Saws

I use two types of handsaws during cabinetry: cross-cut and rip sawsDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More.  The difference between sawsDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More for cross-cutting (sawing perpendicular to the grain) and ripping (sawing parallel to the grain) lie in the tooth shape.  The teeth of cross-cut sawsDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More are shaped like the points of knives, whereas those of rip sawsDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More are shaped like chisels.

(Left) Rip teeth viewed from the side and the toe; and (right) crosscut teeth viewed from the side and the toe. The “toe” of a sawDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More is the end furthest from the handle or, in cases of frame-saws (see below) the direction of thrust.

It is commonly thought that medieval sawsDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More were exclusively frame sawsDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More (sawsDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More where the blade is held under tension within an H-shaped frame), yet hand sawsDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More similar to those in common use today were known as well.  Earlier forms had the handle parallel to the cutting edge of the sawDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More.  By the early 15th century, however, a ‘pistol grip’ style handle had emerged which re-oriented the user’s hand to grasp nearly perpendicular to the direction of the cut.  This handle is an open handle still found in today’s smaller sawsDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More, such as the backed tenon sawDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More used to cut the dovetails, and is nearly identical to the closed –or ‘D’- handles with which we are most familiar.

I also used a frame-saw for shaping the keyhole.  Frame-saws are more common in Medieval illuminations and carvings than are hand-saws.  The accepted hypotheses for the greater number of frame-saws are in regards to the economy of metal (frame-saws use significantly less iron or steel than their hand-saw counterparts) and their ease of use (being held in tension, a frame-saw isn’t at risk of binding or kinking on the push-stroke).  Frame-saws are also useful when sawing holes and decorative piercework, as the blade can be detached from the frame, threaded through a small hole, reattached to the frame, and then used to sawDetail from the Standebuch of Jost Amman, 1568 showing a frame saw Saws are among the most recogniza... More out keyholes and other more intricate forms.