Sawing sheet metal

Adjusting your jeweler´s saw frame

The jewelers saw frame with saw blades is your most important cutting tool. A jeweler’s saw is simply a device to put a saw blade in a frame under tension.

To adjust the saw frame to accommodate the saw blade, loosen the thumbscrew holding the back bar and place the wooden handle on the hollow of your shoulder holding the other end of the clamp on your bench pin. Press the saw frame against the bench pin.

String the blade, with the teeth of the blade facing down, into the lower wing of the saw frame and adjust the wing-nut. Then slide the extension until the rest of the saw blade is inserted into the upper wing slot, adjusting that wing-nut firmly.

Now, slide the extension until the blade is taut and close the extension’s wing-nut. The blade should make a high-pitched “ping” when plucked with your thumbnail, indicating that it is under tension. Lubricate with beeswax before using and during the sawing.

Contour sawing exercise

Copy onto a tin sheet metal the pattern shown using a Sharpie. You can add other patterns if you wish.

Sit with your back straight, open the bench drawer to capture the filings and hold the saw firmly. You don’t have to grab the saw, just hold it with your fingers tightly or use your hand to grip the wooden handle, whatever fits you better.

Place your sheet metal with the design on your V-shaped bench pin, hold it firmly with your left hand and start sawing keeping the blade perpendicular to the metal at all times when possible (this assures a perpendicular edge on the metal cut too).

The teeth of your saw blade cut in the downward stroke so move your sawup and down in rhythmic, swift movements, using the whole length of the saw blade for more efficient results.

If you have problems just starting to cut the edge of the metal, you can do two things: try making a mark on the edge of the metal by moving slowly your blade upwards (to make a “dent”) and then making a downward stroke sufficiently hard to let the saw blade make its first cut; or make a little slot on the edge of the metal with a file just to let you start the sawing. With practice you’ll learn to strike the edge properly and start sawing.

You can do the exercises shown in the pictures, with these you’ll practice the straight cut, right angles, round contour sawing and making circles and discs. Your hands should be relaxed, keeping the blade moving up and down smoothly while holding the metal on your bench pin.

Move the metal and not the saw frame when sawing angles and shapes.

Avoid breaking your saw blades by checking that: you are holding the metal tightly on the bench pin; you’re not exerting too much pressure, you’re being careful with sharp changes in sawing direction, checking that your blade is not loosely clamped and seeing if your sawing speed is not too fast.

When you’re trying to cut a right angle, the blade can easily get stuck.

To ease that, I’ll try to explain how to avoid it. When you get to the corner of a right angle, keep moving the saw blade up and down but without moving it forward or in any direction, just keep the saw blade moving in the same point so that the blade is able to eat the corner out and make space for itself to turn (turning the blade round 90º on the spot, so to speak). Hope this helps.

Sawing jewelry implies not only sawing sheet metal but also cast ingots and thick gauge metal wire and tubing. Make your artisan jewelry sawing beautifully intricate designs.

After sawing metal you are now ready to anneal it in order to shape it to whatever your design idea is.