Cutting Metal is Easy With a Hacksaw and the Right Blade. What is a hacksaw

Cutting Metal is Easy With a Hacksaw and the Right Blade

Metal isn’t hard to cut, and a hacksaw isn’t difficult to use. That’s not our opinion, that’s a fact. But with all the power tool options available today that cut metal, such as jig saws, reciprocating saws, circular saws, and abrasive wheel chop saws, you might ask whether you should bother with this old-school metalworking tool. There are several good reasons to learn how to use one: Hacksaws are simple devices that cut metal quickly, accurately, and quietly. They don’t have batteries that need to be charged. A small selection of blades will take you through an incredible range of work. Furthermore, hacksaws also cut ceramic tile and plastics.

Below we show a few great hacksaws and blades, and explain the fundamentals of using this great tool.

Hacksaw Basics

The immutable law of hacksaw knowledge boils down to this: Thick materials require a blade with fewer teeth per inch, while thin materials require a blade with more teeth per inch. Simple, right?

The goal is two have a minimum of two hacksaw teeth in contact with the material, while not increasing the tooth contact to the point where the blade clogs with the waste particles that it is producing. That is, if you cut thick material (say a half inch thick) with a blade that has a large number of teeth per inch (say 24 or 32 teeth), you’ll find it tough going. The fine teeth become clogged with metal particles. It’s much easier to cut such a thick piece of metal using a blade with 14 or 18 teeth per inch. Teeth per inch is abbreviated as TPI.

The same holds true for cutting something thin, like sheet metal. If you try cutting that with a 14-tpi blade, you’ll find that the teeth will snag on it. The cut goes much more easily when you switch to a 32-tpi blade.

Common hacksaw blades are available with 14, 18, 24, and 32 teeth per inch. For metal that is in the vicinity of 1/16-inch thick and thicker, use a blade with 14 to 18 teeth per inch. For metal that is thinner, use a blade with 24 or 32 teeth per inch.

Hacksaw Hacks

Every hacksaw owner should take these hacks to heart. They’re few in number, but they’re important and will help you master the art and craft of cutting metal by hand.

Three typical bi-metal blades will see you through virtually every cut you will need to make. If you intend to cut ceramic tile, buy a hacksaw blade with a tungsten-carbide grit cutting edge.

Three typical bi-metal hacksaw blades (top) and a carbide grit blade (bottom). The top three blades can be used in either a standard-tension hacksaw or in a high-tension hacksaw. So long as you don’t overtighten the carbide grit blade in a high-tension frame, it will work in a high-tension saw frame without snapping. The tooth counts on the three top blades are the three common types that you should own: 18, 24 and 32 tpi (teeth per inch). If you expect to saw very thick sections of metal or thick sections of soft materials (brass, copper, plastic) then add a 14-tpi blade.

Use Oil

Metal workers argue about this incessantly, with people forming two camps—“oil” and “don’t oil.” I’m an oiler. People say that oil causes metal particles to stick to the blade. My response is that the metal particles will stick to the blade whether you oil or not. The issue is whether the particles will slide around more freely and whether the teeth themselves can slide more freely over the metal.

Apply a little oil to the hacksaw blade before beginning, and reapply as needed for thick cuts. Hold the oil over the blade and apply a few drops. Use a shop cloth below the blade to catch what drips off.

People worry about what oil they should use to lubricate their metal cutting. My response, as an oiler, is that almost any oil is better than no oil. The same motor oil that you use in your lawn mower (10W-30) will work. So will the bar and chain oil that you use in your chainsaw. If you use a thinner oil, such as spraying the cut with WD-40, you’ll find it will work, but it will be messy and you’ll need a lot of it.

If you’re cutting thick material, pause occasionally and add more oil to the cut surface and the blade. Use a disposable piece of shop towel to catch the runoff.

And if you really want to lubricate the cut properly, use a dedicated metal-cutting lubricant like Tap Magic.

