Hodgepodge 188/365 - Saws

Last weekend, I got to do a little sawing of brass, using a jeweler's saw. Today, doing trailwork, my team used handsaws and a five-foot crosscut saw. This got me wondering how many different kinds of saws there are out there. Wikipedia to the rescue, and man, there are tons! Among handsaws alone (read the list out loud: it's like poetry):

Felloe saw, from the Arnold Zlotoff
Tool Museum, South Hero, VT

artillery saw
butcher's saw
crosscut saw (for cutting across the grain)
docking saw
farmer's or miner's saw
felloe saw
floorboard/flooring saw
grafting/grafter saw
ice saw
Japanese saw (a pull saw)
keyhole/compass saw
pad saw
panel saw
plywood saw
pruning saw
rip saw (for cutting with the grain)
rule or combination saw
salt saw
stave saw (similar to a felloe saw, but for barrel staves)
Turkish or monkey saw (also a pull saw)
veneer saw
wire saw

A modern backsaw

And then there's a subset of handsaws called backsaws, so named because they have a thinner blade backed with steel or brass to maintain rigidity:

bead saw/gent's saw/jeweler's saw
blitz saw
carcase saw
dovetail saw
electrician's saw
mitre-box saw
sash saw

And finally, frame saws, such as coping, hack, and surgical saws. The jeweler's saw I used last weekend was a frame saw: you insert the sawblade into two clamps on a frame, as shown to the left.

And that's just the hand saws. Never mind the circular blade saws (like radial arm and rotary) and reciprocating blade saws (like a jigsaw) or the continuous band saws or the chainsaws (my least favorite kind, by far—though they are quick, I'll give 'em that).

You can find out what all the saws listed above were used for here. And I will mention that this list taught me a new word: felly or felloe: the outer rim of a wooden wheel, to which the spokes are attached. Who knew? And who knew it required a special saw? (See above for one historical example.)

To end, I will point out that crosscut saws come in two varieties: felling and bucking (above and below, respectively, in the first photo). They also have various tooth patterns, including plain, M, great American, champion, lance, and perforated lance. The last three add "rakers" to the cutting teeth to clear away the cut wood fibers. Here are some pictures and definitions.

And finally, here is a video about using Japanese pull saws. Just because.

Sorry this is a jumble and a ramble (though I hope you liked the "poem"). I'm tired: it's been a long day of sawing! Mostly with one something like this: a pruning saw—