Back saws, such as tenon saws and dovetail saws, have a steel or brass back that gives them weight for sawing wood easily. A tenon saw is used for general sawing and cutting mortise and tenon joints, while a dovetail saw cuts joints like dovetails. Coping saws cut unusual shapes and curves and require practice to control. The blade is inserted by flexing the frame and springs back into place to hold the blade. A coping saw can also cut internal shapes by passing the blade through a drilled hole first.

1. Hand Saws

2. BACK SAWS - TENON SAWS AND DOVETAIL SAWS
• Back Saws get their name from the steel or brass back (labelled on the diagram).
The heavy back gives the saw its weight which is useful when sawing wood. The
weight of the saw along with the forward sawing motion allows the saw to cut
through woods relatively easily. The two main types are the tenon saw and the
dovetail saw.
TENON SAW : for general sawing and cutting mortise and tenon joints.
DOVETAIL SAW : for cutting joints such as dovetails.

3. HOW THE SAW IS HELD?
• The saw has to be held in the hand carefully. The
index finger must point in the direction of sawing
and it also helps to support the whole saw as it
moves forward. The saw must not move from side
to side or it will jam in the wood making sawing
difficult.

4. PROCEDURE FOR USING THE TENON SAW
1. The wood to be cut is marked out carefully using a try square and
marking knife.
2. When sawing a piece of wood, it is usually placed on a bench hook.
The wood is held in position by the left hand whilst the right hand
guides the saw so that the saw groove is straight (for left handed
people - the other way round).

5. THE COPING SAW
• Coping saws are used for cutting a range of woods and are very useful
for cutting unusual shapes or curves. In a modern workshop these
shapes are normally cut using machine fretsaws. However, there are
times when these machines are not available. Also, using a coping
saw is a test of skill as it can be difficult to control and requires
practice.

6. FITTING THE BLADE
• The blade is 150mm in length and at each end there is a pin that
holds the blade to the frame. To fit a new blade the frame has to be
flexed (shown above) usually by applying a little pressure. The blade
fits into two slotted pins on the frame of the coping saw and when
pressure is released, the frame springs back to its original shape,
holding the blade in position.

7. • A coping saw can be used to cut shapes in the middle of a
piece of material. First, the blade is removed from the
coping saw and then passed through a hole that has been
drilled. The blade is then fitted to the coping saw frame.
The saw can then be used in the normal way, cutting the
‘internal’ shape.