Choosing Tools

There are a wide assortment of saws on the market and all have specific uses for different jobs. A few give better access, others are needed to cut curves and shapes some give a quick cut and other saws are better for more precise important joints. Choosing the right saw for the job ensures the best possible results.

How to get it done In Easy to follow steps

1) Choosing a saw to cut long lengths of wood

While cutting long pieces of wood or sheets of timber, panel saws and also rip saws are your best options.
These ‘hand saws’ tend to have thick blades which cut on the pull motion ( as opposed to the push which helps keep the blade rigid. This is essential in order to get a thoroughly clean cut.

2) Choosing a saw for more precise cuts and joints

For cutting joints and for more precision the best choices would be the tenon saw and the dovetail saw.

These are ‘Back Saws’, what are known as because of there steel backs ( the top edges of the saws). The weight of the steel back assist and steady the saw for more precise cuts.

The tenon saw ought to be used for cutting tenon joints ( along with general sawing jobs) whilst the Dovetail saw should be used for other joints such as dovetails.

3) Choosing a saw to cut curves

For cutting curves and shapes, saws with more teeth are needed. For these jobs you should use bow saws or coping saws.

A bow saw consists of a narrowed toothed blade suspended between two long narrow handles that are supported and separated by a narrow rod in the centre of the handles making an H shape. The blade is kept in tension with a twisted cord that is attached to the opposite ends of the handles. The cord is actually twisted using a flat key attached to one loop of the cord. The key hits the centre rod which keeps the cord from untwisting

A coping saw consists of a very thin blade stretched between the ends of a C-shaped body to which the handle is attached. The blade is easily removed from its frame, so that it can be passed through a drilled hole in the middle of a piece of wood, reattached, and start cutting from the middle of the piece

4) Choosing a saw to cut metal

To cut metal you will need a hacksaw. Hacksaw’s consist of a tough fine-toothed blade, stretched taut in a metal frame.

5) Electric saws

There also are various kinds machine powered saws. The three most common used in Diy are the Scroll saw, the Jigsaw, and the Mitre saw.

A scroll saw is the powered version of the coping saw, used for cutting intricate curves

A jigsaw is used for cutting curves into a piece of wood. It is usually used in a more artistic fashion than other saws, which only cut in straight lines and exist mainly to chop pieces of wood to length for building structure.

A mitre saw ( sometimes called a drop saw) is a power tool used to make a quick, accurate crosscut in a work piece ( however there are non-electrical versions). It is most frequently used to cut wood, although some plastics and light metals can also be cut with the tool Most mitre saws are relatively small and portable, with common blade sizes ranging from eight to 12 inches. The mitre saw makes cuts simply by pulling a spinning circular saw blade down onto a work piece in a short, controlled motion .