Just remember to use a part cleaner or solvent to remove any trace of oil if you want to weld or paint the metal after cutting. Lubricant residue will prevent paint and weld metal from sticking, so scrupulously clean the cut metal with solvent such as a spray-on parts cleaner or degreaser.

Clean the Blade

Whether you lubricate the cut or not, metal particles stick to the blade, as does paint from the cut part, rust, accumulated carbon, and good old-fashioned dirt that somehow found its way onto the surface. Don’t put the hacksaw away until you flush the blade clean with spray lubricant.

Use a spray lubricant or spray parts cleaner to clean the blade after you’re done. Hold a piece of paper towel or a shop rag under the blade to catch the materials that drip off of it. Wipe the blade clean and then store the hacksaw.

Begin With an Angle, Finish Horizontally

When cutting square and rectangular bar stock (or square tubing) start with the saw held at an angle.

Use an awl or a carbide-tip scribe to score a cut line across the stock. Tip the hacksaw at an angle. With light pressure and short strokes establish the cut.

Once the angled starting cut is well established, move to a horizontal cut. If you start the cut by sawing horizontally, the saw will slide off the cut line.

Once the cut is 1/16 inch deep or deeper, begin sloping the saw back until the cut line is horizontal to the top surface. Use medium pressure and take full strokes, using the entire length of the blade. Pause occasionally to relubricate the saw and the material you’re cutting.

Standard Versus High-tension Saws

A standard hacksaw holds the blade with relatively low tension. The blade is placed in the frame and tightened by turning a small wingnut at the rear of the frame.

The standard hacksaw is a low-tension cutting tool. You place the saw in the frame and tighten its wing nut. With these saws, you can use either a carbon steel blade (shown) or a bi-metal blade (shown everywhere else in this article. These inexpensive saws are perfectly fine for cutting small pieces of mild steel (such as small-diameter rod, up to 3/8 inch) and small pieces of tubing (up to 3/4 inch). However, because their blades are not held under much tension, they don’t work particularly well in cutting thick or large pieces of metal.

Many hacksaws today are high-tension types. These saws are equipped with a blade-tensioning mechanism that exerts thousands of pounds of tensile force on the blade to hold it tightly in position. This enables the blade to last longer and make a straighter cut, particularly in tough or thick materials.

cutting, metal, easy, hacksaw, right, blade

A high-tension hacksaw has a blade tighening mechanism that applies thousands of pounds of tensile force to tighten the blade, holding it rigidly in place. These saws require a bi-metal blade which has high-speed-steel teeth electron beam welded to a back strip of flexible steel. These blades can withstand the high tensile force that the frame applies to the blade. Installing an ordinary high carbon steel blade in these saws is to risk snapping the blade and sending a piece of steel flying through the air.

Installing a hacksaw blade is simple. Standard hacksaws use a simple mechanism (fit the blade in place and tighten the wingnut). High-tension hacksaws differ as to the tightening mechanism they use.

What Is a Hacksaw? | Parts of Power Hacksaw | Driving Mechanism of Power Hacksaw | Working of Power Hacksaw

Hacksaw is hand-operated, used for cutting small toothed metal pipes, rods, brackets, etc. Huxos can also cut through the plastic. The hacksaw has a U-shaped frame a handle at one end. Hacksaws have smalls pins at each end of the frame that receives a blade.

A tensioner nut or knobs is then used to extend the length of the frame, which puts tension on the blade locks it in place. The blade can be installed for cutting on push or pull strokes; Cutting is more common on push strokes.

When a hacksaw is operated using machines, it is known as a power hacksaw. It is a type of rotating saw machine. Power hacksaw is used when materials cannot be cut to hack by hand.

When the cutting diameters of the material to be cut are large, it is very difficult to cut with a hand-cut hacksaw, in which case power hacksaws are used. Power hacks can cut large diameter or workpiece workpieces that require a large amount of time hard work to cut.

This machine can be used to cut any type of material in workshops as the hacksaw blade used is made of HSS (high-speed). Some cutting fluids are provided in this machine to cut hard materials.

