Tools / Cut

Cut

Tools that separate material along a line by a blade, a toothed edge, an abrasive wheel, a flame, an arc, a laser or a jet of water. Saws, knives, snips and shears, cutters and the machines that automate them.

21 tools written

• BacksawA fine-toothed hand saw whose thin blade is stiffened along its upper edge by a rigid metal back, used for accurate cuts in joinery. The back keeps the blade from bending and also limits the depth of cut.
• Band sawA saw whose blade is a long, narrow steel band joined into a loop and run over two or more wheels, so that the teeth cut continuously in one direction. It exists in sizes from the log band mill to the hand-held metal-cutting saw.
• ChainsawA hand-held saw whose cutting teeth are links in a chain driven around a flat guide bar by a gasoline engine, an electric motor or a battery. It fells trees and cuts logs and timber, and it is used for storm cleanup and land clearing.
• Circular sawA hand-held power saw in which a toothed steel disk, turned by an electric motor, projects through a flat shoe that rests on the work. The operator carries the whole machine along the line of cut.
• Concrete sawA power saw whose blade is a disk of abrasive or a steel disk edged with diamond particles, used to cut concrete, masonry, stone and asphalt. It exists as a hand-held cut-off saw and as walk-behind and drivable saws for slabs and pavement.
• Coping sawA hand saw with a very thin, narrow blade held in tension across a deep springy metal frame. The blade can be turned in the frame to cut curves and the profiles of moldings.
• Drywall sawA short, stiff hand saw with a pointed blade and coarse teeth for cutting gypsum board, especially for openings cut out of the middle of a panel. The point lets the user start a cut without a drilled hole.
• HacksawA fine-toothed saw for cutting metal, in which a narrow blade is strained between the ends of a frame. The teeth point away from the handle and the saw cuts on the push stroke.
• HandsawA one-handed saw with a wide, open steel blade and no frame or back, used to cut wood along or across the grain. The Western form cuts on the push stroke.
• Japanese pull sawA hand saw with a thin blade on a long straight handle that cuts on the pull stroke. The blade works in tension, which lets it be thinner than a push saw blade.
• JigsawA portable power saw with a narrow blade clamped at one end that moves up and down through a flat footplate. It follows curves and cuts openings in sheet material.
• Laser cutterA computer-controlled machine that cuts sheet material by focusing a laser beam to a small spot, usually with a stream of gas coaxial with the beam. The beam melts, burns or vaporizes a narrow path, and the gas clears the products of the cut.
• Miter sawA motor-driven circular saw carried on an arm above a turntable and fence. The operator pulls the blade down through the work to make crosscuts at preset angles.
• Oscillating multi-toolA hand-held power tool whose accessory swings through a very small arc many thousands of times a minute. With a saw blade, sanding pad, scraper or grout blade it cuts, sands and scrapes in corners and tight places and makes flush and plunge cuts.
• Plasma cutterAn electric power source, a gas supply and a torch that passes an arc through a small nozzle so that a narrow jet of ionized gas melts a conductive metal and blows it out of the cut. Hand-held machines usually run on compressed air.
• Reciprocating sawA hand-held power saw whose narrow blade moves straight back and forth from the nose of the tool. It cuts wood, metal, plastic and the nails and pipes inside a wall, and it is used mostly for demolition, rough cutting and cuts in places other saws cannot reach.
• Table sawA circular saw fixed beneath a flat table, with the blade projecting through a slot. The operator pushes the work past the blade along a rip fence or a miter gauge.
• Utility knifeA knife with a thin replaceable blade held in a handle, used to score, trim and cut sheet materials such as board, paper, carpet, roofing and insulation. The blade is changed when dull and in some designs is snapped off in segments.
• Wire stripperA hand tool that cuts through the insulation of a wire without cutting the conductor and pulls the severed insulation off the end. Most have blades with a series of sized holes or notches that match wire gauges.
• Wood chiselA steel blade sharpened on its end to a single beveled edge and fixed in a handle, pushed by hand or struck with a mallet to cut, pare and chop wood, especially in joinery.
• Worm-drive sawA portable circular saw whose motor sits behind the blade in line with it and turns the arbor through a worm gear running in an oil-filled housing. It is heavier than a direct-drive saw and keeps its blade at the left of the motor.