Some tips on hand saw piercing

Jewelry Discussion
21

Couldn’t take part in the discussion before due to time pressures,
but I have read what was posted on the the subject. There are some
obvious gaps which needs to be filled.

Contrary to popular advice, one should never attempt to turn the
blade in sharp corner. We are not carpenters, and that is carpenter
technique. The jewelry saw must be looked as graver. As in engraving,
cuts are done counter-clockwise only ( for right-handed ), all feeds
are done by left hand in coordination with the right hand holding the
saw and supplying oscillating motion. ( I know it does not look this
way, but in practice the right technique will emerge ). As in
engraving, tight corners are achieved by entering the corner from
design opposing directions. In another words, there are never should
be a waving line, only groups of intersecting arcs and that brings us
to the old subject of planning before cutting.

Blade breakage: 2 primary factors to consider providing that bench,
sitting at the bench and other similar factors had been taken care
of; blade quality and union with a frame. Now we entering into area
of
esoterics. If one belong to the school of “good enough” no need to
read any further.

Blade manufactures simply cannot provide blades of required quality.
Some better than others, but even the best are wanting. The blades
must be finished by the user. There are weird things about tempering
steel, which metalurgists do not want to discuss, but steel, after
hardening and tempering, has to relax at room temperature for about
18 months to achieve proper temper. It is not important for normal
size objects, but can be critical for saw blades, especially small
ones. Used to one could find an old stock, but today with on demand
inventories it is impossible, so here is what you do. Buy blades in
gross and bake them inside a loaf of bread. After bread is done, do
not take loaf out of the oven, but let it cool inside the oven
overnight. That will relax blades sufficiently to be useful.
Annealing
ends with cigarette lighter sometimes works, but not for every job.

Union with the blade: There is only one ideal combination of
sawframe, blade, blade tightness, speed of sawing, and etc for a
particular job. What I am trying to say that one must have large
selection of blades and saw frames. and know how to combine them. Saw
frames should be of different weight for each size of the frame. And
stay away from cheap frames. Where one finds sawframes in different
weight ? One has to make it. Buy a high-quality frames like French or
German. They usually work well with 2/0 blades. For thinner blades
lighten up the frame by drilling holes in the frame. You must do it
intelligently so frame will not be destroyed. The thinner the blade,
the more holes should be drilled. Drill only a few holes at a time
and try how it feels. Proceed slowly.

The subject of using jeweler’s saw is the most ignored in school
curriculums and the result of that it is pathetically
under-represented in modern jeweler arsenal of techniques, and that
is a shame.

Leonid Surpin

1 Like
22 
If you don't know of me, I am an aging goldsmith who just loves
hand saw piercing, I can quite happily pierce all day given the
opportunity

First of all, Helen thanks for bringing up this thread. It’s timely
for me. James, I too love piercing. After I got the “knack” and
stopped breaking blades, I found that it is relaxing and satisfying.
Any shape; anysize. I wear out more blades than I break… until now.
Lately, I’ve made some pendants from one dollar US liberty coins by
leaving the outer rim and cutting inside the rim around Lady Liberty,
etc. Apparently the piercing techniques that I’ve used successfully
on my typical metal thickness (0.5-1.0 mm) aren’t adequate for these
coins (approx 2 mm). I’ve read the suggestions on this thread and
haven’t identified any particular “ah-ha!” to help this problem. So
that I don’t lose my love of piercing, are there any tips
specifically for piercing thicker sheet?

Thanks,
Jamie

23

Jay,

The students were taught to saw with the handle facing up, instead
of downward, as I was trained.

I too usually saw with my saw handle up instead of down because when
I first learned, I didn’t have adequate clearance under my bench pin
for the handle to be down. Later, I realized that when I was
following intricate details, it was easier to put the saw blade in
“backwards” and cut by pulling rather than pushing. In this way the
blade is moving toward my body and the blade is never in the way of
my vision. Of course, this requires the bench pin to be sticking off
the side of the bench instead of the front. I think I read somewhere
on Orchid about someone who holds the handle of their saw
horizontally (I didn’t quite “get” that one). Not surprising though,
since I’m convinced many folks only make jewelry as an excuse to use
new tools or find new ways to use old tools ;-))

Jamie

24 
To turn corners you should make a couple of light cutting strokes
"in place" while very slightly turning the blade towards the corner
you're cutting instead of trying to progressively twist the saw
around the corner...this way you open up a tiny space for the blade
to turn in...

My teacher at Gemcutters’ Guild, Pat Baker, directed us to a YouTube
video on this technique (and others). The video was quite good, but
I don’t see it there now. I suspect that you’d get at least one good
hit if you search YouTube on the keywords: saw silversmith

Cheers,
Lorraine

25 
The method I tried was to drill the hole somewhere in the middle of
the widest part and then start sawing to the point, along the right
hand side. When I got to the point, I then reversed the blade back
to the drill hole and sawed towards the point along the right hand
side, until meeting up with the first cut. The rest was easy to do
and the point was sharp and crisp.