Parts of Power Hacksaw:

#1. Base

The base of the power hacksaws is made using cast products. All the other parts of the power hacksaws are carried by this base.

#2. Column

The first part of the powers hacksaw is the columns. This column is a housing for the drivings mechanism of the power hacksaws, the electrical cables are also present inside this column.

#3. ON/OFF Switch

These switches are used on and off. These devices are connected to an electrical connection can be switched on and off using these switches.

#4. Support

In front of the column, there is two support, one is horizontals support, and another one is verticals support. The vertical supports the horizontals frame or support.

#5. Machine Vice

Machine Vice is present above the horizontals support. This machine’s vice is used to clamp the workpiece, i.e., hold the workpieces tightly. These vices are adjustable so that various sizes shapes of metals can be held.

This machine’s vice has been handled. The vices can be tightened or loosened by turnings the handles. This vice locks the workpiece does not allow it to move during the cutting operation. The size of the power hacksaws is determined by the largest workpiece that can be held in the vice.

#6. Cooling Pipe

Cooling pipe is used to provides coolant while cutting so that too much heat is not produced during cutting the hacksaw blade does not get blunt. These cooling pipes provide a coolant between the hacksaw the workpiece. These cooling pipes provide the coolant by the application of a pump.

#7. Power Hacksaw Frame

The power hacksaw frames are used to support carry the hacksaw blade. The power hacksaw frames are connected to the driving mechanism present inside the columns. These frames are also known as an arm. The hacksaw blade is fixed in this armor frame.

#8. Handwheel

The handwheels are present on the top of the handle are rotated to move the hacksaw frame up and down.

#9. Emergency Foot Switch

Almost every power hacksaw has an emergency footswitch to turn the power hacksaw on and off. This is added mainly to turn off the machine in emergency conditions. This footswitch is located on the front side of the machine.

#10. Hacksaw Blade (Cutting Blade)

The hacksaw blade performs the cuttings operation on the workpiece. The blade does cuttings in the forward stroke removes chip produced while cutting in the backward strokes. The blade of this hacksaws blade is made up of high-speed steel. Blades of power hacksaws are categorized based on the materials from which they are made and the number of teeth in the blades per inch.

The top category blade is made from High-Speed Steel (HH.S.S. But HH.S.S.blades are very expensive, so there are cheaper alternatives like carbon steels blade.

Generally, the number of teeth per inch varied from 14 to 24; as the number of teeth increases, the smoothness of cuttings also increases. The correct blade for a particulars workpiece is determined based on the material to be cut.

#11. Handle

A handle is attached to the column. These handles are used to move the hacksaw frame hence the hacksaw blade up and downs. Hacksaw blades are moved near the workpiece to performs the cutting operations.

Driving Mechanism of Power Hacksaw:

Two pulleys are placed on fronts of each other. One winch is on top of another. These two pulleys are connected by a belt. A link is attached to the pulley at the top. The link is connected to a pulley on one side and an electric hacksaw frame on the other side.

When the power hacksaws are switched on, the bottom pulley starts rotating, and since this lower pulley is connected to the top pulleys by a belt, the top pulley also starts rotating.

When the top pulley rotates, the link connected to the top pulley will also rotate. Since this link is connected to the power hacksaw frame, when the link moves back and forth due to the pulley rotating, the power hacksaw frame will also move forward and backwards. The rotational speed of the pulley will be converted into reciprocating motion in the power hacksaw frame.

So in this way, the driving mechanism of an electric hacksaw works. We can increase or decrease the speed of the pulley, and the feed of the forward and backward strokes can be adjusted into a power hacksaw.

The speed of the pulleys can be changed by changing the belt from one size pulley to another shaped pulley. If the belt is placed on a small pulley, the speed increases, and if the belt is placed on a larger pulley, the cutting speed decreases. Different types of metals can be observed at the proper speed by the change of speed.

