What a Hacksaw is For

What a Hacksaw is For

One of the main tools for working with various materials from a home master is a hacksaw. It has several varieties used depending on the type of surface to be treated. It is important for each of them to be able to use correctly.

What is a hacksaw?

In carpentry, a hacksaw is a special kind of hand saw designed to cut wood, metal, aerated concrete, plastic and other materials. Scientists find mentions of the first such tools in ancient times in the civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome. Over a centuries-old history, the hacksaw has undergone significant changes, but has not lost its relevance and is always stored in the set of basic tools of the home master.

Hacksaw device

Like any other carpentry-locksmith tool, the hacksaw has a certain structure that affects its performance. It consists of:

  1. Work, hacksaw or saw blade. It is made of metal of various alloys, which together with the size affect the purpose of the tool. Another important parameter of the working blade is the number, shape and size of the teeth. Thanks to them, the surface is divided into parts using the reciprocating movements of the master.
  2. The working cloth is attached and securely fixed to the handle or a special frame. It performs the functions of fixation, protection and ease of use. When selecting a saw, its ergonomics must be taken into account.

What is a hacksaw for?

Having dealt with the definition of what a hacksaw is, it is worthwhile to dwell in more detail on the areas of its application:

  1. This tool is widely used in gardening for trimming trees and shrubs, sawing knots and rough parts of a tree.
  2. Hacksaw saws wooden parts during construction and household repairs.
  3. She cuts figures out of plywood, make curvilinear cuts or make through holes.
  4. There are special varieties for sawing metal sheets and pipes, aerated concrete blocks.
  5. Some modifications cut grooves, spikes and recessed holes.

How is a hacksaw different from a saw?

One of the main and commonly used varieties of saws is a hacksaw. It differs from other tools of this group in that:

  1. This is an exclusively hand tool. Saw hacksaw is set in motion only by reciprocating movements of the hands of the master. Whereas other saws can be electric or gasoline.
  2. When using a hacksaw, only return movements are used, while other saws can be circular.
  3. In the standard configuration, such a tool has one handle for the master to work alone.
  4. It has mainly a direct cutting blade, whereas for analogs it can be a chain, tape or disk.
  5. A hacksaw has only teeth on the working edge, while other varieties may have an abrasive.

Kinds of hacksaws

The whole variety of hacksaws can be divided into tools for:

  1. Work with wooden surfaces. This includes both a universal saw and a garden hacksaw, and some other special varieties.
  2. Metal surface treatments. This group also has its own modifications for masters of different classes.

Work with aerated concrete

The structure of the tool is:

  1. Standard with one handle.
  2. There are modifications with a solid frame.
  3. A specialized tool is a folding hacksaw, which is an attribute of a traveler’s tool kit.

Hacksaw

Often, professional craftsmen use a special carpentry hacksaw for metal, which has the following varieties:

  1. Classic model with a special frame. Often it is equipped with a rubberized handle for easy operation. Using this model, it is possible to carry out cuts in sheet metal at angles of 90º and 55º.
  2. Hacksaw. It consists of a special handle, to which the equipment is attached only on one side. A special shape of the bracket involves working in difficult conditions and creating internal cuts.

Wood hacksaw

The largest number of varieties of hacksaws is designed to work with wood. Among them are considered popular:

  1. A classic saw, which is also called standard or ordinary. It is a standard tool with a wide cutting blade for direct longitudinal or transverse cutting. The number and size of teeth may vary depending on the modification.
  2. Round or narrow tool. It differs from the classical model in that the blade blade is much narrower. Such a saw is more maneuverable. It is more convenient for it to cut sheet material along a given contour.
  3. Bow saw has a thin curved bracket. With this tool it is convenient to prune tree branches and carry out other garden work. Some varieties have a special connector for attaching a rod for working with high branches.
  4. Pass saw. It is also called spiked or peeled. It is used by carpenters or joiners to remove protruding grooves or spikes, that is, to obtain an even cut.

What a Hacksaw is For

Aerated concrete hacksaw

A special kind of tool is a foam block hacksaw, specially designed to separate or remove excess parts of aerated concrete. This brittle material requires a special tool with hard-melt brazed teeth. Thanks to this technology, it is possible to:

  1. Extend tool life. Special soldering prevents tooth abrasion and wear, so you can saw a large amount of aerated concrete.
  2. The hacksaw on drywall or wood is much sharper, but it can not be used for foam blocks, since the materials have different densities and stiffnesses. Special equipment simplifies and speeds up the process of dividing blocks into parts.
  3. Get rid of the need to buy expensive electrical or gas appliances for working with gas silicate.

