Help needed with saws

[Farjo]

Or.. help sawly needed :groan

After a rough few years, my Mum has been streamlining her house and has found that she has several saws. She'd like to have some of them handy and give the rest to charity shops, however neither I nor her know much about them.

The help we need is to pick out say one of each type to keep and to understand what each one of for, how it can be used.

I took these pictures; I've no idea if the angles or the ruler are helpful so if other views would be more helpful just say.

Comments on even one or two would be most helpful, thank you.

Saw A




Saw B




Saw C




Saw D




Saw E




Saw F




Saw G






Saw H






Saw J




Saw K




Saw L




Saw M




Saw N




Saw O




Saw P




Saw Q

[mickvp]

B, and D are hacksaws, and are for sawing metal.

P is a junior hacksaw. For the same purpose but smaller for improved access depending on the job.

[mickvp]

F and M are both wood saws, and course blades for live wood. F is more for pruning branches and M is more for cutting thicker stuff. Can't remember their correct names (I think F may be a pruning saw though)

[Farjo]

Cheers Mick :thumbup


So a junior hacksaw is not for young people, but for smaller jobs?

Any tip on how to choose between saws B and D? She just wants to keep one of each type.

[mickvp]

I prefer the D type personally as it has the thumb notch at the front for your other hand, but that's a personal thing, either one is fine, but both look to be missing some teeth so a new blade on either one wouldn't go amiss.

I'm not sure if junior hacksaws were originally designed for wee boys, but that's what mines gets used for - its one of those things you might never need, but invaluable when you do

[Woodzey80]

C is a tenon saw & Q is a dovetail saw, both quite self explanitory ie the tenon saw is for motice & tenon joints. The dovetail saw is for intracate dovetail joints. Both saws would suit a bench joiner & not a great deal of use for the average bloke !!
Im in the building trade & only ever used these saws way back in college.

[YamFazFan]

A Junior hacksaw is invaluable for shortening small screws & bolts.

[Farjo]

Cheers YFF and thanks again Mick. Just because I really do know nothing about this... when you say "the D type" you mean the type that Saw D is, not saws of a type named 'D' (if you see what I mean)?

OK we'll keep the junior saw and Mum can choose between B and D

[Farjo]

C is a tenon saw & Q is a dovetail saw, both quite self explanitory ie the tenon saw is for motice & tenon joints. The dovetail saw is for intracate dovetail joints. Both saws would suit a bench joiner & not a great deal of use for the average bloke !!
Im in the building trade & only ever used these saws way back in college.

Great, that's really helpful, looks like we won't be keeping those. Saw Q looks like it could have been used by an 1800's surgeon :eek

[YamFazFan]

I would hang onto the timber saw 'A'.It looks to be in pretty good nick and the teeth look pretty sharp.Good make as well.The tree pruning saws aside,this would probably be the most usefull/used of the wood cutting saws.

[fazersharp]

saw f is known as a pull saw - see the teeth are pointing backwards so it cuts when you pull towards you, for cutting small branches.
I would keep saw "d" over the other hacksaw as it is a newer square frame and has better clearance from blade to frame then the older rounded one.
This and the junior one I would keep but get new blades
saw M is a bow saw for cutting logs
Saw A is general carpentry saw and in good nick.
C is a tennon saw also useful for thin careful cuts

These are the only ones I would keep, but having said that the others could be useful for a once time job that will knacker the blade like cutting breeze blocks or anything that isn't wood that will blunt the blade.
With saw a I used to hang onto them for too long when it saw blunt, but for £10 you can get two and the difference between a used one and a new sharp one is amazing and for £5 is a no brainer.   

[YamFazFan]

Like fazersharp says,saws are so cheap now,that most carpenters don't bother sharpening them anymore,they just get chucked away when blunt.Years ago they were relatively more expensive and the time taken to sharpen them was economically more viable.I allways spray the tree saws that are stored in the shed with a quick coat of silicone spray before putting away.it stops the rust and is non oily.seems to be getting expensive stuff for a can now tho .

[darrsi]

I reckon saw B would work much more efficiently with the blades teeth on the outside, rather than on the inside.  :lol

[BIG MAC]

What's the joke?

[slimwilly]

Saw B has the blade fitted upside down, the smooth side down, so it will just rub :lol

[esetest]

A,J,K,L for general carpentry and DIY  . Band D hacksaws for cutting metal and plastics .C is a tenon saw for more precise cutting of wood .
F is a pruning saw . P is a junior hacksaw for small places and cutting bolts . Q used by joiners my grandfather had one .

[locksmith]

Any of the Hard Point timber saws that have lost their sharpness are only good for the bin, you can't sharpen them.
Most of those hacksaw blades are shagged as well!

[Farjo]

Thanks all, very helpful.

[goldfazer]

I'd say if you don't know the difference between types of saw, give 'em all away and get a pro in

[Farjo]

:lol Nice lateral thinking. My Mum does have some experience of woodworking and it's something that she would like to take up again. It's only me wot noes nuffin.