A Saw is a tool for cutting wood or other material, consisting of a serrated blade (a blade with the cutting edge dentated or toothed) and worked either by hand or by steam, water, electric or other power.

 

· Heel: The end closest to the handle.
· Toe: The end farthest from the handle.
· Front: The side with the teeth (the "bottom edge").
· Back: Opposite the front ("top edge").
· Teeth: Small sharp points along the cutting side of the saw.
· Gullet: Valley between the points of the teeth
· Fleam: The angle of the faces of the teeth relative to a line perpendicular to the face of the saw.
· Rake: The angle of the front face of the tooth relative to a line perpendicular to the length of the saw.

 

Types of Saws
There are a number of different categories of saw, all with the same purpose of accurately making larger pieces of wood into smaller pieces of wood. The first and largest division is between hand-powered saws and mechanically powered saws.

 

Hand saws
Hand-powered saws fall into three divisions, which are defined by the way they hold the blade stiff (a requirement to get an even, clean cut).
A Hand saw uses either simply a blade thick enough to be stiff, or cuts on the pull stoke which reduces the stiffness requirement.