Timber Framers Guild Forums Tools Tool Forum Saw for kerfing joints

Does anyone have a suggestion for a saw to kerf joints when its needed? The only handsaw i have is a Ryoba (which i love) - i'm finding it too big - and dont like the cut that it makes in this application. I'm thinking something smaller would work better...any suggestions?

thanks...

Explain this 'kerfing'. Not sure what your application is here.

oh..well, lets say you you have a tenon that inserts into a mortis. One shoulder of the tenon is gap-less when inserted into the mortis, the other shoulder has a gap. To make the shoulder uniform, you'd 'kerf' the tight fitting side to reduce the gap on the other side - ultimately looking for a tight joint on all sides. My robust Ryoba is too unwieldy and aggressive for fine tuning.

hmmm. never done that on a tenon shoulder. i'd back cut the face of the housing a bit and / or pare the tenon shoulder with chisel or slick. seems you'd end up with saw marks on the face of the post... no?

i've kerfed scarfs as i've pulled them together. that works well as the blade seems to take a bit from each side... but the grain is oriented in the same direction - so there is no cross vs. long grain conflict.

Hi Justin.

I've read about this technique, but never gotten it to work for me. The saw binds up, or tears up the face. Just use a straightedge and mark (and/or score) the correction, then pull it apart and cut it. CB.

dremel tool it is.

seriously though..thanks for advice...

The saw at the bottom is the saw I use for kerfing. Fine teeth, taper ground blade has no set to the teeth so it won't tear up the surface. Good for cutting pegs off flush too.
Hollow out the shoulder of the tenon so that you only have a little bit left at the outside of the joint to kerf. Keep the saw strokes parallel to the grain to minimize any scratching of the adjacent surface.

I do what daiku says, lay out the correction then pull apart and cut.

I usually have to pull the joint apart too, because every thing is shouldered into a housing.