Hacksaws: what is it, features and types

A hacksaw is one of the main tools in the home craftsman's arsenal. Such a tool is indispensable in order to saw off branches in the garden, shorten fence boards, make blanks for garden furniture and perform many more diverse jobs. The correct choice of such a device plays a colossal role for safety, convenience of work and the quality of the formed cut, therefore, it is worth dwelling in more detail on all aspects of the purchase and operation of hacksaws.

A hacksaw is a portable tool that is used to cut sheets, bars from a wide variety of materials: wood, plastic, drywall and metal.

In everyday life, a hacksaw is usually used for wood, which is considered the real ancestor of a large group of hand-held household tools. The history of its appearance is rooted in ancient times, when mankind had just learned to extract and process iron. With the development of technology, the instrument has undergone many metamorphoses and managed to acquire a variety of modifications designed to perform dozens of jobs.

Hand saws differ in many ways:

• the size of the cutting blade;
• grade of steel used;
• the configuration of the teeth;
• handle features.

The design of a hand saw includes two components: the hacksaw blade itself and the holder, which is a special frame to which the saw blade is attached. Such a part is often called a frame or machine. It can be sliding or one-piece. The former are considered more comfortable, since they make it possible to fix canvases of several sizes. On one side of the holder there is a static head and a tail with a handle, and on the opposite side there is a moving head, a screw to create tension on the saw blade.

The heads have special slots, they are used to fasten the metal part.

The canvas in the bed is fixed according to the following scheme: its ends are positioned in the slots so that the teeth are directed from the direction of the handle, while the holes themselves at the edges of the saw blade and the small holes in its heads must completely match.

Then the pins are fixed in the slot and the canvas is well pulled, not very weakly, but at the same time not too tight. If the saw blade is overstretched, then during sawing it will break from any skew, and the weakly tensioned one will begin to bend, which often leads to a deterioration in the cut, and can also cause tool breakage.

The pitch of hacksaws made of soft metals is 1 mm, and of hard ones - 1.5 mm. For tools made of steel, the cutter pitch is 2 mm. For carpentry work, a blade with a small step of 1.5 mm is mainly used, then, with a length of 20-25 cm, the tool includes 17 cutters.

When cutting with a hacksaw, at least 2-3 teeth are immediately involved in the work. In order to minimize the risk of the saw sticking in the material being processed, the cutters are "set apart", that is, each pair is carefully bent in different directions by 0.3–0.6 mm.

There is another option for wiring, it is called "corrugated". With a small step of the teeth, 2-3 teeth are retracted to the left side, and the next 2-3 teeth - to the right. If the step is average, then one tooth is wound to the right, the other to the left, and the third is not bred. In such a case, metal is captured along with the teeth, thus corrugated stains are obtained.

The canvases are produced in sizes from 15 to 40 cm, while their width is 10-25 mm, and the thickness ranges from 0.6-1.25 mm. Usually, case hardened steel or carbon alloy is used as the main material, less often tungsten or chromium alloyed alloys are used.

The teeth can be hardened or ordinary, the former are disposable, and the latter can be sharpened.

Depending on the characteristics of the canvas and the structure of the cloves, there are several types of hacksaws:

• manual - the length of the saw blade does not exceed 550 mm, the teeth are of medium size;
• wide tool - optimal for frequent and intensive use, blade size - more than 600 mm, teeth - large, step - large.

Depending on the shape, the functional purpose of the hacksaws also differs.

So, the saw familiar to everyone has a standard rectangular shape - these tools are universal.

To cut dry branches and carry out other similar work, you should opt for products with a rounded blade: such hacksaws quite easily and quickly slide along the wood.

The shape of the handle plays a significant role in the ease of use of the hacksaw.

Many people do not understand what is the difference between a regular saw and a hacksaw. In fact, a hacksaw is by no means an independent working tool, but a separate type of saw. Its features boil down to the fact that it can be used in a strictly manual way, the cut is made by means of intensive reciprocating movements.

