Why Jointing Before Filing Restores Speed!

The Upgrade

Jointing before filing means lightly leveling the tops of all teeth so every tooth starts at the same height before you file their faces.

It is a quick, controlled skim across the tooth tips with a flat file or fine plate. The goal is not to reshape each tooth but to remove the high spots that force you to overwork when filing.

Tools and simple supplies you need:

• A flat jointing file or fine diamond plate long enough to span several teeth.
• The correct triangular or saw file for the saws tooth pitch.
• A saw vise or secure clamping method to hold the blade steady.
• A marker or pencil to spot high tops and a small square or straightedge for checks.

What changes in your routine:

You add a short jointing step before normal filing. Expect to spend only a small fraction of your filing time on jointing, but to save more time overall.

Jointing is a targeted step for saws that show uneven wear or inconsistent cutting, not a step you must do every time you touch up a healthy saw.

How to read whether to try it now:

• If the saw drags, pulls to one side, or your filing requires many extra strokes on some teeth, jointing is likely worth the small time investment.

Why It Helps

When teeth start at different heights, filing becomes uneven and slow. High teeth take more metal during filing. Low teeth get left short.

That mismatch forces you to over-file some teeth and under-file others. Jointing fixes the starting point so each tooth begins at the same level.

Even contact makes cutting share the load. With matched tops every tooth bites the wood in turn.

That spreads the cutting forces across all teeth and reduces the tendency for the saw to pull to one side. The result is steadier tracking and less correcting while you cut.

Filing is faster because you remove only the metal needed to form the correct face on each tooth. You do not waste strokes chasing a few tall teeth.

That saves time and keeps the filed profile close to the saws original design, which helps the blade cut as intended.

Jointing also protects tooth geometry. Without jointing, you often end up over-filing the taller teeth while the shorter ones remain untouched.

This uneven work changes rake and fleam angles over time, distorting the saw’s geometry. By leveling first you keep those angles more consistent and preserve edge life.

Finally, you get a better finish on the workpiece. Even teeth make more consistent shavings.

That reduces tearout and leaves a cleaner face, especially on crosscuts and finer work where tooth consistency matters most.

How to Add and Use Jointing (step-by-step)

1. Prep and inspect

Put the saw on the bench and look closely along the tooth line. If teeth are missing, broken, or the gullets are deeply worn, repair or re-tooth first.

Mark a tooth near one end with a marker so you can track progress and avoid skipping teeth during the operation.

2. Secure the saw

Clamp the blade so it sits vertical and stable with teeth pointing up. A saw vise is best; a bench vise with protection will work. Keep the plate supported so it does not bend when you press the jointing file.

3. Choose method and tools

For coarse and common handsaws, use a flat mill file or a single-cut file held flat across the tooth tops. For fine-pitch or thin-blade saws, a fine diamond plate or thin flat stone gives a gentler cut.

The jointing tool should be smooth enough to remove only the high spots, not bite hard into every top.

4. Jointing procedure

1. Light first pass. Lay the flat file or plate square across the tooth tops and give a single, steady stroke along the tips from one end to the other. Use only light pressure; you are taking off bright, high metal not reshaping the profile.
2. Work progressively. Repeat light strokes across the full length, moving from one end to the other. Count strokes mentally or mark progress so you work evenly.
3. Check with marker. After a few passes mark all tooth tops with a pencil or marker. A correct joint will remove the ink evenly across every tooth. If some marks remain, do a few more light passes on those spots.
4. Stop early. When the tops look uniformly bright and the marker is gone, stop jointing. Do not remove so much material that gullets or face geometry are noticeably reduced. If a large amount of material needs removal to even the line, consider re-toothing or professional attention.

5. Filing after jointing

Set up your triangular saw file at the correct angles for the saw type and file each tooth face. Because every tooth starts at the same height, you will use the same number of strokes per tooth and reach even depth faster.

Match left and right faces consistently and keep stroke count or feel consistent to preserve balance. After filing, lightly deburr the tops and gullets with a fine stone.

6. Final set and test

Check and adjust the set if needed using your saw-set tool. Make a test cut in scrap wood and watch tracking and speed.

If the saw still wanders or feels slow, re-check tooth heights and set before changing filing angles. Small tweaks, not heavy rework, are usually enough.

7. Shortcuts and common sense

For minor unevenness a single light jointing pass can save many filing strokes. If you are unsure, joint less and check. Jointing is reversible only up to a point. Take small steps and re-inspect often.

What You Will Notice

After jointing and filing, the saw should feel smoother and faster. Expect fewer hard-start strokes where the blade resists at the beginning of the cut.

The shavings should be more uniform in thickness and shape. The saw should track straighter, with less side pull and fewer corrections as you push.

You will also notice filing becomes less tedious. Each tooth will reach the correct profile in fewer strokes because you are not compensating for tall teeth.

The blade will run cooler and feel less drag in longer cuts. On test cuts you should see a cleaner face with less raised grain or tearout on crosscuts.

If you do not see these changes, re-check the joint: spots left high will still cause problems. Also confirm the set and that no teeth are damaged.

Small, consistent improvements are normal — large leaps usually mean the saw needed other repair first.

When to Skip Jointing

Skip jointing if the saw has missing or badly damaged teeth. Jointing cannot rebuild a broken tooth.

If gullets are extremely worn or the tooth tips are so short that further removal would shorten life, do not joint. In those cases re-toothing or professional sharpening is the right move.

Do not joint hardened or factory-treated teeth that are not meant for hand filing. Some modern blades use hardened tips or special coatings; jointing with a file will do little and can damage tools.

Also skip jointing when the tooth tops already appear uniform and the saw is tracking and cutting well. A needless joint can shave useful metal without benefit.

If you feel unsure about how much metal to remove, err on the side of less. Jointing is about small corrections, not heavy metal removal.

Specs and Signals

What good jointing looks like:

• Tooth tops that show uniform bright metal across the blade after marker checks.
• Even file engagement during subsequent filing; each tooth takes a similar number of light strokes.

Tools and matching:

• Use a flat jointing file or plate sized to span several teeth at once. Pair the saws tooth pitch with a matching saw file categorized as coarse, medium, or fine. Choose a jointing tool that removes metal more gently than the main filing tool.

Tolerance guidance (how close is close enough):

• Aim for very small differences in height between teeth, a narrow tolerance measured in fractions of a millimeter. You want the tops close enough that filing feels uniform, not perfectly identical to the microscopic level.

Warning signals that jointing is not the fix:

• The saw still pulls sharply to one side after jointing and correct set. That often points to missing teeth, bent plate, or incorrect set rather than tooth height alone.
• Jointing removes a noticeable portion of gullet depth or shortens teeth significantly. Stop and reassess.

When jointing helps most:

• Saws that cut unevenly, require uneven filing strokes, or produce ragged, inconsistent chips. These symptoms respond well to a careful jointing pass.

The Bottom Line

Add a short jointing step when tooth heights are uneven. It evens starting points so filing is faster, cuts track straighter, and the saw shares the work across more teeth.

Do it gently, check often, and skip it if teeth are damaged or the blade is not suited to hand work. The small time spent jointing usually pays back quickly in filing speed and cutting performance.