Sierra de Corte Transversal

Crosscut Saws

Furniture and other wooden objects often start coming together with two items: wood, and a saw. Crosscut saws are among the most common types of saws you can find to cut wood. What makes a crosscut saw unique is its teeth, as well as how you use it. You can divide these kinds of saws into one-man saws or two-man saws.

What is a Crosscut Saw?

Just as the name implies, a crosscut saw cuts across the wood grain. The blade of the saw has a cutting edge with an alternating pattern, and the handle is usually at a right angle from the straight edge of the saw. Western crosscut saws often cut on the pull stroke, as opposed to Japanese saws, which cut on the pull stroke. One-man saws are smaller and lighter to allow easy cutting as a hand saw, while two-man saws are larger and require two people to push and pull simultaneously to operate the saw. Two-man saws are typically for much larger pieces of log.

What Are the Types of Teeth on Crosscut Saws?

Among the teeth types you can find on crosscut saws are:

  • Plain/peg tooth pattern - This type of saw has one sharp edge per alternating pattern. Peg tooth saws mostly have a raker capability to remove sawdust as you saw. They are suitable for smaller-diameter dry wood.
  • M tooth and Great American tooth patterns - These have two and three sharp edges per alternating pattern. These two patterns are generally for competition saws, and has a raker function attached. However, they are quite fatiguing for hand use. These saws are suited for dry, medium-to-hard woods.
  • Lance tooth pattern - These have an alternating single and double sharp edges, and are for cutting soft timber like spruce and redwood.
  • Champion tooth/tuttle tooth pattern - These have a similar pattern to a lance tooth but with larger single-edge patterns. Saws with this pattern are versatile and good for heavy sawing.
  • Perforated lance tooth pattern - These saws are very strong, as they are bridge-strengthened. They perform well for cutting most wood except hard and frozen pieces.

How Do You Choose a Crosscut Saw?

Follow these steps if you want to add these saws to your hand tools:

  • Be sure to know the difference between a rip saw and a crosscut saw, so you can tell them apart.
  • Decide the type of wood you will be using the saw to cut wood with. Choose the right type of saw according to the teeth of the saw. Also determine if a raker is a must-have for your saw.
  • Determine if you require a one-man or two-man saw. If you work alone most alone, then the former is sufficient. Have two-man saws in your arsenal is you often cut down large plants and trees.
  • Since you are now clear on what saw to buy, you can start shopping! Be sure to also buy the necessary tools to maintain and sharpen the saw blade when necessary.

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