Working of Power Hacksaw:

The vice of the machine has two jaws. One jaw is stable, and the other is flammable. There is a threaded row that is attached to the movable jaw on one side and a handle on the other side. When we rotate this handle, the movable jaws of the machine vice move forward and backwards on this threaded rod of the machine vice.

We can easily attach any workpiece in the vice of this machine to use movable. The cooling pipe then supplies the coolant during the cutting process between the hacksaw and the workpiece.

This coolant extends tool life, helps remove chips and removes heat generated during cutting, and keeps equipment and workpiece cool. This coolant acts as a lubricant to smooth the cutting process.

The hacksaw moves along the blade frame using the driving mechanism of the power hacksaw present inside the front and rear columns.

When the hacksaw blade is brought near the workpiece, and the switch is switched on. The driving mechanism begins, and the cutting process or the process of removing material from the workpiece.

A forward stroke of a power hacksaw is a cutting stroke that consists of a material removal process, and a backward stroke is a passive stroke. Cutting only during the forward stroke avoids unnecessary wear on the saw blade.

How to use hacksaw, Hacksawing practice, हेक्साइंग प्रैक्टिस, metal cutting by hacksaw, fitting shop

A backward stroke is used to extract chips from the workpiece produced during the forward stroke.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Power Hacksaws

Power hacksaws are often used to cut large pipes, steel, cast iron and other hard materials. The straight blade is attached to the tool and moves back and forth across the workpiece to make the cut. Power hacksaws have a slower speed and longer stroke length than reciprocating saws, which slows the cutting speed but leaves a finer edge.

Hacksaw Parts

Following are the main two parts of a hacksaw:

What Is a Hacksaw?

A hacksaw is a handheld, small-toothed saw used to cut metal pipes, rods, brackets, etc. Hacksaws can also cut through the plastic. The hacksaw has a U-shaped frame and a handle at one end. There are small pins on each end of the hacksaw’s frame that receive a blade.

Small Hack Saw

Small Hacksaws easily fit in your toolbox or in limited spaces and are great for making fast cuts in small pieces of metal, wood and plastic – such as a metal rod, a block of wood or PVC tubing.

Electric Hack Saw

Power hacksaws offer a range of options for portable cutting of pipe, structural steel, tanks and other materials. The rechargeable electric saw is light and portable, long battery life, and will not damage the bark. This is a professional electric hacksaw tool. Electric hacksaw adopts high-quality tungsten steel material, durable and wear-resistant.

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Suggested Read –

hacksaw

American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cutting, metal, easy, hacksaw, right, blade

hacksaw

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

or hack′ saw`,

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

hacksaw

Past participle: hacksawnGerund: hacksawing

Imperative
hacksaw
hacksaw
Present
I hacksaw
you hacksaw
he/she/it hacksaws
we hacksaw
you hacksaw
they hacksaw
Preterite
I hacksawed
you hacksawed
he/she/it hacksawed
we hacksawed
you hacksawed
they hacksawed
Present Continuous
I am hacksawing
you are hacksawing
he/she/it is hacksawing
we are hacksawing
you are hacksawing
they are hacksawing
Present Perfect
I have hacksawn
you have hacksawn
he/she/it has hacksawn
we have hacksawn
you have hacksawn
they have hacksawn
Past Continuous
I was hacksawing
you were hacksawing
he/she/it was hacksawing
we were hacksawing
you were hacksawing
they were hacksawing
Past Perfect
I had hacksawn
you had hacksawn
he/she/it had hacksawn
we had hacksawn
you had hacksawn
they had hacksawn
Future
I will hacksaw
you will hacksaw
he/she/it will hacksaw
we will hacksaw
you will hacksaw
they will hacksaw
Future Perfect
I will have hacksawn
you will have hacksawn
he/she/it will have hacksawn
we will have hacksawn
you will have hacksawn
they will have hacksawn
Future Continuous
I will be hacksawing
you will be hacksawing
he/she/it will be hacksawing
we will be hacksawing
you will be hacksawing
they will be hacksawing
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been hacksawing
you have been hacksawing
he/she/it has been hacksawing
we have been hacksawing
you have been hacksawing
they have been hacksawing
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been hacksawing
you will have been hacksawing
he/she/it will have been hacksawing
we will have been hacksawing
you will have been hacksawing
they will have been hacksawing
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been hacksawing
you had been hacksawing
he/she/it had been hacksawing
we had been hacksawing
you had been hacksawing
they had been hacksawing
Conditional
I would hacksaw
you would hacksaw
he/she/it would hacksaw
we would hacksaw
you would hacksaw
they would hacksaw
Past Conditional
I would have hacksawn
you would have hacksawn
he/she/it would have hacksawn
we would have hacksawn
you would have hacksawn
they would have hacksawn

