A saw is a tool that uses a hard blade or wire with an abrasive edge to cut through softer materials. The cutting edge of a saw is either a serrated blade or an abrasive. A saw may be worked by hand, or powered by steam, water, electricity or other power.

Types of Saw:

1. 1. Hand Saw:

Hand saw uses the blades thickness to remain stiff. The pull stroke also reduces the amount of stiffness required. Some examples are: crosscut saw, rip saw, veneer saw. The second category of hand saws utilizes a thinner blade by reinforcing it with a steel or brass back. Back saws are differentiated by the length of the blade. Some examples are: miter saw, tenon saw.

Concrete Sawing:

• Concrete Saw is a type of hand saw which is powered by an internal combustion engine and used with a Diamond Blade to cut concrete or asphalt pavement. This is also referred as flat sawing Concrete slab saws can be powered by gasoline, diesel, electric, hydraulic and even pneumatic engines. The slab saw diamond blades can range from 12 – 60 inches in diameter and can cut up to 27 inches in depth. A 120 horsepower, water-cooled, gas powered slab saw can cut up to 27 inches deep. When no exhaust or fumes are allowed, such as in food preparation areas, hospitals, and in enclosed shopping malls, an electric or hydraulic concrete cutting saw is used.

• Concrete Slab sawing is used to cut steel, reinforced concrete, metal, stone and pre-cast concrete surfaces. Flat sawing allows to cut roadways, bridges, concrete slabs and side-walks .Slab Sawing service allows very precise cutting jobs.

Road cutting is used for cutting the monolithic slabs, bridge decks, trenches in floors and in foundation walls.

Floor sawing technique is primarily used for making floor opening for HVAC, electrical and plumbing trenches in construction projects.
2. Mechanically Powered Saws:

• Mechanically powered saws are different from hand saws in that the blade moves while the wood remains stationary. Few examples of saw blade are: circular blade saw, reciprocating saws. Electric miter saw, (also called chop saw, cut-off saw or power miter box) is used for making accurate cross cuts and miter cuts. The basic model has its circular blade fixed at a 90° angle to the vertical, a compound miter saw’s blade can be adjusted to other angles. A sliding compound miter saw has a blade which can be pulled through the work similar to the action of a radial arm saw, which gives a greater capacity for cutting wider work pieces.

Types of Blade:

Selection of right blade is the most important point of consideration while performing any job.The saw blades seems to be similar but are different on practical rounds and there is a particular blade for a particular job such as for plywood, lumber and laminates. The blade performance depends on the teeth and size of blade used. Selection of wrong blade can result in ragged edges  of the material being cut.

If saw blade teeth are 24 or fewer, this is likely to be a rip blade. If the teeth are square across the top, or if the tips are bent sharply to the left and right, this is called “set.” This saw blade is for cutting lumber lengthwise, or “ripping lumber.” It is designed to cut lumber fast, but the cutting edge will be rough.

If saw blade teeth are between 60 and 80, it is a cross cutting blade. The combination of square top teeth, and teeth with a slight slant inwardly saw blade is used for making smooth cuts. It is designed to cut plywood in any direction and lumber ACROSS the grain.

If the size across one teeth is approximately 1/16 inch, or half as thick as all the other blades. This blade is for cutting veneers like plastic laminate, Formica, Plexiglas or other composite materials. This blade is not used for cutting wood.

Golden Tip

• The more teeth the saw blade has , the slower and smoother the blade will cut.
• The sharper the points of the saw blade are, the faster the blade will cut, but with a rougher edge.