Types Of Saws

May, 26, 2018
staff contributor

30 Types of Saws and their uses

Saws have been in use by tradesmen for thousands of years, but were however very simple tools back then. Because of the developments in materials and technology, new saws were needed to make the job of carpenters, welders, builders and other service professionals easier and faster.

Nowadays, there are many saw types in the market, with each type designed to be more effective in performing a specific function

Despite the many saw types available, they can be categorized into hand saws and powered saws. Powered saws use electrical or battery power and are therefore more powerful for cutting than hand saws. Hand saws are popular however, due to their affordable price and are more appropriate for cutting smaller objects

We list below 31 different types of saws, categorized into Hand Saws and Power Saws.

Hand Saws

Hand saws can perform from general cutting jobs to some very specific tasks. They are durable, versatile, and affordable.

Basic Hand Saw

Basic Hand Saw

Made from steel, These saw types have a short handle often made of plastic or wood, and measure a length of about 24 to 26 inches.

Uses: Basic Hand Saws are good for cutting wood, drywall, and fiberglass. They are however not the most precise of hand saws when it comes to performing these task.

Hack Saw

Hack Saw

These hand saws are fine-toothed saws that have a C-shaped frame to hold the blade under tension. The blades usually have a length of 10 to 12 inches with a smaller 6 inches version.

Uses: Hacksaws are mainly used for cutting metal, and can also cut wood and plastic pipes and conduits.

Crosscut Saw

CrossCut Saw

Also known as thwart saws. These are large saws with small teeth very close together and a thick blade. A wooden handle is common among crosscut saws, and it's often used along with the blade for marking materials that need to be cut at a right angle.

Uses: Crosscut saws work best at rough cutting wood and are designed to cut across the wood grain. There are crosscut saws made to be used by both a single person or two people. Crosscut saws are excellent at trimming limbs or branches, and rough cutting lumber.

Coping Saw

Coping Saw

It's a small saw with a thin, narrow, hardened steel blade. The blade is tensioned between the ends of a C-shaped, stretchable frame and it's easily replaceable.

Uses: They are popular for precise and intricate cuts such as trimming work or scrolling. The coping saw is also useful for cutting tight curves in light wood and molding, making it popular among carpenters and artists.

Fret Saw

Fret Saw

The fret saw has a similar design to the coping saw, but with a longer and larger frame .

Uses: Becuase Fret Saws can cut farther from an objects outer edges, they are great tool to use for intricate cuts.

Bow Saw

Bow Saw

It is a bow-shaped crosscut saw with a metal frame and a thick, wide blade.

Vaneer Saws

Vaneer Saw

This saw's design consists of a short double-edged blade with usually no more than 13 teeth per inch.

Uses: As its name states, this saw is made almost entirely for quick and precise veneer work. A good recommendation is to always keep the teeth clean of debris.

Wallboard Saws

Wallboard Saw

It resembles a keyhole saw, but generally has a shorter, wider blade . The wallboard saw was not design for cutting wood, resulting in fewer teeth per inch.

Uses: It's main use is to make holes in drywall, or for creating holes for electrical outlets and utility plugs.

BackSaw

Backsaw

These saw types are relatively short saws. They come with a narrow blade that is reinforced along its upper edge.

Uses: Back saws are used for cutting dense wood. They provide a fine, straight cut.

Japanese Saw

Japanese Saw

The Japanese saw is known for it's precision. It can reach places that most saws cannot. It is built with a single handle and a cutting blade made of strong, thin steel.

Uses: It's uses include but are not limited to cutting both soft and hardwoods very precisely.

Pruning Saw

Pruning Saw

The pruning saw consists of a pistol-grip, single handle , with a curved blade of 13 to 15 inches. Because of it's coarse teeth, the blade can cut and remove materials fast.

Uses: This saw is popular among landscapers, tree surgeons, and lawn services professionals. It Reaches low-hanging branches, and lines of dense vines.

Flooring Saws

It is a handsaw with teeth in both edges of the blade, and it has up to 15 teeth per inch in it.

Uses: Flooring saws do a great job replacing floor panels by mid cutting. This saw allows for a fast, easy wood floor installation.

Pole Saws

Pole Saw

Consists of an extendable pole with a pruning blade in one of its ends. The extendable pole can reach up to 16 feet, and the blade is usually between 6 and 8 inches long.

Uses: Ideal for pruning trees.

Power Saws

Power saws are the perfect saws for doing large, challenging jobs, quickly and with the best accuracy possible. Powered saws have different ways of cutting, with a circular blade, reciprocating blade, or continuous band. Below we list out some of the different power saws out there.

Portable Band Saw

Portable Band Saw

This tool has a band with fine teeth able to cut relatively small objects, when compared to stationary band saw. It's compact design and portability make it an extremely useful tool.

Uses: Portable band saws are often used for cutting pipes with a maximum diameter of 4 inches, wood, and even metal objects. It can Sometimes be difficult however to make straight cuts with this saw.