Saws in general are not only hand-held, but also electric, and in addition, they operate on liquid fuel - gasoline. They can move back and forth, as well as rotate (for example, like circular saws).

A hacksaw is distinguished by one handle, and saws often have multiple handles.

The blade of the tool is strictly straight, except for the plywood sawing tool with slightly rounded edges. For other saw options, it can represent a disc moving in a circle, as well as a closed-type tape or an iridescent chain.

The action of any hacksaw is performed using cutters, which can vary in size and shape. For other types of plates, spraying can be used instead, for example, small diamond particles along the edge of the cutting edge.

When choosing a tool, the size, shape and frequency of the teeth are of paramount importance.

For delicate work with small-sized workpieces, serrated boards of 2–2.5 mm are used. For medium-sized workpieces, teeth of 3–3.5 mm are suitable, and for cutting wood and timber I use 4–6 mm.

For ordinary wood, it is better to purchase a hacksaw with large incisors, and for more delicate materials, such as, for example, fiberboard, a fine-toothed tool is suitable.

Teeth are distinguished by their shape. Depending on this parameter, hacksaws are used for different types of work.

The rip-saw device is characterized by triangular teeth with sharp oblique corners.Visually, they rather resemble small hooks sharpened on both sides. Due to this design, the hacksaw easily glides along the wood fibers and cuts the blade quite evenly, without knots and chipping.

Such equipment is optimal when it is required to cut the board along the direction of the wood grain. Usually, when sawing, large sawdust is formed, the volume of which directly depends on the size of the teeth: the higher they are, the faster the work will go.

For a cross cut, saws are optimal, the incisors of which resemble an isosceles triangle. In this case, the mechanical part of the hacksaw works when moving back and forth. This type of tool can only be used for sawing dry wood.

A special modification of cross hacksaws is considered universal, which are equipped with teeth of different types placed one after another. In this case, the long ones can cut wood material when moving forward, and during the reverse movement, the triangles significantly expand the sawing channel and cling with sawdust, as well as shavings.

You can also see specialized hacksaws in supermarkets. There the incisors are placed in several pieces, there is usually a gap between them. The tool of this type is optimal for processing wet wood, the distance between the cutters allows you to clean the fibers from wet chips, which are removed from the channel on their own.

Hacksaws are very diverse: for plywood, logs, for plastic, for laminate, for concrete, for foam blocks, for gypsum, as well as for locksmith and carpentry, pneumatic, folding and many others.

There are two basic types of hand saws: for wood and also for metal. Devices suitable for wood processing are characterized by rather large teeth and can even be used for sawing aerated concrete and drywall sheets.

Metal tools can cut almost all types of materials, including wood, expanded polystyrene, as well as polystyrene and aerated concrete. They have rather small cutters, and the cutting site comes out quite neat, small chips are formed during work.

There are several types of hacksaws for wood material: classic, circular, and also thorn.

The classic hacksaw is also called standard, wide. It is a traditional sawing tool and is used for longitudinal as well as cross cuts. With the help of a classic hacksaw, you can cut down tree branches or shorten boards. Such saws are used in joinery and carpentry, it provides a fairly quick and easy cutting, and the cut itself turns out to be deep and very rough, while large chips are formed.

The circular saw is considered a specialized tool, due to the small width of the blade, it allows you to cut curved parts. The main task of such a device is reduced to the possibility of cutting sheet material when it is necessary to work along clearly defined contours.

A narrow web is considered more maneuverable.

Circular saws are quite light and compact, often the cutters are located on both sides and can vary in size. Thus, it is possible to cut with different degrees of purity. If you buy a model with fine teeth, then the cut will turn out to be smooth and even.

A spiked hacksaw is often called a butt saw or a hacksaw. This is a rather peculiar tool, the basic task of which is to remove all protruding grooves or spikes. Such saws are traditionally used by locksmiths and carpenters to form a perfectly smooth cut.

