CHAPTER III
CUTTING TOOLS
5. Saws. The saw might be described as a succession of chisels, one back of the other. We can readily understand the action of the saw by making cuts with a narrow chisel along the grain of a piece of wood, as shown in [Fig. 10] at a.
Fig. 10. Cutting with and across the Grain with a Narrow Chisel
The little pieces of wood removed in this way are similar to the sawdust made by the saw, the only difference being that in the saw the teeth are narrower and the little pieces consequently smaller, and instead of one chisel dozens are being pushed forward at one time.
A saw with these chisel-shaped teeth, and used for cutting along the grain, is called a ripsaw.
That this tool will not cut so readily across the grain may easily be proved by again resorting to the narrow chisel and attempting to repeat the first experiment. The wood will act as shown in [Fig. 10] at b, splitting along the grain in both directions. It is quite evident, then, that a tool for cutting across the grain must be constructed in some other way.
Fig. 11. The Saw