Stationary Band Saw

Stationary Band Saw

It is a floor-standing saw with a height of about 37 inches. It utilizes a continuous sawing band moved by pulleys above and below the table to cut through different materials.

Uses: Does an outstanding job cutting pipes, PVC, tubes, and wood with the limitation of only reaching a depth of a few inches. Resawing is also possible to do with a stationary band saw, but it requires patience and skills.

Circular Saw

Circular Saw

Also called buzz saw, it is a mechanical saw that uses a serrated blade that's up to 9 inches diameter. The blades are changeable and the right blade for the intended function can always be installed. It is the most common type of electric saw, and has both a corded and cordless version

Uses: Circular saws can cut metal, plastic, concrete etc, with the adequate blade.

Chop Saw

Chop Saw

Also known as abrasive saw or a concrete saw, it is similar to the circular saw, but much larger and faster . With the right blade, this saw can cut many different materials.

Uses: Chop saws are perfect for cutting wood and metal.They are widely used by carpenters and cabinet makers for their fast and precise cuts.

Chain Saw

chain Saw

This saw type is best known to everyone for the number of times it has made its appearance on television. It is a saw with a motor that spins a toothed chain at high speed. These saws can be a little heavy and difficult to control.

Uses: Chain saws are used almost exclusively for cutting trees, and at times to cut large pieces of ice

JigSaw

Jig Saw

This power saw has a short serrated blade, that moves up and down at a certain speed. It can make fast and clean cuts in curves and angles up to 45 degrees. They come in both a corded and cordless version

Uses: It's design makes it great at cutting curves or non-straight patterns over wood and plastic materials.

Panel Saw

Panel Saw

These saws are available vertically and horizontally, and are used to cut large materials. The Horizontal version is a kind of table with a sliding panel that moves the material through the serrated blade, while the vertical version allows the saw's blade to be moved through the material.

Uses: As it's name suggest, this saw is thought for cutting large panels, solid-wood, plywood, laminates, melamine, and metal sheets. Panel saws are popular in the cabinet making industry.

Miter Saws

Miter Saw

This electric saw is used to make precise cuts and at the selected angle. They are relatively small, and their circular blades are 8 - 12 inches in diameter, located on top of a moving table.

Uses: Makes precise angle cuts for trimming or jobs requiring accurate measurements. If used along with tables, this saw cuts long mitered ends.

Compound Miter Saw

Compound Miter Saw

The compound miter saws is similar to the miter saw with the difference being that it can cut angles greater than 90 degrees, which allow it to get more complex angles

Uses: Compound miter saws have the power to make miter and compound cuts in a straight line. They are normally used to cut moldings.

Table Saw

Table Saw

Table saws have a blade that's located on a table and an axis that works with an electric motor. To cut an object, you would have to run the object through the blade

Uses:Table saw are ideal for cutting wood and for making rip cuts.

Oscillating Saw

Oscillating Saw

scillating Saws have an oscillating blade, which in addition to making small cuts, can be replaced to do several jobs, such as scraping or polishing.

Uses:The versitility of this saw type allows it to be used to cut, grind, remove grout or caulk, and scrap.

Reciprocating Saw

Reciprocating Saw

Reciprocating Saws are a type of power saw that works through a system of pushing and pulling the blade quickly, allowing it to cut in the direction you want.

Uses: Demolition workers utilize reciprocating saws very often. Cutting wood, tubing, and plastic are among its uses. Additionally, it can be used to cuts beneath walls or wood joints

Radial Arm Saw

This saw type comes with a motorized arm that allows the blade to be directed to any part of the cutting table, to make many kinds of cuts.

Uses: Making identical compound or miter cuts are the strong points of radial arm saws.

Rotary Saw

Rotary Saw

Also known as a spiral cutting saw, it has a fixed blade at one end and performs cutting without the need for a guide or a hole.

Uses: Popular for making cuts into many different types of materials including paneling and drywalls for access or repairs.

Scroll Saw

Scroll Saw

A Scroll Saw is an electric saw that operates in a continuous or alternative band, and cut the material in greater details. They are designed to be seated on a table when operating it

Uses: Executes cuts with precise rotation and detail. The scroll saw is amazingly good at creating curves with edges, cutting difficult patterns, spiral lines, or scrollwork in general.

Track Saw

Track Saw

Track saws are similar in appearance to circular saws and have both corded and cordless versions . They are well known for their precision and ease of use.

Uses: They are great at making smooth cuts in large materials, such as wooden and plastic boards with little effort.

Tile Saw

Tile Saw

Description: It is very similar to a miter saw, with the difference being that the tile saw has a diamond-coated blade and a water cooling system that makes it easy to cut through tiles.

Uses: Popular for cutting various ceramic or porcelain tiles into exact shapes and sizes. Some models of this saw can also cut glass.

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