Types of hacksaw teeth

All the models described above differ not only in the shape of the hacksaw blade for metal or wood, but also in the size and angle of sharpening of the teeth. In shape and sharpening, all the teeth are divided into:

  1. Accessories for longitudinal sawing along the fibers. It is equipped with large teeth sharpened at a right angle.
  2. For cross-cutting layers of workpieces. The edges of the teeth are sharpened at an angle and slightly tilted back.
  3. The so-called Japanese teeth for cross cutting. They differ from the standard counterpart by longer teeth and a double inclination of the cutting edge.
  4. Universal teeth of symmetrical size, sharpened at the edges. Suitable for longitudinal and transverse sawing.

The size of the teeth are:

  1. Shallow length of about 2-2.5 mm.
  2. Medium, the size of which is in the region of 3-3.5 mm.
  3. Large teeth are 4-6 mm long.

How to choose a hacksaw?

  1. Specialization of the model you like. It is necessary to carefully choose what material the work will be done with. Tools for aerated concrete and gardening are significantly different.
  2. Steel grade of which the cutting blade is made. Fast cutting and carbon alloys with a blade strength of 45 HRC and a cutting edge of at least 60 HRC behave best in work.
  3. Sharpening of teeth affects the quality of the cut in a certain direction or work in hard to reach places. Universal sharpening is somewhat inferior in quality of cut to more specialized models.
  4. The length of the blade varies not only in different types of models, but also differs in tools of the same category.
  5. Convenience grip. This parameter is especially important if the master will carry out a large amount of work with the tool. The more convenient the hacksaw will fit in the palm of your hand, the less tired your hand will be.

Cordless hacksaw

A special kind of tool, which appeared relatively recently, is a cordless reciprocating saw, which is also called an electric hacksaw. Such a device is useful when performing a large number of construction or garden works. The compact size allows you to use the electric saw in a limited space in which it will be difficult to cope with a conventional saw. Such a hacksaw should be selected, guided by its following characteristics:

  1. Battery capacity, which directly affects the duration of the work without recharging. Professional models can last about 5 hours before changing the battery.
  2. The voltage that affects the power and the number of movements made by the saw per unit time.
  3. Ability to connect additional batteries to increase performance.

Hacksaw rating

  1. Gross Piranha 24101. One of the best classic professional wood models with a comfortable grip from a German company with production in China. Cost. 20.
  2. Vira 800 240. A high-quality domestic saw with three-sided sharpening of teeth and their additional zakal-KOy. High quality at a modest cost of about 7.
  3. Stanley 1-15-122. Saw metal frame design with a comfortable grip. Price. 8.
  4. Stayer max cut. A convenient folding type of wood instrument, which many hunters and tourists prefer to take with them. Price. 7.
  5. Irwin 10505549. A specialized tool for professional masons to work with aerated concrete blocks. The price is 24.

How to use a hacksaw?

The principles of working with basic bench tools, which include a hacksaw, are simple, but their non-observance can lead to breakage of the saw or poor-quality cut. The main rules for handling the tool:

  1. Occupation by the master of a comfortable position while standing with firm emphasis on his feet. Hands at the elbow should be bent at an angle of 90º.
  2. Reliable fixing of the sawed surface. If possible, the material is best fixed in a vice.
  3. Hacksaw blade is firmly located strictly perpendicular to the surface. It is important to eliminate all vibrations of the tool in order to prevent its damage.
  4. Tools for metal are held with two hands, while on wood or aerated concrete. One.

How to sharpen a hacksaw?

After a certain amount of work with a hacksaw, the teeth of the saw are simply blunted. The first signs of sharpening need include:

  1. Heavy and uneven sawing.
  2. Uneven cut.
  3. The canvas often gets stuck.
  4. It is difficult to maintain a given trajectory.

When the above “symptoms” appear, each master must understand how to sharpen a hacksaw while maintaining the working profile of the teeth:

  1. Securely lock the tool in a vise or clamp.
  2. Toothed. This procedure involves alternately bending each tooth in different directions by one size by about 1.5-2 mm with a special tool.
  3. A triangular file with a small notch is selected.
  4. The angle of sharpening of the teeth is determined on the eye, which is approximately equal to 15-30º.
  5. Carry out the same number of movements with a file in the selected direction on one side. Repeat the process for the other side.
  6. The teeth are aligned in height.

Hacksaw sharpener

Precise sharpening of the hacksaw is possible with the help of a bench tool:

  1. It can be a special flat file.
  2. Files with a triangular or diamond-shaped section are more popular.
  3. Professional craftsmen always have in their arsenal a specialized set of files for sharpening.
  4. Some tools with reinforced teeth, such as tools for working on aerated concrete, can only be sharpened on professional machines.
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