Spear & Jackson Saw Tooth Setter

Very good in terms of quality and price.

This saw set works amazing. I used it on an old saw from a flea market that needed a lot of attention. This is the second saw set I have ever used, but it was easy. The tool does all of the work for you. Just line it up and squeeze. The only issue I had was that the plastic above the action needs the light right above it or the shadow makes it difficult to see the teeth. Once you figure out how to line it up, it does the job no issues at all.

This review speaks to whether this set can be adapted for 14-15 t.p.i. dovetail and other fine tooth backsaws. Yes, it can easily be modified without special tools or skills. Paul Sellers has an excellent video on YouTube that shows how, and B. S. Kimerer describes his method in a review of the GreatNeck version of this product. I have the Eclipse 77 but also examined the GreatNeck model in detail. Both are nearly identical, except the Eclipse 77 has a finer fit and finish, slightly better anvil, comfortable plastic hand grip covers, all of which make the Eclipse worth the extra $10 cost. The Eclipse 77 comes with a silly plastic "magnifier" that is worthless optically and distracts from the usefulness of the device. The convex plastic upper surface of the magnifier lens reflects every overhead light in the shop, and the reflections interfere with seeing the saw teeth, hammer and anvil. Other reviewers have recommended removing this poor quality lens, and I agree with them. I used longnose pliers to snap off this gimmick almost immediately. Luckily, it can be removed without damage to the tool. The unit will set saw teeth from 4 t.p.i to 12 t.p.i. without modification, however needs to be disassembled and the hammer reworked for finer tooth saws, like fine crosscut and dovetail saws. Adapting the device to work with smaller teeth does not impair its ability to set larger teeth. For fine tooth saws, the width of the hammer needs to be reduced by removing it from the unit and grinding it narrower on a diamond plate or ordinary flat sharpening stone. Anyone contemplating use of this device will already have sharpening stones. Paul Sellers recommends using a bench grinder, which I consider unnecessarily dangerous when the job can be done more easily by hand on a sharpening stone. The hammer is 2.0 mm wide as it comes out of the box. A dovetail saw with 14 t.p.i. has teeth spaced 1.82 mm apart, so the hammer is too wide to set a 14 t.p.i. tooth without affecting the set of the teeth on either side of it. I reduced the width of the hammer on mine to 1.6 mm in about 10 minutes. No special jig is necessary. All you do is lay the hammer unit (the plunger) sideways on the sharpening stone, put your finger pressure on the point of the hammer tip, and drag or push the tip across the stone, taking care to work each side equally so the reductions are done symmetrically. Compare the hammer tip to the teeth of your smallest tooth saw, as you go, to assess your progress. My photos show the result, and show the narrowed hammer back in the set body after reassembly. I added some lithium grease to mine before reassembly for smoother operation. There are two compression springs that exercise minimal pressure on the shoulder bolt that holds the handle on (see exploded view photo). You need to compress the springs a little when taking apart and reassembling the unit. This is not difficult, but needs just a bit of finesse. This style of saw set has been around for more than a century, virtually unchanged, so it works reliably for the purpose. Modern woodworkers tend to prefer less set in the teeth than the old timers did. The set on a Rob Cosman saw is only .002" per side. Others are set at .004-5" per side for a wider kerf, which I regard as too wide. The adjustment knob on the anvil allows for adjusting the width of the set for 4-12 t.p.i. saws, but not for finer teeth. I speculate, but have not tried yet, that you can adjust the sideways set for finer saws by slightly grinding back the tip only of the hammer, not the whole face of the hammer. Rather than do this, I prefer to set the teeth uniformly with the unit "as is", and afterwards remove some of the set by lightly dragging the teeth over a flat, diamond lapping plate, to level the set, narrow the kerf and make the saw cut straighter and more smoothly. Fine tune the set with progressive wood cutting tests. Finely tuned, this saw set will do what you expect of it.

This tool paid for itself on the first day I received it. Now that's cool. Reclaimed an old saw from the 1970s, and a few newer saws. Had been sharpening but were not performing 100%. A new kerf did the trick. Tested on a couple newer saws made with spring steel, and it does not work. Guess why. The tooth springs right back where it came from. The point is that I see reviews stating the dial setting is not accurate. I am of the opinion that the dial is accurate because I closely watched what happened with the different types of metals. On old saws with regular steel the tooth pretty much stays where it is pressed to, so can use shorter press (higher numbers), and for the springy steels, use the lower numbers to press the tooth further than the spec calls for, so it might then attain the proper setting. I also do multiple presses around 4-6 when I see the steel rebound. I'm mimicking a process where 'gently' working metal it responds with multiple impacts. Also tested on a 32TPI hacksaw blade that was well used but still functional. Notice how hacksaw blades have 'waves' in them that span several teeth? Set it to the lowest setting and align the center of the punch on the depression and squeeze. The teeth were not sharpened, but the whole blade from front to rear now passes through metal uniformly and doesn't bind due to the most used part flattening out (losing kerf) and then binding on a longer stroke with the wider kerf trying to pass through the thinner kerf cut when an extra long stroke is made. The point is that I believe the tool to be accurate, but due to springy and tempered steels, using this is more of an art than a science, and if one understands this concept, then better results can be achieved with your particular saws' metal, and not blame the tool for the saw metal.

Excelente producto, buena calidaf

Well made tool works great

I bought this saw tooth set tool to use on my arborist pole saw. I found the sight glass too hard to see through so I removed it. I also found that the plunger rod that makes contact with each tooth has some sloppiness in its movement. The main body of the tool also needed modification so that the plunger rod could even contact the teeth on my stihl ppl 800 saw. All said, I expected better from an English company with so much experience. I'm making it work and to be fair, it probably wasn't intended for that type of saw. Still 20 bucks isn't too bad.

Finding a good saw set in the U.S. is getting harder an harder. I bought a Japanese Great Neck on eBay, tried it on an old Keen Kutter saw and the hammer started to mushroom. I took it apart, ground the hammer down for my 17 point dovetail saw, heated it cherry red, and quench hardened it, so it is not a total loss. I tried this Eclipse one on the same Keen Kutter saw and it didn't even mar the blackening on the hammer! I would snag one before they are all gone! The only thing I did was remove the magnifier with a pair of pliers and toss it in the trash

Buen triscadientes, de momento lo use para unas 4 sierras y muy bien

Bon produit facile à utiliser avec sa fenêtre sur le travail.

merci

Easy to use, don’t rely on the numbers as a guide for teeth per inch, use them as thats what I set that saw at, make a note on the saw handle then repeatable results can be made. Robust tool should last my lifetime.

Habe die Schränkzange für meinen Mann gekauft. Er ist super zufrieden und stolz auf sein Werkzeug, weil es so hochwertig verarbeitet ist. Männer eben...