Saws of various types have been with us for a long time. The first tool to use a serrated edge was made in Paleolithic times, 10,000 years ago. It was made of chipped stone and would have been a very effective cutting tool.
You only think you know how to use a saw, but, you never knew a saw could do THIS! Click here to find out how to use a saw to do the impossible!
You Think You Know How to Use a Saw?
Using a saw, such as a wood saw, is easy. Yes? Think again.
Many people don’t know how to use a wood saw properly. There’s more to it than you might think. A simple task like cutting a piece of wood takes the right tools, the right knowledge, and some good technique.
A crosscut saw is used to cut across the wood grain. A rip saw is used along the grain.
Start by measuring precisely where you need to cut and mark it with a pencil. Do it again, just to make sure that you’ve measured correctly. Draw the cut line.
Start the cut using your thumb to guide the saw blade. Start cutting near the handle for a crosscut saw and away from the handle for a ripsaw. Cut so that the cut is on the waste side of the pencil line.
Cut with long light cuts. Use some 2×2 as a guide to get a straight cut. Don’t put pressure on the blade.
Even the most obvious saw cutting task takes skill and some specialized knowledge. Here are some less conventional uses of a saw.
Wood Carving
On Father’s Day in Reedsport, Oregon there’s a very specialized sawing activity going on. It features woodcarvers from home and abroad. What’s special is the tools they use to create their wood sculptures.
The Oregon Chainsaw Carving Championships sees chainsaw-wielding wood carvers create eagles, fish and more from huge pieces of wood. There are 90-minute quick carving competitions as well as less frantic events that take several days.
The carvers can carve huge chunks of wood with precision and subtlety. The tip of the chainsaw seems to be a delicate tool in their hands as they reveal wonderful animals and fantasy figures from within the wood. Strange to think about how dangerous a chainsaw can be in the wrong hands.
Chainsaw wood carving isn’t confined to Oregon. Competitions take place across the world. Chainsaw carving championships take place as far afield as Canada, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
Jigsaw Puzzle
If you’ve ever spent a rainy afternoon assembling a jigsaw you’ll know how intricate the pieces can be. Commercially available jigsaw puzzles are made by machines and cut out by a press.
The name, jigsaw, is also used to describe a specialized saw. A jigsaw is a power-tool that is designed to cut intricate shapes. It can be used to cut out your own, homemade jigsaw puzzle.
Cut Rocks
You don’t expect to be able to cut rocks with a saw but you can. Here’s how to cut rocks with a tile saw.
Mark the rock. Use a tile saw connected up to a water supply. Set the rock in a vice.
Wear safety goggles. Have a gentle flow of water on the blade. Cut the rock allowing the blade to pull itself slowly through the rock.
Once completed turn off the power and the water. You should have a perfectly cut rock. The cut side of the rock can be polished to reveal the internal structure of the rock.
These cut rocks make attractive features in ornamental gardens. They can also be used as attractive bookends or paperweights.
Play Music
A saw maybe a creative tool in the right hands. A craftsman can fashion a beautiful piece of furniture or build a home. The musical arts are not usually thought of as part of the carpenter’s skill set.
Saws are used to make music in some folk music traditions. They are also a surprising comedy hit on the vaudeville stage or at home. All you need is a saw and a violin bow.
Hold a handsaw with the handle between your knees and the blade extended in front of you. Bend the blade and run the violin bow along the blunt edge. It will produce a beautiful high-pitched ethereal sound.
You can adjust the pitch by experimenting with the tension or bend in the blade. It’s difficult to play a specific tune without a lot of practice but it’s still an impressive stunt.
Perfect Holes
It’s easy to imagine a saw cutting a straight line. With practice and with a guiding length of 2X2 the straight line can be very accurate. It’s less easy to imagine how a saw can cut a perfect circle.
Try cutting a circle with a conventional wood saw and it looks like no more than a series of straight lines. The best you will achieve is a regular looking multisided shape like an octagon. Certainly not a perfect circle.
You could try with a jigsaw. This gives you more control and flexibility. The result is likely to be better than with a wood saw but it’s still likely to be a distorted circle at best.
The tool for the job is a hole saw. This is a tool that has teeth like a saw arranged in a circle. They come in a variety of diameters and fit onto a drill like a drill bit.
The hole saw cuts a plug of wood. The hole is the same diameter as the blade. It is a perfect circle every time.
The Surprising Saw
Never underestimate the humble saw. It’s easy to make errors doing the simplest tasks so make sure you know how to use a saw effectively and safely. You may be surprised by the variety of types and extraordinary uses of the saw.
Browse our blog for more great information for homeowners.