Use of the piercing saw

In 2013 Ron Rose gave a demonstration of the use of the piercing saw.  This is described below.  Videos of his methods may be seen here.

The first demonstration of the evening was given to us in considerable detail by Ron Rose, who firstly described the equipment required for piercing out intricate designs in brass and other materials, and went on to demonstrate the procedure with great effect.08

A thin metal table with a wedge cut out from it is firmly set up on the work bench to support the job, and a deep throated piercing saw with a round back blade is used. The blades Ron uses are German and can be purchased from Cousins. The choice of blade requires two to three teeth per thickness of work to prevent snagging, and the edge of the metal table can be cut against to reduce the speed of cut when making an intricate manoeuvre. The stroke needs to use the full length of the blade, so there will be constant wear over its whole length, but by using only part of the cutting area it increases wear in a small section and when another part of the blade is used it will grab and break, but lubricant should not be used.

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Now for the demonstration. A pattern is glued and rolled onto the work using a mild adhesive. Ron advises to cut to the line as this reduces filing time. (Try it!!). The saw remains parallel with the arm and does not follow the line of the pattern, as the cutting action remains on the same spot. It is the work that is fed into the blade and on the line as was demonstrated with a circle partially cut out by Ron, and when examined against the light one could not see the point of owning a file. The circle was perfect and without jagged edges.

These skills are only mastered over long hours and many years of practise. Ron has been using a piercing saw from the age of fifteen, and has been most generous to share with us some of the lessons he has had to learn the hard way.

Ron received loud and very appreciative applause from the members and guests.