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.
A back saw is a saw that has a stiffening rib of steel or brass fixed to the edge of the blade opposite to the cutting edge. This makes the back saw particulary well-suited to jobs that demand good control and precise cutting. Such jobs include cutting dovetails, miters, or tenons in cabinetry and joinery.
This thickening of the blade is the back and is generally made from some kind of metal, usually brass or steel.
A backsaw is a specialized handsaw for cutting tenons (joints or grooves) in wood. The blade is rectangular, 8 to 14 inches in length, with a hardwood or plastic handle and a metal-reinforced back edge (opposite the teeth) to keep the blade from bending while cutting.
Back saws.
They have a rigid brass or steel backs to keep the saw plate from bending, which provides rigidity for accurate cuts of wood joints. Back saws are used for fine cuts need to make joints.
Backsaws refer to those handsaws that have a stiffening piece of metal (referred to as the saw's “back”) on the edge of the saw plate opposite of the toothed cutting edge. If we contrast backsaws to handsaws, handsaws are designed for rough sawing work such as breaking down rough milled lumber.
Dovetail Saws – These are the smaller backsaws which are mostly used for dovetailing, these are small versions of the tenon saw. Dovetail saws usually have a maximum PPI (points per inch) of 16, however you can get finer blades which have 18-32 PPI.
The crosscut saw also cuts on the down stroke. The backsaw has a short, squared-off blade about a foot long with a sheet steel reinforcement strip folded over the back of the blade to keep it straight. Use a backsaw in a miter box to cut the angles to fit moldings and picture frames.
Tenon saws get their name from being commonly used in cutting smaller or more intricate pieces of wood, and especially for making joints. The characteristic back saw spine helps to keep the saw blade from bowing or bending while cutting. It also limits the depth of cut you can make.
The "Gentleman's Saw" is a western type back saw. It was generally of a smaller size and features a simple turned handle. A Gent's saw cuts on the push stroke and has a brass spine to keep the blade straight and stiff.
Old saw blades are almost always made from high quality steel.
Hacksaw blades (both hand & power hacksaw) are generally made up of carbon steel or high speed steel strip rolls.
Vintage saws are those saws which were manufactured over fifty years ago, being made of high carbon steel instead of the exotic alloys which are typical of contemporary saws. Crosscut saws are used with a variety of other small hand tools.
Both crosscut saws and rip saws teeth are 'set' (bent away from the blade) but crosscut teeth are angled on their inside edge, whereas rip teeth aren't. This sharp angled edge means that crosscut teeth can slice through material like a series of little knives.
Dovetail saws are used for applications that require small, very precise cuts or when an extremely neat finish is required. They are typically used for joint-making, particularly dovetail joints, where two pieces of wood must fit together precisely.
Japanese Pull Saw Teeth
The rip teeth on both Western and Japanese saws are wide and triangular with chisel-edge tips. Japanese crosscut teeth, on the other hand, are long and narrow, and resemble miniature swords.
Rip sawing first will result in a smaller cut envelope for the subsequent crosscut saw operation. And since there are more cuts, more throughput will also be required during the crosscutting that follows. Crosscutting first means the cutting envelope will by necessity be larger on the crosscut saw.
Miter Saw
These saws operate similarly to circular saws in that they have a round blade which is pulled downwards to cut the material. However, a miter saw is specifically designed for making precise angled cuts, notable for miter joints, which are when two pieces of wood are seamlessly joined at an angle.
The miter saw is usually the #1 saw I recommend for beginners that want to get into woodworking because it is so easy to use and versatile.
They come in useful below around 8 tpi. When you're dovetailing, most of the cutting is rip anyway, and even for others things finer rip teeth crosscut just fine. If you are worried then just create a knife line prior to sawing.
Circular saws are the most versatile electric cutting tools. Like all tools, there's a learned skill involved in operating circular saws. They let you perform these main cut types with one machine: Crosscuts: These are the mainstay woodworking cuts.
The best way to cut a 2×4 is with a circular saw. You can choose between a compact one or a standard size. Miter saws and certain hand saws can also do the job. It comes down to the right type of blade and your personal preference.
The jigsaw may be more useful for a wide range of tasks. But it can be more difficult to get clean, straight cuts with the jigsaw's flexible blade. A circular saw will give you better results, but it's a little more intimidating for a beginner. My advice: get both!