hacksaw

Collins Spanish Dictionary. Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

cutting, metal, easy, hacksaw, right, blade

hack

to cut or chop up roughly. The butcher hacked the beef into large pieces. kap يَقْطَع، يَبْتُر насичам cortar rozsekat hacken hakke πελεκώ, πετσοκόβω cortar, tajar (tükkideks) raiuma بریدن؛ ساطور زدن hakata hacher לְקַצֵץ בִּפרָאוּת टुकडे़ करना rasjeci, komadati vagdal, felvág memotong-motong höggva; sarga, hjakka tagliare たたき切る 난도질하다 kapoti sacirst; sakapāt lapah hakken hakke rąbać, ciąć ه غير منظم ډول ټوټه كول ياپرې كول، خوږول، ټوخيدل لغتىوهل cortar a tăia; a ciopârţi разрубать rozsekať razsekati iseći hacka, skära สับ; เฉือน parçalamak 亂砍 рубати بوٹی بوٹی کر دینا chặt; đốn 乱砍

to cut (a path etc) roughly. He hacked his way through the jungle; He hacked (out) a path through the jungle. kap يَشُقُّ طريقه пробивам си (път) abrir prosekat (si) hacken skære ανοίγω δρόμο με μαχαίρα abrirse paso a hachazos raiuma باز کردن raivata se tailler. à coups de לַחתוֹך घुड़सवारी करना prosijecati, zasjeci (utat) vág merambah höggva tagliare, aprirsi un varco 切り開く 마구 자르다 prakirsti, prakapoti izcirst (ceļu) menebas hakken hogge ut rąbać پرانیستی abrir a(-şi) croi (un drum/o cale) прорубать (дорогу) presekať (si) izsekati (si) prokrčiti hugga [upp] เดินทางลัด zorlukla kendine yol açmak 劈出 вирубати جھاڑ جھنکاڑ کو ہٹا کر راستہ نکالنا phát quang cây cối để lấy đường đi 辟出

a rough cut made in something. He marked the tree by making a few hacks on the trunk. keep قَطْع рязка corte zásek die Einkerbung hak πελέκημα, εγκοπή corte, tajo, machetazo, hachazo sälk بریدگی؛ شکاف viilto entaille לַחתוֹך בְּגָסוּת काट zasjek, trag udarca bevágás bacokan skora tacca 刻み目 마구 자르기 rantas, užkarpa, įpjova iecirtums; robs tetakan hak, inkeping hakk, blink, skår cięcie سوري corte crestătură зарубка zásek, zárez vsek usek hack, hugg, skåra การสับ çentik, kertik 砍痕 зарубка چیرا nhát chặt 砍痕