Sorry, a typo has occurred. I meant to say that after reversing back
to the drill hole, I saw towards the point along the left hand side
and meet up with the first cut. Doh!

Helen
UK

26 
at a university in Guilin, China, and was watching the students
pierce with a jeweler's saw. The students were taught to saw with
the handle facing up, instead of downward, as I was trained.

I worked in an Indian jewellers, they also pierced this way, very
fast and accurate. I tried it and couldn’t do it, really dificult.

mary

27 
Chinese jewelers, on the opposite side of the world, have their saw
frame handles facing up,

Yes, and they do a great job that way, too. Obviously the blade still
points down, just like everybody else - they put the blade in “upside
down”. I know that most people know this, but for some readers it’s
probably good to clarify. Helen talks about using a #2 blade on 1mm
silver, which is a gigantic blade. James Miller talks about 2.0, 4.0,
etc. Sawblades are graded in the old way - steel wool is the same.
James’ 4.0 blade is actually 0000, his 2.0 is 00 (“double aught”) -
he knows this, it’s just language. I’m assuming Helen actually means
00 instead of #2, or else that’s the root of her problems - a huge
sawblade. It’s important because there IS a #2, and a #6, which is
like a coping saw blade. 00 (2/0) is pretty much the workhorse of the
jeweler’s bench, and finer for finer work - 4/0, 6/0. I use #1’s or
#2’s for cutting castings apart and whatever, and #4’s for sawing
carvex or wood. 000000, 0000,… 0, 1, 2, 3…, finest to
coarsest.

And it’s always something ---- The choice of a sawblade isn’t always
just to have so many teeth across the work, it’s also the work
itself. You might saw a piece of 2mm stock with a #1 sawblade, but
you might pierce it with a 2/0 sawblade, because of the turning
circle of the blade, and the finer kerf. It all comes with time…

1 Like
28 
You'll get it, there's much to learn, and the saw takes real skill
to use to it's potential. It's also your finest file, by the way.
Very carefully drag the teeth across tiny little spaces...

Thanks John. It’s a practice thing as always I guess. And yes it is a
great file when you can’t get anything else into a tight space.

Thanks to all who have given advice about sawing. I do continue with
the up and down motion while turning but I think I must just be a
little too hasty and impatient. I’ll persevere - thanks.

Helen
UK

29

After reading hundreds of posts on this thread (well, at least it
seems that many), I suddenly remembered something I always tell my
students, duh, well at my age it takes longer to remember than it
used to!

When you bind a blade in your work, and everyone does that now and
then, don’t try to force the blade free. Simply lift the work
slightly from the pin, using the saw to lift it, and allow the work
to twist on its own. It won’t move very far but will probably swing
slightly back and forth. You will find that the blade is suddenly
free and ready to saw.

Cheers from Don in SOFL.

30

Oh, and another thing on sawing…when you break a blade at a corner
(or anywhere for that matter), don’t put in a new blade and expect to
insert it into the old kerf and follow it to the sawing point. New
blades are actually wider than the one that broke because the old one
was worn. Simply start at a new point, preferably at about 90 deg to
where the old kerf ends, and saw in/ down to it. That will remove a
piece of metal and open up the saw point.

Cheers from Don in SOFL

31 
Backing a blade out is likely to break it, especially if you've got
a ways to go along a curved path.

You can just unscrew the bottom clamp on the frame and pull the blade
straight out of the piece.

32 
I recall one instructor making the obvious comment about sawing
that practice was the ticket. He then went on to say that after
about 40 hours with the saw we'd see an enormous improvement.

In the new book by Gladwell “Outliers”, he makes reference to people
that excel in their fields. In every case, he points out that each
one of them had at least 3000 hours of intensive effort, whether it
was Bill Gates beginning in early high school using a computer to
sports greats. It truly is a confirmation about the old joke about
“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”…Practice.

In line with this thread, one thing that has not been mentioned is
that I have found that most breakage is accompanied by the sound of
the metal slapping back down to the pin. Rarely does the blade simply
break from fatigue.Metal particulate builds on the blade and in the
saw kerf to the point where the blade binds and requires additional
effort to hold the metal down against the pin. How many times have
you stopped sawing to shake your hands and release the muscle
tension? Can you say Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Take a look at the
video to see a different method of sawing:

http://www.xtr3m3cast.net/download/knewconceptsprecisiondiesaw.wmv

If this url doesn’t work, go to knewconcepts.com This saw addresses
the problems of guiding the blade, providing support for the blade
where it is most important, holds the metal down with a “foot”.
Since the metal is held down by the saw, it is now possible to
concentrate totally on guiding the metal. An additional benefit is
that the tensioning method eliminates poking a dent in your sternum!

