. Now I can use this single inexpensive dial gauge for both tools. It takes only a moment or two to move the gauge from one use to the other use.
I have no experience with dial gauges. What I found is that the tool I got has three features that help make it adaptable for my plan.
1. The dial number face is made to turn so that the gauge can be set to a zero point that will be adaptable to any configuration of starting point.
2. The standard dial foot contact point is like a ball point pen. This end piece is removable so that I could replace it with a small screw to give a flat end point that works better on the sloping raker teeth and cutter teeth than does the original ball point.
3. The dial gauge has a mounting eye on the back that fits a 1/4 inch bolt.
The adaptation I made uses an antique spider tool. These spider tools are relatively easy to find, but not all styles would facilitate the same mounting strategy I have used.
I cut off the end of the spider gauge so that the dial gauge measure replicates the spacing of the typical spider tool.
The salvaged stamped mounting arm came from a bicycle clamp. I filed a notch where the mounting arm meets the spider arm for an accurate positioning stop.
Another view of the tool adaptation I fashioned.
I use a machined table saw bench to find the zero position and move the adjustable dial face to establish that zero measurement.
To use the tool, I position it and settle the three spider arms on the face of the saw so that the gauge measuring arm touches the tip of the facing cutter tooth. Keeping the tool square and solid on the three feet is important, and I find this tool easier to use than when I tried using the manufactured tool shown below.
| This is
the dial
gauge that others have adapted to make measurements of the set on the
crosscut cutter teeth. This tool needs to be adapted to mimic the
dimensions of the spider gauge by moving the support feet nearest the dial
to a distance nearer the bottom support feet. This tool is made for
use on circle saws but with adapting as noted by other users, works well
in conjunction with a normal spider gauge for crosscut saw sharpening work. |
|