The finger saw blade is rather thin, so the sawing channel comes out rather narrow.

So that the canvas does not begin to bend, a small back is attached to the side opposite to the teeth (it is necessary to give sufficient rigidity).

The incisors of the tool are made in the form of an isosceles triangle.

Suitable only for cross-cutting, with the thickness of the functional part not exceeding 1.5 mm.

We should also dwell on a hacksaw for metal. It has its own design, which includes a cutting blade and a frame for high-quality grip.

The blades are usually replaceable, the teeth are small, and are specially hardened.

The blade is made from high speed steel alloy. Dimensions do not exceed 40 cm in length, the cutting depth is limited by the parameters of the frame.

The disadvantage of such heads is rapid wear, and users also note that there are frequent cases of breakage of individual teeth.

A variety of manufacturers are engaged in the manufacture of saws. Japanese models are most in demand on the market. Their main differences are as follows: they move towards themselves, thin blades and often planted incisors are characteristic, the cut is rather narrowed without the risk of damaging the wood fibers, for the convenience of work, the handle is entwined with bamboo.

The assortment of Japanese instruments is represented by several models:

• "Kataba" - this is a saw, the teeth in which are made either only for the longitudinal, or only for the cross-section on one side only;
• "Rioba" - a combined type of hacksaws, the cutters are placed on two sides, with one for longitudinal sawing, and on the other for transverse;
• "Dozuki" - needed for narrow cuts, the size of the teeth is reduced to the handle, making it easier to get started.

Of the other hacksaws, the saws of the Swedish company Bahco and the American concern Stanley are especially reliable. The tools of the German company Gross are characterized by consistently high quality.

From the budget segment, Teflon-coated hacksaws from Gross Piranha are in demand, as well as a universal tool of the Stanley General Purpose brand.

The Zubr, Enkor and Izhstal hacksaws are popular among domestic tools.

When handling a hacksaw, follow the safety instructions. Near the vise, you should be half-turned, while the left leg is set slightly forward so that it is located approximately along the line of the workpiece being processed, and the whole body is supported on it.

The hacksaw is held with the right hand, the handle should rest against the back of the hand, while the thumb should be located on the handle, the remaining tool is supported along the lower axis.

During cutting, the hacksaw is placed evenly horizontally, all hand movements should be as smooth as possible, without sudden jerks. The hacksaw should get such a scale that most of the blade is involved, and not just its central sections. The standard length of the optimal span is approximately two-thirds of the length of the entire tool.

The instrument operates at an approximate speed of 40-60 runs per minute (referring to back and forth runs). Thick materials are sawn at a slightly slower speed, while soft materials are cut faster.

With hand-held hacksaws, all work is performed without using a cooling system. In order to reduce the resistance of materials and the force of friction, use a lubricant made of graphite ointment, as well as lard, mixed in a ratio of 2 to 1. Such a composition lasts for quite a long time.

During sawing, the blade periodically turns to the side. As a result, the teeth begin to crumble or breakage of the tool occurs. In addition, a slit is formed on the object to be cut.The main reason for such troubles is insufficient saw blade tension or inability to properly handle the saw. If the blade has gone sideways, it is better to start cutting from the other side, since an attempt to straighten the bevel in most cases ends with a breakdown of the tools.

With illiterate hardening, the teeth begin to break. In addition, damage to the cutters occurs as a result of excessive pressure on the tool, especially often when working with narrowed workpieces, as well as if various foreign inclusions of a solid structure are interspersed into the material.

If at least one single tooth breaks down, it makes no sense to continue cutting: this leads to breakage of adjacent incisors and bluntness of all remaining ones.

To restore the sawing ability of the hacksaw, the teeth adjacent to them are ground on the grinding machine, the stuck remnants of the broken are removed and the manipulations are continued.

If the blade breaks during work, then the hacksaw goes into the slot, so the workpiece is turned over and they begin to saw with another tool.

For information on how to choose a hacksaw for wood, see the next video.