Lee Marshall

33

If you have to stop sawing to release muscle tension you’re holding
the saw much too tightly. Grasp the saw gently and let the tool do
the work.

34 
Take a look at the video to see a different method of sawing:
http://www.xtr3m3cast.net/download/knewconceptsprecisiondiesaw.wmv

Lee- thanks for the laugh - LOVE the music with it. But no thanks for
the mess of drool now covering my laptop ;). Too bad my husband has
already finished my Christmas shopping…I’ll have to remember this
when it is time for my anniversary!

Beth Wicker
Three Cats and a Dog Design Studio

http://www.bethwicker.etsy.com
http://bethwicker.ganoksin.com/blogs/

35 
Chinese jewelers, on the opposite side of the world, have their
saw frame handles facing up,

JohnSaw blades are still sold in the UK as 2, 2/0, 4/0 etc see the
link below - it gives the blade dimensions commonly sold by
jewellery supply houses such as Walsh, Cooksons and Eurofindings
etc.

http://tinyurl.com/647wq4

Regards
Robin
Clavis Jewellery
Aberdeen. Scotland

36

I have had a few questions via emails, asking about the saw piercing
on my plique a-jour enamelled butterfly wings.

So I thought I would explain my simple method of hand manufacture.
Firstly I design one half of the pair of wings, I fold a square of
tracing paper in half, then I draw a single wing on one half of the
folded tracing paper. Turn the folded tracing paper over and trace
the outline of the first wing, this gives you a perfectly matched
pair of wings. Then I prepare a sheet of 1mm. thick metal by bright
polishing it’s surface. I then paint the surface with white poster
paint and let it dry. I secure the design to the polished sheet,
using sticky tape with a layer of carbon copying paper between the
design and the metal. Now I can draw over the lines, I use an empty
fine ball point pen for this purpose as it runs smoothly over the
tracing paper without thickening the lines on the design, which would
happen if you used a pencil. When I have finished drawing the design,
carefully remove the tracing paper and the wing design is drawn on
the metal. I would now use my scribe to scribe over the design before
washing off the paint, and having a polished surface makes the
scribed lines stand out. As I enjoy engraving I would now engrave the
design before piercing but this is not necessary if you are a
confident scriber. A butterfly similar to the one shown on the Orchid
in my photo gallery would take me 12 hours to design, draw and pierce
the wings. The photo that shows me piercing an Easter Egg shows me
holding the saw in an un natural way for me, as the photographer set
me in a pose. But this photo shows how I hold some pieces under my
bench pin while piercing, this method works well when piercing domed
articles as the actual area where you are sawing is held steady. I
have sent personal answers to all that have emailed me, but I thought
this might be of use to somebody out there.

I would be interested in seeing any saw pierced work if you care to
share. I have done some hand pierced lamp shades that are my best
piercing achievements so far.

Peace and good health to you all.
James Miller FIPG

37

Helen,

I think I’ve read all the responses, but don’t recall anyone noting
that a little burr lubricant on the saw blade will help as well. If
that tip has already been mentioned, blame it on my inattention and
accept my apology. Beeswax is the old standby lubricant if you don’t
have any “Burrlife” or such,

Judy in Kansas, where temps were 55 degrees F at 6:30 a.m. and had
dropped down to the 'teens shortly after noon. Brrrr.

38

To Roger, Bruce and John,

I would have thought that #2 blades were a bit on the large size.
I tend to use around 2/0 or 4/0. A general idea is that there should
be 3 teeth in contact with the metal at any one time.

It was my mistake. I actually use No. 2/0 Vallorbe blades, NOT No.
2. I didn’t realise there was a difference. I buy No. 2/0 because
they are said to be the most widely used and also the best for
cutting 1mm thick metal. So rest assured that I am not using blades
that are too course for what I want to do.

Helen
UK

39

To all who have offered advice regarding sawing - many, many thanks.
I’m sorry I’ve not had the time to reply individually but I’ve been
so busy that I’m a few days behind with emailing. I’ll put all the
replies into a new folder and peruse them more thoroughly when I have
some more time. Thanks again.

Helen
UK

40

My daughters have been really interested in working in the shop
lately. My eldest daughter, 10, made her own silver dangle earrings a
couple months ago. I formed some thin sheet and doubled it up. She
drew her design on it and I let her cut the design out. She did
pretty good; only a minimum of frustration on her part. However, my 7
y/o daughter was incredible at sawing. The difference? My youngest is
being taught the violin and intuitively grasped (pun intended) the
mechanics of holding the saw lightly, the work firmly and letting the
tool do the work. Maybe it works the other way too and a good piercer
could learn violin with less frustration than non-piercers!

Larry