Cutting wood with hacksaw blade designed for metal

[Windows]

If I’ve got the choice between a coping saw with a blade designed for wood and a hacksaw with a blade designed for cutting metal and I’m cutting in a straight line and the hacksaw cuts faster through wood than the coping saw, is there any reason not to use the hacksaw? Both produce narrow kerf (good), both cut across and with the grain (good), both produce really fine dust (bad). Coping saw clearly has better manoeuvrability, but it makes no difference on the straight.

 

[Mike G]

No, crack on. The teeth clog readily, but just wipe them now and then between your fingers.

 

[AndyT]

There are always so many variables - what sort of wood, how hard, how dry. How many tpi on the hacksaw, how sharp, how much set.

Is your coping saw blade a good old stock Eclipse one or a modern cheapie.

So general advice that it's "not right" is always trumped by results. If it works, it works. The wood won't know or care.

 

[Windows]

Thanks guys.

Coping saw blade is Eclipse, 14TPI. The blade was unused, purchased sometime in the 2010s or 2020s.

Hacksaw blade is 20TPI, came supplied with a mini hacksaw from Draper just bought from Robert Dyas for a non-wood project. Thought I’d try it out on some wood.

I just got an Eclipse pad saw and it’s a similar situation: came with two blades, one for metal one for wood. The wood one basically only works for cross cutting. The metal blade works both ways and it’s faster both ways.

The wood is crappy soft wood offcuts from 2x4s. Maybe hardwood would give different results.

Is there a better option for coping saw blades that cut a little faster? I’m more likely to use it for clearing waste than for fine cuts.

 

[9fingers]

Both the pad saw and hacksaw will have more rigid blades so maybe that gives you the confidence to press harder than the flimsy coping saw blade perhaps?

Do whatever works for you. By default I leave a bi-metal metal cutting blade in my bandsaw so that it is always ready for a quick cut in any material only switching to a wood cutting blade when I have batch of wood cutting to do. In that case a wood blade cuts wood faster but rougher due to coarse pitch.

Bob

 

[spb]

I know a few people who generally talk sense advocate that a hacksaw is a pretty good first dovetail saw - they're readily available, low maintenance (don't need sharpening) and do the job perfectly well for the sort of short cuts involved in dovetails. It's slow for long cuts, but there's nothing wrong with it for cases where that's not a problem.

 

[Cabinetman]

I’m surprised that the coping saw gives the same fine dust as the hacksaw, I find them to be quite rough but you said it was a new Eclipse so that’s a bit strange really.

 

[—Tom—]

Odd to have those as the only 2 options to make straight cuts in wood, but use whichever works best.

Is there something you’re trying to make, or just experimenting with the tools you have at your disposal

 

[Windows]

Indeed they’re not the only possibilities for cutting wood, Tom. A ryoba is my usual choice. It’s just that both a hacksaw and a coping saw (and the padsaw I mentioned) have relatively small blades that can be passed through a hole to allow removing wood from the inside.

I am still in a bit of an exploratory phase when it comes to saws though. I got a Presch crank-handled fine tooth saw just because I wanted to see what it was like. I justified it to myself in terms of various DIY jobs I need to do, but really I was just curious. The crank handle allows you to use the saw horizontally more easily and because the handle can be rotated, it can be used both left and right handed which in turn means that the saw cuts on both the pull and push strokes. I haven’t really tried it out yet, but I wonder whether the distance between the handle and the blade makes it harder or easier to use for vertical cuts.

It’s this one:

https://www.presch-tools.de/collections/sagen/products/feinsaege-250mm

(Linking direct to German site so as not to favour particular UK retailers. It’s available in the UK for under £15.)

 

[Eric the Viking]

I occasionally use a hacksaw for cutting wood, however the biggest single annoyance is friction and paint, together.

It rarely matters for cutting metal, but the gummy paint that hacksaw blades seem all to be coated with makes a mess of end grain, and it's really hard to remove it later.

Acetone is probably a good solvent (haven't tried yet), or a light alcohol, e.g. IPA or meths (which is mostly ethanol). Whatever works.

I think it's probably worth getting the blade back to bare metal befrore starting. Then a quick rub with a candle, or wipe with a small amount of Liberon machine wax, or something like the solvent version of Briwax, would probably make the task a lot more pleasant.

You used to be able to buy decent, unpainted hacksaw blades, and you still can in the "junior" size, but I haven't seen a standard-size, unpainted one for decades.

E.

PS: It's probably obvious I rarely use a hacksaw on wood, as I've gone over to Japanese saws, which cut extremely cleanly. If I was using a hacksaw blade though, I would be tempted to tension it and then carefully stone the sides of the teeth (diamond plate), so that I reduced the kerf a little. That might reduce the propensity to wander. They are intended to be 'steerable' when used for metal, and this is a nuisance for wood.

 

[Windows]

That’s good info, Eric. Would never have thought of that. Thanks. Fortunately I’ve been using junior size unpainted blades so haven’t seen the issue with the paint.

 

[thetyreman]

with a coping saw it's all about having the right blade, get some pegas blades off of ebay, makes a world of difference, mine are 14 tpi. I really want to make a couple of different size bowsaws at some point, you can do so much with them.