a horse, or in the United States, a car, for hire. huurperd; taxi حِصان наемен кон cavalo/táxi nájemný kůň; taxi das Mietpferd.auto udlejningshest; udlejningsbil ενοικιαζόμενο άλογο ή αυτοκίνητο caballo de alquiler; coche de alquiler üürihobune, takso اسب یا کالسکه یا تاکسی کرایه ای vuokraratsu, vuokra-auto cheval de selle; taxi סוס, מכונית להשכרה किराये का घोड़ा najmljeni konj, fijaker, taksi bérkocsi kuda, taksi leiguhestur; leigubíll cavallo; taxi 貸し馬 (車) 세놓은 말 nuomojamas arklys/automobilis zirgs; taksometrs kuda sewa gehuurd paard, gehuurde auto leiehest, leiebil koń/pojazd do wynajęcia دكريې اّس، زوړاّس، بيكار. ليكونكى ، ټيكسى ( موټر pileca/carro cal de călărie; taxi наёмная лошадь; машина напрокат kôň na prenájom; taxík jezdni konj; taksi konj za iznajmljivanje ridhäst, uthyrningshäst, taxi ม้าให้เช่า kiralık at/araba 出租馬匹,(美國)出租汽車 найманий екіпаж سواری کا گھوڑا ngựa, xe ô tô cho thuê 出租马车,(美国)出租汽车

a person who illegally gains access to information stored in other people’s computers. kapper, kodebreker مُخْتَرِق الحواسيب хакер hacker hacker der Hacker hacker αυτός που “σπάει” προγράμματα υπολογιστών pirata informático kräkker دزد کامپیوتری hakkeri pirate informatique פּוֹרֵץ מַחשֵׁבִים गैरकानूनी रूप से अन्य लोगों के कंप्यूटरों में संग्रहीत जानकारी तक पहुंच हासिल करने वाला haker, osoba koja nastoji prodrijeti u zatvoreni kompjuterski sustav számítógépkalóz penyusup hacker, pirata informatico 他人のコンピューターシステムに不法に侵入する人 해커, 컴퓨터 침해자 kompiuterių piratas hakeris penggodam hacker, computerkraker datasnok haker كامپيوتري غل хэкер počítačový pirát heker haker hacker, hackare ผู้เจาะระบบเครือข่ายคอมพิวเตอร์ bilgisayar korsanı 電腦駭客 хакер, комп’ютерний зломник کمپیوٹر می محفوظ معلومات تک ناواجب طور سے رسائی حاصل کرنے والا kẻ xâm nhập máy tính bất hợp pháp 电脑黑客

a computer enthusiast. rekenaarfoendie, rekenaargoëlaar هاوي حاسوب компютърен ентусиаст hacker počítačový fanoušek der Computer-freak nørd λάτρης ηλεκτρονικών υπολογιστών maniático de la informática häkker کامپیوتر دوست tietokoneharrastaja fan d’informatique חוֹבֵב מַחשֵׁבִים कंप्यूटर को लेकर उत्साही kompjuterski entuzijast (fanatik) hekker penggemar komputer (appassionato d’informatica) コンピュターおたく 컴퓨터 심취자 kompiuterių aistruolis/fanatikas datorfans penggemar komputer computerfanaat datafrik د کمپیوتر سر مینه لرل компьютерный фанат počítačový fanatik računalniški entuziast računarski fanatik hacker, hackare, datanörd ผู้ทำงานอย่างหามรุ่งหามค่ำ (ทางคอมพิวเตอร์) bilgisayar tutkunu 電腦玩家 комп’ютерний експерт کمپیوٹر کا ماہر người say mê máy tính 电脑玩家

(of a cough) rough and dry. He has had a hacking cough for weeks. droë hoes جاف وقاسٍ раздираш seco suchý trockener Husten, stoßweise gøende ξερός seco, áspero raiuv خشک و سخت kuiva sèche לְהִשתַעֵל שִׁיעוּל יָבֵש सूखा और खुरदुरा suh, trajan (kašalj) erős, száraz (köhögés) kering harður og þurr secco からせきの 마른 sausas (par klepu) sauss; rejošs batuk kering droge hoest tørr, gneldrende suchy وچ او ټوخی seco (d. tuse) seacă отрывистый и сухой suchý suh (kašelj) suv hackande ไอ kuru 短促乾咳的 сухий خشک khan (ho) 短促干咳的

a saw for cutting metals. ystersaag مِنْشار معادِن ножовка serra pilka na kov die Metallsäge nedstryger σιδεροπρίονο sierra para metales rauasaag اره آهن بر metallisaha scie à métaux מַסוֹר מַתֶכֶת धातु काटने की आरी pila za metal fémfűrész gergaji besi járnsög seghetto 弓のこ (금속을 절단하는) 활톱 metalo pjūklas metālzāģis gergaji besi ijzerzaag baufil, metallsag piła د آهن اره serra bom­faier ножовка pílka na kov kovinska žaga ručna testera bågfil เลื่อยตัดโลหะ demir testeresi 鋼鋸 ножівка دھات کاٹنے کی آری cưa kim loại 钢锯

Hacksaw

About: Eric J. Wilhelm is the founder of Instructables. He has a Ph.D. from MIT in Mechanical Engineering. Eric believes in making technology accessible through understanding, and strives to inspire others to learn … About ewilhelm »

Hacksawing is a great way to cut a wide variety of materials.

Step 1:

Measure and mark the material to be cut.

Step 2:

Choose the right blade for the material you are going to cut. Typically, blades for harder materials such as metal will have smaller teeth than blades for softer materials such as wood and PVC

.It is often possible to cut softer materials with a metal blade, but difficult to cut metal with a wood blade.

Hacksaw blades only cut in one direction. The blade in the image only cuts when moving from right to left. Don’t try to cut in both directions by really bearing down on the blade; you can damage your blade that way.

Step 3:

Step up the material to be cut. If you don’t have a vise, clamp the material to the edge of a table.

Step 4:

Put on your safety glasses.

Cut the material with even strokes and slight pressure against the material (use a reasonable amount of pressure along the direction of the cut).

Step 5:

Smooth any sharp edges or square the ends of the workpiece by sanding, deburring, or other processes.

Step 6:

Vacuum or sweep up any chips and put away all tools.

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Комментарии и мнения владельцев

Just so you know, your vice has a pipe holder built in. Pivot the arm 360 🙂 Of course you already know this, but I like to pretend to be observant.

Erm. Doesn’t pivoting 360 degrees bring you back to where you started? 180 degrees perhaps? ;]

You’re right! I was being lazy, and wasn’t worried about scratching up the PVC.

As a machinist, I was taught that the proper way to select a saw blade, whether it be hacksaw or whatever, is that a minimum of 3 teeth should be engaged into the workpeice when cutting. Thin materials need a finer toothed blade than a thick workpeice. If you are sawing something extremely thin, like a piece of tin, angle the blade to the workpeice so that at least 3 teeth are in contact with the workpeice and the results will be smoother and straighter. As you pointed out, there should be no downward pressure on the back stroke of the blade.

I just mentioned on my new instructable the importance of a good blades and Hacksaw, Life is better with a good constant tension style as described in my new post:

And A photo of my hacksaw and choice of blades.

Hacksaw Blade tool tips #shorts

And old salt once told me if you don’t like a hacksaw, its either lousy or do not know how to use it.

the instructor omitted to warn first time users of a hacksaw that the saw will suddenly go through the material on the final cut and most first time users will cut them selves on the projecting sharp edge. So be warned.

But is basic to know how to use tools this is a good one, more people should teach us how to improve techniques in how we must use tools and safety tips thanks

Always hold clamp work as close to the cut as possible to avoid vibration. remember that screeching noise is wasted energy. stand to the side of the saw, using a stance like the classic Weaver shooting position, hold the saw with BOTH hands one at the front for control and let the saw do the work. there is no replacment for good quality bimetalic blades for general work i use 24t.p.i.

Thank you for posting this valuable information. I’ve seen hacksaws used, but it is good to have an actual set of instructions with all the safety info.

“Instructables is a venue for showing what you make and how others can make it.” What next, a demo on how to open a door or maby how to use a fork. Haz

There’s people that don’t know basics as this one, but really want to start working on projects, so they have to learn these things.